In 2020 Homes Are Coming To Life, Literally

We all know and acknowledge that home automation is an inevitable path the world is set on. For many years, the interior design world has been concerned with style. It believes that it decides which direction the modern home will go in. However, it turns out, the tech sector has more of a say in this than it bargained for. Now, people are more concerned with practicality. It seems like in 2020, function over form is set to rise to new heights. An incredible array of automation technology is splurging out onto the scene. Technology is set to make our lives so much easier, more fun and comfortable, in ways that we didn’t even imagine before. Just 10 years ago, who would have thought that voice-controlled lighting would become the norm? It’s time to look ahead and realize homes are coming to life!

The central nerve system

Mark these words, in 2020, you’ll see an end to home assistant ecosystems. It’s unfortunate, but many companies are creating home assistants that you can only use, with their apps. For example, Amazon Alexa can only be used with the Amazon Smart Home Hub. The same goes for Apple, Google and Samsung devices. This creates an ecosystem that unintentionally, locks the mainstream consumer out. Why do you have to buy products that connect only with each other? That’s why Wink Hub 2 and products like it, are going to become the mainstream’s most popular central nerve system of the contemporary home.

Wink Hub 2, not only connects your at-home smart assistant device but also your lights, locks and sound systems; to name a few. Using the Wink Hub 2 app and your voice, you can change multiple things in your home without ever having to get up. Change the room temperature to be cooler, dim the lights and play some music, all while sitting on your couch. No matter what kind of smart devices you have, they should be compatible with a central hub, and guess what? The more you limit consumers from choosing their own ways of harmoniously connecting all their smart devices, the more you push them away. 2020, is the year in which this will all change.

The most powerful change

There are a plethora of home automation products. Everything in your home can be changed, altered and utilized, however you wish. But, the most powerful change in the home automation space, is the blinds. Now hold on a second, don’t think this is a mere exaggeration. Think about what this means. You can control when and how much natural light enters into your home. The sun itself can be blocked without ever having to move from a sitting or lying down position. In fact, you can make your home into a living thing by fitting such a device to your home.

Somfy is the leading brand in this part of the market. Their boast that child safety is enhanced because there are no hanging loose cords that could entrap and possibly strangle toddlers. It connects to your Wi-Fi and can be operated via your smartphone. You can set your prefered blind angle, so if you would like to have a subtle or acute angle as standard when the blinds are open, it will ‘remember’ this. Since the blinds don’t ever touch each other or rather, lay on top of each other, your blinds will look better for longer. No bending, no scratch marks and no losing of their shape. The blinds are able to be set to a timer. Much like you would set your smartphone to automatically activate a blue light filter at a certain time of day, your Somfy blinds work in exactly the same way.

Security and comfort

Comfort and security, in many respects, are synonymous. You wouldn’t feel comfortable living in an unsafe home and no home that is unsafe is ever comfortable. That’s why systems like the Nest by Google are so important to the world of home automation. This technology takes into account how modern door lock systems don’t always provide a great degree of security. They are able to be practically fooled. Skilled burglars will use forged keys, credit cards and lock picks to enter into homes. But with a professional Nest Installation, you receive a doorbell and door lock. 

When someone uses the doorbell, you can use the doorbell’s camera to see who it is. You can move the camera around to look up, down and side to side. Giving you an educated look at what’s going on and who’s outside, you’re less likely to be fooled into opening the door for someone who means you harm. The door lock is digital, and you set a number code to lock and unlock the door. It will lock the door automatically after a set period of time after you’ve shut the door. 

 

However, you’re also getting a thermostat as well as smoke and carbon dioxide detectors. Using the app on your smartphone, set the temperature for your home. Each room is able to be set to its own temperature, giving every member in your household climate control. 

A secret defense

Someway, somehow, an uninvited guest has entered into your home. What can you do to protect yourself? With a Wyze Cam of course. This device turns on and records footage it’s surroundings when it hears sound or detects motion. It live streams the 1080p footage straight to your smartphone. To your delight and annoyance, you can watch a burglar inside your home. This gives you the homeowner more leverage with your home insurance company. We all know home insurance companies will haggle with you and drag their feet when it comes to using their services to replace or receive a lump sum. With footage of things being stolen or damaged, you’re much more likely to be compensated as you have undeniable evidence.

Total control

We’ve spoken about how ecosystems are negative because they limit consumer options. But what if you had a brand that encompassed everything? That’s what Control4 is, it makes absolutely everything in the way of mainstream home automation options.

Control4 OS 3 is an ecosystem but at least it incorporates all the major solutions that homeowners want. Yes, it’s unique to the OS platform and that means Android systems are left out of the loop. But you get a list of products that all fall under the Control4 OS 3 Smart Home.

  • Smart lighting
  • Home security
  • Intercom anywhere
  • Home theater
  • Voice control
  • Multi-room audio
  • Universal remote

These products provide a lot of automation for various parts of the home. You control your entertainment systems from one remote. You can control any of the devices with just your voice. You can speak with anyone in the household using the intercom system, but do so anywhere i.e. using your smartphone as the microphone. On top of this, the home security system makes use of HD cameras which you can set up in and around the home. The smart lighting allows you to control the ambient lighting in each room with just a few swipes. If you’re going to jump into a home automation ecosystem, you better bring your trunks and dive all the way.

The best sound system

There are sound system products like Amazon’s Alexa, but let’s be honest. They aren’t specialized products and you can’t expect brilliant sound quality from products that have been designed to be small and portable. The Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar, on the other hand, is a product from a dedicated sound system company. Many believe Sennheiser to be the best sound system manufacturer in the world. Many DJs, music artists and moviemakers in Hollywood, use this brand.

The Ambeo Soundbar is voice-activated and provides 3-D sound for the entire home. It can also be wall-mounted if you’re like to create a home cinema with 360-degree sound. Bear in mind, this system is not designed to be portable but you do get jaw-droppingly good sound quality. With a deep 30Hz bass, 13 high-end drivers and a 5.1.4. sound experience, it offers the most immersive advanced sound on the market right now. It is a little pricey, standing at over $2,400, but you can count on its reliability no matter how loud you bump your music.

Some kind of product for home automation had been on everyone’s wish list for last year. However, the market was smaller than one would hope and not too many affordable options were out there. In 2020, this is set to change as smaller companies are trying hard to break the monopoly that big brands like Google, Samsung and Amazon enjoy. The main home automation areas that you should be concerned about are your lighting, both natural and artificial and home security. Once you get used to having better, more fluid door locks and cameras, as well as lighting styles in the home, you will find it easier to venture out into more things like entertainment. Smart blinds and table lamps are easy to understand and use, start there!

 

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