It's time to make your home smarter

Smart living is changing fast with innovative ways to control and improve your home. Find out how you can future-proof your property during Smart Home Week

(Getty Images)

Smart Home Week 2019 (20-26 May), is a showcase for connected and integrated home technology. The aim is to inform, educate and reassure UK consumers about the benefits of living in a smart, connected way. At a forum to launch the week a group of experts discussed smart living.

Dave Ward, European product director, Ring, the security camera and video doorbell company, said, “It’s about convenience, simplicity, and protecting the home. Nobody has ever said they wanted a less-secure property. People value being able to see, hear and speak to whoever’s at the door from anywhere in the world.”

Increasingly, smart products talk to each other, so that video doorbell feed could talk to your Amazon Echo or appear on your TV. Samsung runs SmartThings which enables products to work together. Abbie Byrom, director, global partner marketing, SmartThings Inc. said, “It’s challenging to do it, but it underscores our commitment to an open ecosystem. There’s been stress-testing, certification, a guarantee that products will all work together.”

David Mudd, global digital & connected product certification director at the British Standards Institution, emphasised the importance of this. “Building a framework and testing it is about engaging with every part of the chain, deciding what good practice is. That gives the consumer more choice.”

Turn off heating automatically

It’s the consumer who benefits, and even the environment. tado° makes smart heating products. Paul Hughes, head of PR & communications at tado°, said, “In the average EU home, 79 per cent of the energy use is heating and hot water. You can make savings without sacrificing anything by not wasting energy.” tado° can turn heating off automatically when it’s not needed.

From controlling your lights to security it pays to make your home smarter (Getty images)

Similarly, you can automate or adjust lighting inside and outside your home with Philips Hue via your mobile phone from anywhere in the world. Simon Collinson, commercial director for Philips Hue, explained, “Smart lighting means you can control your lighting to create the ambience to suit your mood around key occasions, such as for winding down before bedtime.”

Smart locks to deter burglars

All very well, but is it secure? Nigel Fisher, managing director Yale UK and global account director EMEA, knows all about security. “We’re making smart locks and we’ve seen evidence of would-be burglars giving up, because they can’t see a cylinder on a smart lock. With a smart lock, if you’ve given someone a code, you can just delete it. No more replacing the lock if someone loses their key.

And what about homes of the future, what role will housebuilders have to play in the development of smart homes? Fisher said: “There are over 27million homes in the UK, but we’re only seeing under 200,000 new builds per year. So, whilst we will see more new homes being built with smart technology in mind, education, dispelling mistrust and demonstrating cost savings for existing homeowners will do far more to increase smart home adoption.”

As Rod Slater, head of smart tech & IoT for Exertis, explained, it’s all about buying the right brand. “A Chinese product may be cheaper, but it may not be updated. A decent brand will stay secure.”

One more thing. As Mark Coffey, director of trading for Swinton Insurance, explained, “Soon, having smart home products such as security cameras and leak monitoring gadgets could even reduce your insurance rates.”

To kick start Smart Home Week, tech guru Jason Bradbury will be taking part in a pop-up tech clinic at Charing Cross Station from 11am-3pm on 18 May. See smarthomeweek.co.uk or check out Smart Home Week on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook