The future of smart homes is ablaze with new and growing trends, securing more comfort, control, security, and health (all the while lowering your carbon footprint and looking very sleek and sexy while doing so). Add the increasingly dynamic tech world we live in to the BIG pandemic-fueled, connectivity and innovation beta test the last two years have been, and voilà, you have a rich breeding ground giving rise to the skyrocketing automated, intuitive, mind-bending industry that is the world of smart homes.
Smarter grid
According to Deloitte, 38% of Americans have connected more devices to their home internet since the pandemic began. Currently, devices aren’t all “speaking” the same dialect of their common IP language, and so, things get a little tricky (and impossible at times) on the interoperability front. Enter Matter Alliance. Matter is creating a common language that will ensure your devices communicate seamlessly and play nice. Chief contributors to the alliance include Apple, Google, Amazon, and Wyze Labs. We started reporting on Matter in 2021 and will continue to follow along as things develop.
Smarter lights
Smart lighting systems are fundamental to the connected residence. From creating a homey ambiance to invoking happy and healthy vibes, lighting keeps broadening its scope of influence. Adding to the convenience and ease of controlling your dwelling’s lights with voice, gesture, and handy apps, progressive features will increase your security and lower your energy costs. Home systems will gauge the amount of natural light available, adjust intensity automatically, and simulate movement to up the security of one’s house.
Smart homes are geared toward conservation. The environment already benefits from smart lights that only illuminate occupied spaces (unless requested otherwise for security reasons). Predicted trends for 2022 include an increase in greater use of green energy such as lighting that adjusts automatically with the conditions of the room, e.g dimming when the TV is turned on.
Smarter appliances
Smart applications within homes are increasingly commonplace and expected. While Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant continue dominating autonomous, voice, and gesture control, expect to see speakers like Google Nest Hub, Amazon Echo, and Sonos One in smart homes in 2022. Your TV (equipped with extra features like Google Assistant and Alexa), will continue growing in its role of Mission Control as you enjoy directing lighting and heating from it, as you are entertained.
Your kitchen and bathroom are in for a treat in the new year too. Microwaves with built-in cameras and guided cooking assistance invite you to discover your inner chef, monitor your food as it cooks, and share your progress on social media if that’s how you roll. Meanwhile, bathroom technology trends such as self-cleaning toilets and heat-adjusting showers equipped with the Moxie® showerhead and wireless speaker are about to change your life.
Smarter wellness
Your 2022 smart home promises to be the sanctuary of your dreams and wellness guide, monitoring and detecting variations in your health. So while your smart yoga pants lead you through a Hatha Yoga sequence, your Ketra + Lutron smart light system gently massages your circadian rhythm. Sleep monitoring devices scan you for early signs of depression, and temperature monitoring systems (the new standard in 2022), proactively look to detect any potential health conditions. Count on smart wellness to track changes in your body, enhance optimal wellbeing, and offer advice on a diet tailored to your health needs. Special shout out to the first smart bra that properly monitors heart and breath rate.
Smarter AI
Smarter systems responsible for orchestrating uniquely curated smart home experiences make use of AI to manage your casita even more smartly. One of the main home automation technology trends is the use of AI at the backend and the front end. Imagine monitoring the food cooking in your microwave while making your way home from the office. The fridge is being scanned to compile an updated grocery list, while the shower self-adjusts to the perfect temperature (and soundtrack) for your arrival. SHARK ION has just freshly vacuumed the floors, and one simple command, “Play the home-from-work scene,” and your virtual assistant a la Josh.ai or Alexa, dims the lighting to a simmering glow and cues up Yo-Yo Ma’s Salut d’Amour… Bliss!
AI-enabled helpers such as Nest Smart Thermostat watch closely (and oh so cleverly) to learn your habits and preferences. The days of smart home users having a primary level of control over the management of their homes are gone. Heightened capabilities in executive control like those offered by Samsung SmartThings, coupled with a wider range of automation features, is a trend that is here to stay.
An even better-connected home on the horizon for the new year: prepare to be happier and healthier, all the while being catered to by your even smarter at-home entourage.
Responsive Living, the term coined by Acoustic Architects founders, Aaron Flint and Spencer Hauldren, is the concept of seamlessly enhancing the client’s unique lifestyle using smart home technology. Responsive Living allows you to interact with your space via touch input, voice command, and predictive automation, placing you in full control of your home.
If you would like to learn more about integrating new systems into your smart home system, feel free to connect with us. We will be happy to schedule a demo with you.
For more information, visit acousticarchitects.net.
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