Smart home

The term 'smart' is typically applied to an 'intelligent' web-connected electronic device or system which may operate stand-alone or in a network with other devices. It usually involves some form of user interaction.

New technology is enabling the creation of smart homes, integrating devices to make the home a better place to be in terms of safety, comfort, productivity and well-being. Smart thermostats note, for example, each time the dial is turned up or down, to build a detailed schedule based on the user’s preferences.

BSRIA (Building Services Research and Information Association) defines smart homes as those operating, ‘…a building control system, which provides integrated, centralised control of two or more individual systems’. Effectively this is the residential extension of commercial type controls.

Individual systems can be any of the following:

• Environmental control system (heating ventilation and air conditioning - HVAC).
• Household appliances (clothes dryers, washing machines, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, ovens, coffee-makers, microwaves, etc.)
• Consumer electronics (TV, radio, audio-video equipment, game consoles, etc.)
• Building components (blinds, curtains, windows, doors, etc.).

Devices may be connected through a wired or wireless network to allow control via a personal computer, and may allow remote access via the internet using a PC, smartphone or tablet.

These smart products typically incorporate user-friendly operation, for example, displaying green symbols when energy is being saved and red when excessive amounts are being consumed.

If the smart home system is accessible remotely via the internet, BSRIA refers to it as a 'connected home'.

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