Home automation makes it easier to run your household while enabling you to live comfortably and luxuriously. As a segment, it is growing gradually, and awareness and acceptance levels are increasing amongst consumers. In the near future, smart homes may become the default choice for home buyers.
India is possibly the most ‘visibly’ wired country—wires can be seen strung from one building to another, from one home to another. However, we are now standing at the cusp of change. Seeing the way the technology is headed, and how its utility is transforming lives, it won’t be a surprise to see smart homes becoming common in the next couple of years. Earlier, smart solutions as a concept were limited to commercial buildings and grand apartments. However, the concept is now transforming immensely as the idea of home automation is finding a place not just in the lives of multimillionaires whose lavish
lifestyle is supported by technology but also many middle-class and upper middle-class families. Homes are no longer just about a prime location with great interior design aesthetics. Rather, a sustainable lifestyle with the help of technology is definitely the way forward for modern or smart homes in India. With smart home solutions becoming affordable and easily accessible, demand for the same is rising fast. Moreover, thanks to constant technological advancements and increasing adoption of smartphones and tablets,
smart technologies are becoming easier to use, and more affordable and prevalent with every passing year. Home automation indicates an automated system that helps to electronically control various features and systems that are incorporated in the design of the house. It provides homeowners the flexibility to connect and control their systems with a handheld or personal device; which means you are never away from your home. Home automation fulfils and delivers the promise of convenience, efficiency, comfort and security to its users.
Growth of home automation
As a segment, home automation has gained spotlight with the coming of Internet of Things (IoT) age. The IoT has provided a much needed push to automation technologies. It is a seamless network of physical objects that have sensors, electronics, software, etc installed in them to receive and exchange data. Indicating a new phase in the home automation landscape, the IoT is churning out smart homes and smart cities at a rapid pace. These technologies are tremendously affecting the lives of people, and are being wholeheartedly welcomed as a entirely new way of living. Gone are the days when home automation would only be undertaken by the rich. The cost of deploying such systems has come down in the last ten years. Budget is the only limiting factor to the extent of automating a house. There are options to integrate light and shade control with preset ighting control system for a single room or studio flat, total home control system for the whole home and sensory based control.
Benefits of home automation
Home automation concept has introduced smart living as one of the major components. You can simply enjoy monitoring and control of your entire home through an integrated network. This is a prominent method to lift up the standard of living.
Energy efficiency
Home automation helps you control energy consumption and thus cut down your electricity bills. People frequently forget to turn off the lights or switches that control various functions in the house. Home automation enables them to automate various functions of their homes as per their convenience. Products like automatic timers switch off the lights automatically at the set time when these are not in use. Motion sensors, light dimmers and energy-efficient light bulbs are a few other simple automation products that help to make a house energy-efficient.
Convenience
Errands like switching off the lights, closing the door and turning off the dishwasher are just a few clicks away, thanks to this path breaking technology. Adopting simple smart solutions like a smart door and intelligent surveillance camera can make life so much easier. You can lock and unlock the door even when away. You get intimation through the app if there is any suspicious activity around your house. You don’t have to worry about safety at all.
Wireless connectivity and security
Wireless connectivity of home automation gives enhanced level of security to your home. Allowing you to control your house even from far-off locations, it makes you feel unperturbed and relaxed while you are away. The most favoured feature of a smart home is the digital security system. More than the comfort, it is the security that pushes one to opt for a smart home in India.
Ripu Daman Sharma is Country Manager-Sales of India subcontinent in Lutron Electronics
