By 2025, a fifth of households worldwide will own at least one smart home device. Already, consumers demand more sophisticated solutions driven by green thinking, convenience functions, and money-saving considerations. Our team at Origin Hi-Fi has compiled six home automation trends that are worth watching in 2022.
Saving Energy Through Cooling and Heating
The idea of saving energy for people and the planet is growing. Both old and new homes need smarter heating and cooling systems that conserve energy and save money for homeowners. Existing smart thermostats are readily available to regulate heating and cooling while simultaneously utilizing renewable energy sources to make a positive impact on the environment. They are easily installed and managed to fit your personal preferences and daily routines, including turning your heating or cooling off when you’re away from home. Furthermore, you can check on your home’s temperature from your mobile phone and make adjustments from there.
Maintaining Better Health
Our world is more health-conscious than ever, given the pandemic and the increasing popularity of maintaining physical and mental wellness. Smart air purifiers and air conditioners work to maintain air quality within your home to fight allergens and disease. Some smart doorbells are integrating the ability to read temperatures so homeowners can screen guests for basic illness indicators before coming inside. Other smart gadgets throughout the home can monitor the patterns and changes in your sleep. Furthermore, the closure of gyms led to more people working out at home, so health-based tech is continuing to grow. Workout tech such as the Mirror, Samsung's Smart Trainer, and the Ultrahuman app built to connect to an Apple Watch can track fitness goals, body changes, and even offer advice on healthy eating habits.
Work-From-Home Solutions
Due to the pandemic, more people than ever are working from home. Remote work is a trend that's likely going to continue for many, so home office automation goes a long way to simplify the workday. For example, smart displays are ideal for company-wide video calls where you can see relevant information and employees’ faces in front of fun AI backgrounds that conceal messy spaces. Noise-canceling headphones are already commonplace, but new noise-canceling windows help drown out neighbors doing yard work so your Zoom calls aren’t muddled by background audio. The increased bandwidth usage requires a stronger, faster connection than ever, and mesh Wi-Fi networks are expected to continue in popularity through the next year thanks to their ability to produce a high-speed connection throughout the entire home.
Lighting Systems with Sensors
The intelligence of lighting systems only continues to grow as systems hone their ability to notice subtleties of sound or gesture recognition. Some sensors already turn lights on or off if a person enters the room, but now they can adjust light intensity based on the amount of light in the room depending on the activity or time of day. Furthermore, light simulations will automatically go off in homes that have been unattended for long periods to increase security measures. Of course, all these features can be managed through apps on your mobile device.
Embracing Touchless Tech
The sensors used by lighting systems are only the beginning as touchless tech gains more acceptance. Presence detectors adjust the heating based on the number of bodies, and experts believe these sensors will one day be able to differentiate between different people and their movement patterns. This kind of technology could be integrated into security systems as an intrusion detector at night or when the home is unoccupied. Sensor technology extends to the bathroom too, with self-cleaning toilets and plumbing systems that can detect leaks, inform you before the issue magnifies, and even shut off the system to prevent disaster, as well as showers that automatically adjust the heat level based on your preferences.
Using Artificial Intelligence and Voice Control
Voice-controlled solutions like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant lead the way in offering autonomy for every member of the family, including the elderly, children, and the disabled. AI-enabled devices already help smart homes play music, turn lights on and off, check the weather, and more, and we're only going to see them increase in number. Smart TVs are also being used more as the central control system that manages all intelligent activities and devices within the house. The internet of things (the concept of connecting every item in the world to the internet) is still a complicated process to understand, but its progress in the smart home world will make everyday life easier, especially with a new connectivity standard known as Matter, which big-name players like Amazon, Google, and Apple have coalesced around to allow devices of different name brands communicate with each other. We anticipate more robotic solutions in 2022 and beyond that helps families with cooking, cleaning, babysitting, and overseeing our health.
What new smart home technology are you anticipating for 2022? Here at Origin Hi-Fi, we're excited to offer the newest cutting-edge tech the market has to offer, whether you're interested in lighting sensors or smart TVs. Give us a call today to see how you can bring automated solutions into the new year.