You wake up to the sound of your alarm, but just when you get out of your bed, the smell of freshly brewed coffee hits you.
What a great start to the day!
For most people, this is a myth. As a 9-5 worker, you hardly have enough time to prepare breakfast or even get ready in the morning, so how can I afford a butler and a caretaker for my home?
Surprisingly, you do not need a lot of money for that.
In this tech-driven world, everything is automated. Even your daily routine, home, and everything around you. How is that possible? The answer is simple: Internet of Things or IoT.
If you are still confused about IoT, keep reading. This write-up will mainly look at some of the best ways to utilize IoT for living a smarter and healthier lifestyle at home.
What Is IoT?
First things first, what exactly is IoT, or the Internet of Things? Does this mean your home will be on the internet?
Well, not exactly.
Internet of Things, or IoT, is a network of physical objects that are connected via the internet. Now that the internet is accessible and affordable, all thanks to residential home internet brands like Xfinity, things have become easier.
Within IoT, most of these objects have sensors, software, and advanced technologies that help in communicating with each other. Consequently, this helps in automating the whole house, its systems, and appliances.
This leaves a question: how is this possible?
Here is a step-by-step guide to explain the IoT at work:
- The appliances use sensors to detect changes in the surroundings. This change can be a minor temperature drop or a variation in light intensity.
- This detected change is sent as a message via the internet to the cloud platform.
- The data, once transferred, is then processed to make a decision.
- This decision is implemented in the form of action, so the device maintains the temperature or adjusts light intensity based on the setting.
There are so many different kinds of smart devices used within a home. These devices can be as simple as smart lighting or as complex as an automated heating and cooling system.
How IoT Is Making Homes Smarter?
Now that you understand the power of IoT systems and how they work, it’s time to look at different ways IoT is making homes smarter and better.
As mentioned earlier, IoT is mainly helping in keeping the devices connected via the internet. Consequently, devices get to communicate via the internet all the time, and each task is fully automated based on the information fed to the system.
So, it helps mainly in offering convenience to the user. With the help of your smart home, you don’t just enjoy a luxurious lifestyle, but also save time and effort. Now, all thanks to IoT, you can control your home appliances by using voice control, automate your routine tasks based on your convenience, and manage your home remotely via the internet.
Since home security is one of the biggest issues for homeowners, IoT offers a suitable solution to that issue as well.
With a smart security system, residents can now stay informed about intruders, unlock doors, emergencies, and more. The best thing is that the security system can be monitored remotely, and in some cases, it has a trigger alarm that informs the residents, homeowners, as well as the rescue teams.
Apart from safety and convenience, it also helps in cost-cutting by optimizing the utility bills. For instance, most of the smart appliances used in smart homes help in automatically adjusting heat, light, and appliances when they are not in use.
How IoT Is Contributing To a Healthier Lifestyle at Home?
One of the biggest misconceptions about smart homes and IoT is that they can only help in improving your lifestyle, but can’t help you improve your health.
In reality, your smart home doesn’t just guarantee a luxury lifestyle but also ensures the wellness of your family via an automated healthy routine and health monitoring.
While most of the IoT devices are related to home appliances, there are health and fitness monitoring devices as well. For instance, fitness trackers, wearable devices, medicine dispensers, smart scales, and testing machines that can ensure the basic health of the individual by consistent monitoring.
Apart from the health monitoring, maintaining and purifying the outside environment is equally important.
There are IoT devices that can reduce the impact on the health and body by reducing the pollutants, irritants, and allergens from the air. Moreover, they can also ensure a clean water supply and a healthy living space, so your family can reduce the chance of any illness.
In addition to this, with the help of automation, you can ensure a healthy lifestyle. You can set your routine, and eventually, this improves your overall lifestyle, keeping your body calm, healthy, and productive.
What Are the Possible Challenges Within the IoT Home Industry?
With so many perks, one might think that nothing can stand in the way of IoT’s dominance. To help you understand the reason, here are some of the main challenges that are hindering its widespread adoption.
- Since IoT devices are highly dependent on the internet, any technical issue or internet outage may end up impacting the whole system.
- The biggest issue that the automation industry is facing right now is related to security and privacy. Most of the smart homes and their networks can be hacked. This means that unless there is a physical safety barrier, a hacked system may be useless.
- IoT devices can be handled and controlled remotely, which makes it easier for intruders to become untraceable while breaching privacy.
- Within the IoT system, only a specific number of devices can be attached. This means that if the house is bigger and devices exceed a certain number, it gets very challenging to maintain the system.
- There is no single communication protocol, which means every device needs to be handled and operated differently. This can create confusion within the network and may even interrupt the work of devices.
- Setting up a smart home system is quite complex, so it can cost a lot. Even though the long-term financial impact can convince more people to join, the installation and equipment cost is so high that most people avoid it altogether.
The Future of Smart Homes
Regardless of all these challenges, it is safe to say that the future of smart homes is bright. In the future, we will get to see more smart homes, buildings, and eventually, this will help our lifestyle and wellness as well.
- In just a few years, we will also see AI and fully automated systems taking over the world. This will eventually normalize the use of smart homes and systems.
- Apart from this, overall smart home equipment will become affordable, as more manufacturing companies will jump into the market.
- Smart homes will soon surpass the convenience stage, and the focus will shift to wellness, making sure that residents are not just safe, but also healthy.
- As cybersecurity is becoming a big concern, more companies will jump into the market with solutions, making sure that home security is never an issue.
- The smart home industry will shift its focus to sustainability, making sure it promotes green energy sources with dynamic energy management.
Simply put, the future of the smart home industry is bright. In the next few years, smart homes will become the norm, and traditional-style homes will slowly go out of fashion.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can IoT improve daily life at home?
IoT can help homeowners monitor and control all the appliances remotely. This will eventually offer the homeowner a sense of security, safety, and peace of mind.
What is smart health through IoT?
Most of the smart health devices today are wearable, so tracking the vitals is much easier. Moreover, it helps in offering smarter, faster, and efficient health solutions that can help the healthcare system as well.