What is Smart Home?

Smart Home is network connected ecosystem, where in devices (camera, TV, lights, doorbell etc) are all connected with each other and help to realize a sense of convenience to the owner.

Why Smart home?

Convenience: Yes, user can control every operations(device)from single touch/click/voice

Some of the popular virtual assistants:

• Amazon’s Alexa: Echo Dot, Echo and Echo Show
• Google’s Assistant: Google Home, Newer Android Smartphones
• Apple’s Siri: iPhones, iPads and Apple Watch

What is needed to make Home Smart?

In Theory one needs to by varied devices to connect every device to each other, hence buy components like—sensors, smart bulbs, security cameras, speakers, etc..—and connect them all to a hub that helps them communicate with each other and with you, via your smartphone. However, in practice there are lots of low budget products, deliver most of the conveniences a high-end smart home can deliver. And if you make sure those smart home products are compatible with each other, that’s foundation and can expand over time.

How does consumer know which product to buy?

First of all, its very essential to know what are your requirements/needs: Do you already have a bunch of devices that operates with single service provider/at least compatible with each other? Or if you are planning to build everything from scratch (DIY)? Alternatively buy device which can operate with multiple providers, this is still emerging field and firms like Google/Amazon are working towards unifying standards. However, as a consumer, basic infrastructure is good wireless router. Next point is how many smart home devices a home has? If too many then we may need smart home hub to serve as a central controller, if only few devices then function of hub is not needed.

What is a smart home hub?

Smart Home hub act as a controller for the networked devices that implement smart home features. They act as the system’s focal point, accepting user instructions and issuing commands to devices. The devices manage the operations of different appliances such as air conditioning units, televisions and lighting. The purpose of the smart home hub is to integrate the control of the devices into a single central hub that can operate any connected smart device using standard commands, be that selecting options in a single app or accepting voice commands.

There are currently around ten commercially available smart home hubs that offer a range of capabilities and compatibilities in the $50 to $500 price bracket. While this market is still relatively immature, the trends are for more competitive pricing while increasing functionality, making this challenging. As the market is approaching its tenth year, predictions indicate significant growth potential as the adoption of smart home technology expands worldwide. While homes only have one or two smart devices, the demand for smart home hubs is muted. On its own, a hub has no practical value beyond the novelty factor. As homes increasingly incorporate multiple devices, the consumer will see the advantage of a central hub and be more likely to commit to acquiring one.

Some details on communication protocol (In context of  Hub some insights here)

To deep dive more on hub, its advised to know protocols, or method of communication used to control devices. There are multiple wire/wireless protocol in use today that link smart home devices to each other and to a hub, including X10, Universal Powerline Bus (UPB), Insteon, Z-Wave, and Zigbee. More about these in following below.

X10: Oldest protocol (since mid-1970s), uses existing home electrical wiring to send signals

UPB Protocol: Roughly based on X10, uses home’s electrical lines to transmit signals between devices, but it offers faster transmission rates and more reliable. Oddly, X10 & UPB devices are not compatible and require hub for interoperability.

Insteon Protocol: Uses electrical wiring of home and wireless(RF) technology to communicate. Insteon works with ease on push button pairing, speedy response times & extended wireless range. There are roughly 200 Insteon home automation devices available includes camera, dimmer, keypads, light switches and thermostat.

Z-Wave Protocol: Most widely used and popular (3000 devices)options in today’s home automation and home security markets due to its superior range. Z-Wave is completely wireless and operates at a low radio frequency, which means it will not interfere with Wi-Fi signals, portable phones, and microwave ovens. Z-Wave creates a mesh network that allows signals to hop from one device to another, and each network can support up to 232 devices. These include smart plugs, door and window sensors, door locks, garage door openers, thermostats, and more.

Zigbee: Wireless protocol that creates a mesh network where devices can transmit signals to each other, but it doesn’t offer the extended range that you get with Z-Wave. It operates at a higher frequency, and as such is susceptible to interference from 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and other household devices, but it is typically faster than Z-Wave and can support thousands of devices on a single network. There are currently more than 2,500 Zigbee devices available, including lights, motion sensors, plugs, and sprinkler controllers.

Many smart devices contain Wi-Fi radios that allow them to connect to your home network. They are controlled using a mobile app and will usually interact with other Wi-Fi devices, either through a platform like Apple’s HomeKit or via the IFTTT (If This Then That) internet-based service that links compatible devices and allows them to work with one another. Wi-Fi is ubiquitous and Wi-Fi smart devices are usually very easy to install, but they draw more power than Z-Wave and Zigbee devices and are known to drain batteries quickly. Moreover, installing too many Wi-Fi devices can impede network performance. Many security cameras and doorbells use Wi-Fi, and any hub worth its salt will contain a Wi-Fi radio so you can connect to your home network and control your smart devices from anywhere.

Bluetooth: Wireless technology is popular in devices that will be controlled locally using a mobile app, such as door locks and lighting systems. It’s more energy efficient than Wi-Fi, but its limited range means you can’t control these devices remotely (out of Bluetooth range) without the use of a hub. That said, Bluetooth devices are easy to install, and like Wi-Fi, the technology can be found in nearly all mobile devices.

Thread: An IoT platform developed by several companies including Nest, Qualcomm, Samsung, and Silicon Labs, is a newer option. It’s a low-power technology based on the Internet Protocol (IPv6) that allows secure connectivity between hundreds of devices. There aren’t too many Thread-certified products out there yet, but the list includes a couple of Google Nest devices.

IFTTT (IF This Then That): IFTTT is very much like having a smart home hub in the cloud, and it’s widely supported—a service in which an action by one device (or service) can trigger an action on one or more other devices or services.

One, for example, will trigger your Philips Hue smart bulbs to flash when a timer you set on an Amazon Echo runs out. Expressed as an applet, this would be “When the timer on my Amazon Echo runs out” (the if this half of the applet), then flash my Philips Hue smart bulbs (the then that half of the applet).

IFTTT is super simple to use: To create an applet, just go to the IFTTT website and then point and click on the service or device you wish to use as a trigger (the this in If This Then That), link them to your IFTTT account, and then point and click on the service or device you wish to act when that trigger is activated.

Recent Trends: Compatible with multiple protocol: Latest home automation hubs support multiple protocols, which means freedom of choice not to settle on one hub. The Wink Hub 2 is one of the more versatile hubs out there. In addition to Zigbee, Z-Wave, and dual-band Wi-Fi, it supports Bluetooth Low Energy, Lutron Clear Connect (lighting), and Kidde (smoke and CO alarm) wireless protocols. It also supports Alexa voice commands and IFTTT applets and will control smart devices from numerous manufacturers including Chamberlain, Ecobee, GE, Honeywell, Nest, Philips Hue, Ring, and Yale. Just keep in mind that Wink switched to a subscription pricing model and now charges a $4.99 monthly fee for the same services it previously offered for free. The Wink platform has also recently experienced prolonged connectivity issues.

The Samsung SmartThings Hub is another multi-protocol controller: It contains Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, and Zigbee radios and will control many of the most widely used smart devices from companies like Ecobee, Honeywell, Kwikset, Philips Hue, Ring, Schlage, and Yale. Of course, it also works directly with many Samsung products. It can be controlled using Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands.

Some of the cool smart home devices:

1.Smart lighting

Lighting is the most important part of living, and there are numerous options available for consumer today. Not only turning light to suit different mood but also light bulbs offer varied functions like , plays the music of our choice, detects any gas leak/security concerns, acts like wireless router (LiFi) etc. All these functionality makes it an attractive segment to connect with other home devices and get the best out of it. Many smart lighting systems work perfectly well without a central hub and are still capable of interacting with other smart home elements however some needs hub. To get overview on cutting edge products, Edison company GE Lighting, showcases great examples of cutting edge smart lighting products, that takes home to another level of sophistication. From Smart Lighting with color changing, health light, decorative light to advanced options like music and security integrated portfolio is plus from GE to consider a must buy.

2.Smart Speaker:

Speakers these days are not just for music but also to take instructions and perform a desired function. Just Saying “dim the lights” and having a smart speaker linked to your smart lighting do it for you. The Amazon Echo series and Google Home series have some cool  products in this line. And while Amazon has held the lead for the past few years—it has a much larger installed base, has enjoyed much broader support, and had the only smart speakers with displays for a time—Google is coming on very strong.

You’ll increasingly find the two companies’ digital assistants—Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant—in unique third-party products. Ecobee puts the guts of an Echo in its Ecobee4 smart thermostat and Ecobee Switch+ smart switch, while Lenovo was first to market with Google Home devices outfitted with displays (the Lenovo Smart Display series).

And because these smart speakers have been so widely embraced by other smart home device manufacturers, they have become de facto hubs in their own right, serving as a central interaction point for everything from smart lights to home security cameras, displaying video feeds from the latter on connected TVs or their own displays, if equipped.

3.Smart thermostats

Few smart home devices can match a smart thermostat’s ability to deliver both comfort and cost/energy savings. These devices go far beyond establishing a heating and cooling schedule based on when you anticipate being home to enjoy those benefits. They can detect when you’re home and when you’re away, so that your HVAC system operates only when it’s needed.

There are few firms like Nest which offers a great deal of smart thermostats, where in it learns from user pattern and adapts to become more intelligent. Costs around 129$ , where in Wyze has recent launch with 50$ thermostat to suit the budget.

4.Home security cameras

Security is prime feature that everyone looks for, quality home security camera will enable to keep watch on safety of home, while away from home. Indoor camera models are popular too, with keeping watch on kids/pets for monitor.

Some models—Ring, Arlo, Netatmo, and Maximus: Integrate lights that can illuminate your way. Cameras incorporated into doorbells can monitor your front porch and let you interact with visitors without needing to approach the door.

5.Smart smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

Conventional smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are inherently dumb devices. Their alarms might be loud, but if no one’s home to hear them, what good do they accomplish? A smart smoke detector will sound a local alarm, too, but it will also send an alert to your smartphone—and to anyone else you authorize as a contact—if danger is detected.

Some smart smoke alarms, such as the Nest Protect, incorporate emergency lights that can help you find your way out of a smoke-filled home; others, such as the First Alert Onelink Safe & Sound, include advanced features such as an integrated smart speaker. If money is an issue, Roost offers a less-expensive alternative: A smart battery that can make your existing smoke detector more intelligent.