Would you want your home to be smart?

Technology never seems to stop evolving and our lives get more and more submerged in it. Especially with the COVID-19 pandemic having many people spending more time inside their homes, consumers start to learn more about smart devices and slowly turning their homes ‘smart’. Gradually, all the single devices, mobile or stationary, are getting connected to each other and can be controlled just by an app. But is it a good thing to live in a smart home?

The Pros of a smart home

Certainly, a smart home makes life so much more convenient and easier, especially in the times of this hectic society. After an 8-hours shift on the train to home, you can just turn on the heater in the winter and your home will be warm once you arrive. You can also link your media devices to each other so you can use them on whichever medium you would like to – no need to switch all the time!

You can step up the safety of your living space with advanced security systems designed for homes. Cameras, motion sensors and other things can be viewed either by yourself, by a security company or even the police. Although, the last two options do not seem to be that common for ordinary people with a smart home. But it is certainly a good thing that you will be able to check your cameras while you are away from your house. You can even let motion sensors send you notifications or warnings when it detects movement if you are not there.

Voice-command systems can make life easier for old or disabled people. Some people need a little more help and do not have the ability to do things easily like a healthy person could do. For an old person with some physical issues, getting out of bed because they forgot to switch the light off could be a hassle. By just one tap on an app they can turn it off. While some, especially older people, struggle with technology, it can improve their life.

The downside

Smart homes makes life more convenient, but it is not always all fun and games. When you start upgrading your home to a smart home, expect to pay A LOT of money. You will have to invest quite much in the beginning since smart appliances are high-technology. Depending on how many things you want to upgrade, connect and automate, the price will increase and it won’t be cheap. On top of that you have to make sure everything you purchase is compatible, unless you want to spend a lot of time and frustration trying to figure out how to connect some appliances that hate each other because they are produced by a different manufacturer.

The biggest downside is the part that you will have to sacrifice some of your privacy. Your home may be prone to hackers who attempt to spy on you or to rob you. A very disturbing hacking case happened in the home of a Milwaukee couple. Someone had hacked into their smart home and changed the temperature to above than 32 degrees Celsius. But that’s not everything, they played very disturbing music on high volume and even spoke to them through speakers.

It is important to always check on your devices and use strong passwords, preferably with a multi-factor authentication.

Would you like to turn your home into a smart home? Or have you already done so?

References

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/30/how-to-defend-your-smart-home-from-hackers-after-black-friday-buys.html

https://www.smartgrid.gov/the_smart_grid/smart_home.html