SMART HOME TRUTHS

Everything you know about smart homes is wrong. That might sound a bit harsh, but there’s more to home-tech integration than simply turning on the lights.

THE RISE OF the ‘smart home’ simply cannot be understated. Technically, any permanent residence becomes ‘smart’ once it contains at least one internet-connected electronic device and joins the Internet of Things (IOT). In 2018, there were an estimated 40 million such homes in the US (a roughly 20 per cent increase on 2017’s figure), and the average American smart-home enthusiast spends $146.54 (±R2 000) per year on smart devices.

These numbers, however, aren’t unique to the US and smart-home adoption is happening all over the globe. Around 600 million people worldwide, for example, use voice-activated digital assistants such as Alexa, Google Home and Siri at least once a week, and there are a plethora of easy-to-use, DIY smart home solutions, such as online security cameras and keyless door locks, available at any good electronics shop.

COST-BENEFIT RATIO

It’s not cheap, though, and while that may not be as much of a factor for some of the folks across the Atlantic, it remains a definite barrier to entry here in South Africa, where most IOT devices need to be imported from afar (and at great cost to end users).

So, are smart homes really nothing more than places where people who have the financial means are able to install internet-connected light bulbs and streaming audio systems? Well, yes … and no. Yes, because the current cost of IOT devices in SA definitely classifies them more as a luxury item than a necessity, and no,

‘Your smart home should know you’re normally away from the house then, and be able to remind you that you forgot to set the house alarm’

because they have the potential to be so much more for so many.

Picture this: You’re out of town on holiday, enjoying a well-deserved Easter break, and an application on your smartphone suddenly leaps to life, giving you a notification that your geyser has blown. Not to worry, the mobile app explains, the water valve supplying the offending geyser has been automatically shut, preventing any water damage to your ceiling, walls, floors and valuable possessions. Oh, and an insurance claim has already been processed, and you can expect a phone call from a repair company shortly to arrange for a team to attend to the issue once you have returned home.

FUTURE SENSE

The above example isn’t fictionalised as much as you might think. In fact, a smarthome system just like it has already been developed by Cape Town company Sensor Networks ( www.sensornetworks.co.za), in partnership with some of the country’s top insurance providers.

Sensor Networks founder Mark Allewell says the real value of internet-connected smart-home sensors isn’t that your fridge can order more milk for you when you run out, but rather that it can solve legitimate real-world problems: ‘IOT devices such as our geyser controllers, smoke detectors and connected alarm systems essentially serve as early warning systems, and actively help customers solve problems in their houses quickly. Many of our clients get calls from our service partners to arrange a repair before they even realise something is wrong.’

Adding to that, Allewell says Sensor Networks has integrated machine learning into a range of smart-home sensors in order to recognise and interpret patterns in behaviour: ‘Your smart home should know that you’re normally away from the house at a certain time of day, and be able to remind you that you forgot to set the house alarm when you left. Ideally, we want to send clients notifications telling them about issues, as well as offer them ways to solve that problem quickly, easily and remotely.’ Traditionally, insurance companies build policies based on historical data, but they are moving towards more of a predict-and-prevent model instead of one where they constantly repair and replace.

GET SMART

When it comes to costs ( see ‘Money Matters’ on the first page), the real question, then, is who foots the bill. Ultimately, insurance providers should pass the savings resulting from fewer claims to their customers. Already, through cheaper smart-home-

device pricing and the reduction of various forms of risk, insurance companies are beginning to incorporate sensors into smart-home policies to benefit from improvements in risk mitigation.

As with Discovery Health offering to write off the monthly instalments of Apple Watches for its members in recent years, provided those members maintain a certain number of daily steps – and presumably with them leading more healthy lifestyles – it’s in the interest of insurance providers to help their customers improve their circumstances while also solving problems. Not to mention the relationship insurance providers build with their customers through similar value-added products, as, generally, people only make contact with their insurance providers when they are either signing up for a policy or making a claim.

Smart-home technology has drastically improved over the past few years, and no one can deny that asking Google Home to stream an acoustic-guitar playlist from Spotify as you dim your wireless lights via your smartphone is, quite simply … cool. However, we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of the real definition of ‘smart home’, and future iterations of these devices will no doubt give us noticeable real-world- and financial benefits.

Top middle: Mark Allewell, founder of Sensor Networks in Cape Town, believes the true calling of smart-home technology is to solve everyday problems, and reduce financial outlay on your property in the long run. Top right: The Sensor Networks smart-geyser controller can be retro-fitted or wired to most electric geyser types in South Africa, making even an old geyser that’s near the end of its lifespan ‘smart’. Right: The thermostat measures the temperature of the water inside the geyser and regulates the heating cycle of the geyser element. These are the most commonly damaged parts of any geyser.