FIVE WAYS SMART TECHNOLOGY CAN IMPROVE YOUR HOME

The future is here. Smart home adoption is about to explode, changing the way that everyday people around the world live, according to a 2016 Business Insider Intelligence report. America will be first to adopt new technologies en-masse and it’s likely that Australia will be close behind.

With that in mind we have a look at five ways smart technology can improve your home right now, whilst being a point of difference for potential buyers.

1. Gain peace of mind with smart locks

Smart locks are unbelievably practical and useful. You can turn your smartphone into a key and set your home to automatically unlock as you approach with a smart phone in pocket.

Create virtual keys for families and guests and decide how long you’d like to grant them access for.

Cautious parents will love the activity log feature that allows you to receive notifications every time the door is unlocked and read a full report of who enters and exits your home.

2. Smart toilets (seriously)

You may be scoffing at the very mention of a smart toilet and we don’t blame you. But bare with us – they’re a rather nifty invention. First of all, they automatically flush thanks to a sensor that detects when your body moves away – forever ending problems with negligent flushers, as well as germ transferral between handle and user.

Several of them even include features that preserve water, protect against overflow, self-clean the bowl and self-deodorise. There’s even some that include MP3 players so that you can listen to tunes while you do your thing.

3. A new way to store food

If you’re renovating your kitchen soon you should consider installing a smart fridge. Every time you close the door, your smart fridge will take photos of all of its contents, which automatically sync to all connected smart phones.

Family members can collaborate on shopping lists through connected apps so that you’ll never be caught without a list at the supermarket again.

You’ll even be able to use your fridges in-built screen and sound system to listen to your favourite Spotify playlists or watch Netflix while you prepare food or entertain.

4. Light it up

On a more practical and useful note, how about smart lighting? There’s countless products on the market that allow you to improve the way you light up your home.

Dim your lights or turn them off and on with your smartphone, or by using voice control. Set them to turn off and on automatically while you’re away to scare off would-be robbers. Even better – you can set your lights to automatically turn on when your smart locks open or turn off when your connected car drives out of the garage.

5. Be more fire wise

Keeping your family safe is by far one of the best features that any system can offer. Aside from smart locks, smart fire alarms may be the best way of doing so, with a range of useful features that will give you valuable peace of mind.

With a smart fire alarm, you can receive smart phone notifications as soon as your fire alarm goes off, telling you what the problem is and which alarm is sounding. They can also self-detect battery levels and check their sensors so that you can be sure they’re always working. You can integrate the alarms with other smart appliances. For example, you could set all your lights to automatically turn on when the alarm sounds to help you evacuate.

There’s no doubt that smart technology can improve your standard of living. Stay ahead of the curve with these handy gadgets and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them!