Are smart homes really smart? How smart should they be?
IN the Michelle and Barack Obama-funded movie “Leave the World Behind,” starring Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke, the main conflict was brought about by a war strategy: cutting off the technology, connectivity and information to plunge the United States into chaos. Catastrophe after catastrophe ensued. Planes started crashing. Teslas stopped running or drove into things. People were left helpless and confused, which made them turn against each other. But whatever hope remained was also brought about by technology. Those who were prepared had smart bunkers in their homes that would last years and protect at least a generation. These places were so safe, secure and sustainable that they even had facilities to grow produce.
Now, enter the home of the future in normal, more peaceful times. Smart homes are becoming increasingly popular because of the ease they bring to those who live in them. The ideal smart home is defined as a condo, apartment or house that seamlessly anticipates a person’s needs and responds to commands without having to open multiple apps. In short, a smart home has the ability and features to support a person or family’s lifestyle. A smart home should be able to help optimize living.
Today, many tech companies like Apple, Google and Amazon are scrambling to develop the best ecosystem for smart homes, which consists of an array of products. While no single brand has created the best set of devices, there definitely are advancements in the smart home market.
A common misconception is that a home with automated features can already be a smart home. Take, for example, a house that has a voice-activated control for lighting. While this certainly adds to convenience, having this installed wouldn’t necessarily make a smart home. A true smart home must be supported by an entire ecosystem in which devices connect, integrate and work with multiple gadgets.
The ecosystem must work in unison with the homeowner’s lifestyle and not make things unwieldy.
At its best, a smart home makes everything seamless. If we are to look at the bigger picture, it could even be connected to a smart town or city. Consider Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town, a 1,000-home development 50 kilometers from Tokyo. Backed by and developed by companies like Panasonic, Tokyo Gas and Yamato Transport, each home is smart and has features that cover automated heating and lighting, energy efficiency, security, health tracking and more. This then relates to the entire town’s smart infrastructure. An example would be health tracking. If a homeowner’s data shows a discrepancy in health metrics, he or she will be alerted to have a check-up at the town’s medical facility. In this city, people can live as they might usually do, but in an upgraded way since future needs are anticipated and potential issues are mitigated.
However, there are barriers to smart home adoption. This is primarily caused by limitations in the available technology, data privacy and cost. As devices are being enhanced and developed, there has yet to be a global standard to help minimize data privacy-related risks. Cost is especially a limitation in emerging economies where only a small percentage of the population can afford a smart home. As technologies improve further and standards are implemented, the gap between these barriers and what people can own will lessen. In fact, the smart home market size is forecast to surpass $338.28 billion by 2030.
As an emerging economy, the Philippines has only started to pick up the pace in terms of smart home adoption. Our currently still improvable connectivity infrastructure contributes to how people perceive what smart homes are, leading to piecemeal installments of gadgets at home. But the good news is that the real estate industry in the country is looking at smart homes as a possible solution to problems caused by urbanization. The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) is working on a blueprint for smart cities or towns, which would then lead to the adoption of more smart technologies. This is affirmed by a 2023 study that projects that there will be 1.1 million smart homes in the country in 2024.
Although smart home technologies are still being refined, having them around isn’t a flash in the pan; this really is the trajectory of where homes are headed in the future. It’s just a matter of time until more territories embrace smart technologies. In the Philippines, everyone may not see or care about it now, but the rise of smart homes is surely on the horizon.