Automated homes are the future in living, and in our hands we hold the controls. Security systems, lighting, music, appliances, and electronics can all be accessed through our smartphones.
If you’re planning to upgrade your existing home to a smart home, or if you’re moving and want the new place to be completely digital, there are certain smart features that you must put into place.
These technological must-haves are already offered in different residential properties in Singapore. Some Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats already come with smart features, in line with Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative.
You need a Smart Home Assistant
While many people’s first words as they arrive home were something along the lines of the proverbial “Honey, I’m home!”, times have changed. Now, Siri, Alexa or Google would be happy to welcome you home.
Any one of the smart home assistants would also love to help you control, well, everything—from the lightning to your home security, and from music to temperature. Managing all your devices is made much easier when everything is linked up to the same smart home assistant, and with voice control in place for most services, all you have to do is speak (or push a few touch screen buttons at most).
You need smart home security
Securing your smart home should be a major priority and, thanks to the brilliant technologies out there, easy.
You can purchase a comprehensive smart home security system to take care of everything—outdoor and indoor cameras, motion-sensor lights, digital unlocking and locking of doors, and alarms for things like gas leaks or fire.
Never spend time hunting for your house keys again. With PIN-authenticated locks, biometrics or facial recognition software, locking and unlocking your home has never been easier, and more secure.
Other extremely useful smart home security devices include digital door bells and digital peephole viewers, which have similar functions. Both allow you to see exactly who’s standing outside your door. Many digital door bells on the market stream audio and video of HD quality day and night, and digital peephole viewers allow you to monitor what’s going outside your home at all times.
You need smart home cleaning and kitchen helpers
Ease and efficiency are two invaluable qualities we all want in our lives. Smart home helpers are designed to make tasks like cooking and cleaning much less stressful for us as we juggle work, personal, and family life.
Robot vacuum cleaners that dust your floors for you have become fun, trendy must-haves in every minimalist, technology-friendly home. Now, there are robot mops that will wash and dry your floors to perfection while you busy yourself with other more fun tasks!
Smart home devices have also wormed their way into kitchens, from digital baking scales with app controls to smart microwaves that are voice-activated.
The outdoors haven’t been left out, too, with smart lawnmowers that take the time-consuming work of maintaining the perfect lawn off your hands.
You need smart outlets
With smart outlets, you can control all your devices that are plugged in at home, no matter where you are. Schedule when you want certain lights or appliances to turn off or on, depending on the time of the day. Save electricity and stay safe—turn off smart outlets and the devices connected to them using your smartphones, controlling everything with simple-to-access apps that can also give you detailed information on your usage and consumption.
/TISG