How Does Home Automation Work?

Smart Speaker | Photo by Loewe Technologies 

Home automation, or domotics, is building automation for a home, called a smart home. A home automation system will control lighting, climate, entertainment systems, as well as appliances. It could also control home security, such as alarm systems and access control. 

A home automation system connects controlled devices to a central hub. Interaction is done using wall-mounted terminals, tablet or desktop computers, as well as a mobile phone application.

Building automation is the automatic centralized control of a building's heating, ventilation and air conditioning, lighting and other systems through a building automation system (BAS). The objectives of building automation are: improved occupant comfort, efficient operation of building systems and reduction in energy consumption. A building controlled by a BAS is often referred to as an intelligent building, "smart building", or (if a residence) a "smart home". Modern BAS can control indoor and outdoor lighting as well as security, fire alarms, and basically everything else that is electrical in the building. 

Smart Home Technology

You could connect the devices in your life to the internet. From computers, smart phone and speakers, to lights, door bells and windows. These devices can send information and can also take your commands. It is the Internet of Things (IoT).

Home automation is basically automating the ability to control items around the house with a simple push of a button or voice command.

Let’s have a look at some of the smart home devices available:

Smart Speaker | Photo by João Faia

A smart speaker is a wireless speaker, as well as a voice command device. It has an integrated virtual assistant that offers interactive actions. Some smart speakers can also act as a smart device that utilizes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other wireless protocol standards to extend usage beyond audio playback, such as to control home automation devices. (e.g. Alexa Bluetooth speaker) 

Brilliant control - "All-in-one Smart Home Control" - is a control panel (or mobile application) that controls smart devices from one device, namely lighting, music, climate and access control. 

Logitech Harmony Elite is an advanced remote control that comes with a hub. Not only does it control home theatre systems, but can control most smart home devices as well. 

Smart Plug | Image by Thomas Kolnowski

A smart plug is controlled by an application and allows you to turn any appliance, which plugs into a standard wall socket, on and off. A smart plug lets you control appliances using your phone and your voice, and it will tell you how much power each device is using.

Outside smart home surveillance cameras are smart home devices that are designed to withstand extreme weather conditions and temperatures, and connects to your home Wi-Fi network. It allows you to view live footage of any activity outside your house. It will alert you via your mobile device, as well as record the event. You could also speak to the person on your property, depending on the features you have available. 

Indoor security cameras allow you to monitor activity in your home. One of the biggest benefits of a smart home is being able to know what's going on when you're not actually there. Capabilities vary, depending on the device. Some have alarms, some alert you when activity has been detected and some even offer a 2-way audio.

The best way to safeguard you against an unwanted guest would be a video doorbell. It allows you to see and speak to the person, without even opening the door. It also records footage of people who have visited your door while you are not at home or able to answer. These devices typically use Wi-Fi to stream live video to your phone and offer features, such as cloud video storage, motion detection, and connectivity between smart locks and other smart home devices. 

A smart lock is an electromechanical lock which is designed to unlock and lock a door when it receives instructions to do so. It allows you to monitor who enters and leaves your home when you are not there. Some models simply let you use your mobile to open and close doors, some let you assign special privileges to friends, family members, or maintenance staff and others can be activated using voice commands or triggers from other smart home devices and services. If the lock is Bluetooth enabled, you will have to be within range to communicate with it. Then you get locks that can be controlled from almost anywhere, as long as they are connected to your router at home. The latest smart locks offer things like voice activation, geofencing, and auto-locking features. 

Smart Thermostat | Image by Dan LeFebvre

Smart thermostats are basically thermostats that can be used with home automation and are responsible for controlling a home's heating and air conditioning. They perform similar functions as a programmable thermostat. It allows the user to control the temperature of their home throughout the day using a schedule, but also has additional features, such as sensors and can connect to Wi-Fi. Smart thermostats allows its users to control it remotely, because you are able to adjust heating settings from other connected devices, such as laptops and smartphones. Not all smart thermostats are the same; some are designed for simple heating and cooling systems and offer basic scheduling options, while others control heating, cooling, as well as dehumidifier and ventilation systems. Prices vary depending on features and capabilities. This is the case with most smart home devices.

Smart lighting is a technology designed for energy efficiency. It saves energy and provides comfort and convenience to the user. Smart lighting systems use sensors; Detecting changes in light and the environment is a huge part of developing a power-efficient lighting system for homes and offices. A complete sensor consists of a motion detector, an electronic control unit, and a controllable switch/relay. The detector senses motion and determines whether there are occupants in the designated area. It also has a timer that signals the electronic control unit after a set period of inactivity. The control unit uses this signal to activate the switch/relay to turn equipment on or off. 

Now, let’s talk about smart kitchens. Smart Kitchens are designed to save time and energy, with the main purpose of sustainability and efficiency. Here are a few examples of smart kitchen appliances and gadgets that are available:  

Sous vide, also known as low temperature long time (LTLT) cooking is a technique that involves vacuum sealing food and placing it in a water bath kept at a very precise temperature. The sealing process ensures that no moisture is lost, and the water temperature ensures the food can't overcook. The result is tender, perfectly cooked food, often then quickly seared on a pan to provide a crisp outer texture. You can cook sous vide using a big sous vide machine with its own water bath, or you can simply put an immersion circulator on the side of a stock pot or large plastic box. Sealing the food retains juices and aroma that otherwise would be lost in the process.

The Brava oven is a countertop appliance. Connected countertop ovens are steadily becoming more common, with a variety of microwave-sized smart appliances out there that can bake, broil, sear, and reheat, among other food preparation methods. It is costly, but also advanced. It can cook food in ten different ways, it has a lot of automatic cooking presets for both ingredients and meals, and also has built-in cameras, so that you can watch your food cook on your smartphone. The Brava smartphone app for Android and iOS has a variety of recipes that work with the oven's automatic cook settings. You can also prepare food your own way.

The NutriBullet Balance Bluetooth Enabled Smart Blender | Amazon

The Nutribullet Balance is a blender that contains a smart sensor to measure the ingredients. It has a built-in Bluetooth smart nutrition sensor that enables the connection to the NutriBullet Balance app and calculates the nutritional value of your smoothie. Through these measurement capabilities, pre-designed recipes, and other features, the blender and app work hand-in-hand to help you create healthier smoothies and meet precise nutritional needs. NutriBullet Balance connects to the NutriBullet Balance app on your smart device. You can download the app in the Apple App Store or Google Play. The app hosts a variety of features: a dashboard where you view daily and weekly nutrient breakdowns, recipes to find pre-designed smoothies, soups, dips, dressings, and desserts, plus the creations you've designed yourself, a pantry where you can keep track of all the ingredients you have available to you, and a shopping list to remind yourself what ingredients you still need to buy. 

Perfect Bake Pro is an app–connected scale that removes most of the guesswork and risk from baking recipes. This scale will help those who have a fear of making mistakes when baking. The centre is a stainless steel digital Bluetooth scale. It only has four buttons - Timer, Bluetooth Pairing, On/Up, and Off/Down. There are also three colourful mixing bowls, an oven thermometer and a stand for your phone / tablet included.

An interesting thing about the Perfect Bake Pro is if you accidentally add too much of an ingredient during the process, the app will automatically adjust the rest of the recipe to compensate for it. There are hundreds of recipes to choose from, and they are divided into categories, namely recipe types, difficulty levels, and special categories (kid-friendly, gluten-free, etc.) You are also able to add your own recipes to the app, however, you are not able to share them with other users.

Instant Pot Smart WiFi is basically a pressure cooker that allows you to start cooking and monitor the process remotely by using your phone. It's easy and reliable. The stainless steel pot has black plastic handles attached to each side and a removable stainless steel inner pot. The front has a control panel and a blue LCD. It is compatible with Alexa and Wi-Fi. The Instant Pot Smart Wifi combines 8 kitchen appliances in one: pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yoghurt maker, cake maker, sauté pan, steamer, and warmer. It also offers many recipes: Free Instant Pot app on iOS and Android devices is loaded with hundreds of recipes. 

A smart refrigerator is one that's connected to the internet. It allows you to use your smartphone to see what is inside. It sends and receives notes and calendar entries, and will appear on the fridge’s screen, depending on the features offered. It will also notify you if you have left the fridge door open. The Samsung Family Hub refrigerator is an example of a smart refrigerator. It has a large display that allows you to view a calendar, make notes, view recipes, play music and you can even watch TV on it. 

Smart vacuum | Image by João Faia

We spoke to João Faia about home automation, as he enjoys the pleasures of owning a few smart devices.

We asked João to explain how it has impacted his daily life. He said, "Home automation allows you to make your home fully automated and remote controlled. You can control your home appliances, such as lighting, air conditioners, security systems and even home cleaning."

He continued to say, "The great thing about this technology is that you can control your home devices from wherever you are. For example, if you forget to turn any electronic device off at home, you can turn it off by using the screen control panel."

João also mentioned how it has helped him create a routine in his life, "Before I get home, I can use my smartphone to switch a particular group of lights on so that I do not have to do it when I get home. I have created a routine for myself, for example, I eat at 19:00 and then the system will switch particular lights on and then will close the curtains in the bedrooms. If I say that I want to watch TV, it will dim the lights of my home. My smart vacuum turns on every day at 10:00, so I arrive home to a clean house each day. It is amazing and it has made my life a lot easier."