Homes are made of dreams and not just of concrete and bricks. How often does one wonder if they could make their house as comfortable as possible? People often believe that comfort and dreams don’t go hand-in-hand. But, the new age of technology has made it possible for them to go in sync with each other.
Smart homes are the future, and IoT in smart homes is the solution.
Changing the intensity of lights in the rooms according to the brightness of the outside environment is a simple yet accurate example to define how the Internet of Things is going to be a game changer in the future.
There is a lot more that can be handled by IoT in the future. Let’s see a few applications of IoT in smart homes and try to understand how it is shaping the future.
1. Home automation
Home automation refers to automating the variety of tasks that are performed in houses on a day-to-day basis. For example, switching on lights, watering plants, turning on the TV, etc.
Everything can be connected and then executed smoothly with the help of IoT and smart devices like smartphones, watches, etc.
Right now, mostly these things are done on voice commands delivered by humans, but in the future, there is a high possibility of everything being highly automated with the help of smart sensors and actuators connected to all the appliances and objects that need to be taken care of.
2. Health and Fitness
It would have been hard to believe if someone had told people that fitness and health could be monitored with devices a few years back. But today, not only is it not surprising but also very normal.
Almost every other person can be found monitoring their steps on smart devices like smartphones, smart watches, health bands, etc.
The way that they have merged into daily life so effortlessly is surprising sometimes. But that is what comfort feels like!
People now monitor their heart rates, sleeping time, energy levels, etc., with their smart devices. Ever thought about what goes behind these devices?
The answer is IoT. The sensors present in these devices modulate the results and serve people with the highest possible accurate data.
3. Security
Security is a big concern for households. There might be several reasons for it. It can be handled easily by incorporating a little IoT into daily objects.
For example, incorporating proximity sensors to sense the presence of an entity in the prohibited area. This is not only useful for theft protection but is also very useful in households with children and pets. How this basically works is that whenever the sensor detects a presence nearby, it initiates a signal that can then be fed to things such as an alarm or a buzzer call.
This way, you’ll be alarmed and prepared well in advance.
There are plenty of other ways that you can connect various sensors and make them even smarter by incorporating cameras and computer vision.
4. Interconnecting Devices for Better Tackling of Tasks
Taking care of plants can be therapy on weekends, but on weekdays, it just gets worse. But, what if there was a system that could automatically water the plants and minimize wastage of time and resources?
This is where IoT comes to play. These days, there are smart planters in the market that take care of plants smartly by measuring the water levels, nutrients, etc.
This makes life simpler and easier for people who love plants but are unable to take care of them for some or the other reason.
How is IoT Making the Future Better?
There are multiple benefits of incorporating IoT in smart homes. It can be clearly seen how technology can improve the quality of life. But the question is, is IoT only making life easier or also adding value to it?
Let’s see a few advantages that prove that IoT not only incorporates comfort but also quality to the lifestyle.
- Saves resources
Energy conservation is the need of the hour. One can not stop using the resources altogether but can surely make them more sustainable by optimizing their usage.
From the simple example of using smart planters that water the plants only when the water level is low and enrich the soil with nutrients accordingly, it can be seen how small changes can create big impacts in the future.
Similarly, incorporating small changes to your homes and making them eco-friendly with IoT will help the Earth in the longer run.
- Saves money
Although it may seem contrary to what it looks like, it is true! Smart devices can actually help you save a lot of money. They are surely more expensive than the normal ones, but in the longer run, they save you tons.
For example, by adjusting the lights and turning them off when not required, modulating the air conditioners in variable weather conditions, smart stoves that turn off automatically based on timers and settings, etc., can be an expensive investment initially but will help you by saving electricity and other resources eventually.
- Makes Services Accessible to Everyone
Often, children and senior citizens are not able to operate a few devices efficiently and need supervision while using them.
But IoT handles this problem efficiently. The voice commands make it easy for everyone to use the devices that are hard to use otherwise. For example, connecting television to smart IoT devices can help them to operate the TV without supervision.
This also makes other common services to people who are specially abled and need constant help with the basic day-to-day activities. There are also devices that work on gestures that make it even more practical and useful.
These were some applications of IoT in smart homes and the advantages that their implementations can yield. Further, it is evident that these implementations not only make life easier but also add way more practicality to it. This proves that the addition of IoT to smart homes is definitely the need of the future.
