What's New in Smart Home Technology

I attended Design Chicago on October 4 and attended a seminar on Smart Home Technology

Today I’ll fill you in on a little of what I learned about smart homes, what’s happening now, what do they foresee in the future.

The biggest misconception of smart home technology is that it is difficult to use. I’m envisioning myself with five remotes and things turning on that I don’t know how to shut off. Yikes!

Smart home technology is moving toward voice control. Okay, I can do that!

Voice control is especially great for seniors that are planning on staying in their home as long as possible. This means less frustration for them and for the relative getting the phone call to fix the remote etc.

We have been installing motorized shades that operate with a remote. Now you have the option of operating the same shades with voice control using either Google or Alexa.

How convenient is it to tell your shades to open in the morning while you are still in bed. No more stubbing your toe in the dark.

Photo from Hunter Douglas

The second misconception is that smart home technology is only for the luxury client.

There are different levels of technology you can purchase. For example, one in four homes currently have a smart speaker.

Appliance manufacturers are incorporating new technology into their appliances. Thermador plans to send updates to clients to enter into their appliances so they will have new features without purchasing a new appliance. I really like that idea.

Photo by Thermador from the Masterpiece Collection

Tip: Make sure when you purchase technology, that it has an open ecosystem and will communicate with other items in your home. This way you can use voice control to tell several items to shut off at once.

In the future? Eventually an integrator will arrive at your home as a monthly service to update your home.