Current situation and advantages of home automation

Smart-home

In this article, we will try to outline the current situation of a sector as emerging and interesting as home automation. And first of all, it would be convenient to try to define what home automation is.

What is home automation?

In short, it could be defined as a system capable of managing and controlling any installation in a building (from inside and outside of it) such as air conditioning, lighting, motors, security, audiovisuals, etc. 

The key aspect of its definition is in the integraciónIn other words, a heating system that can be controlled from the internet is not a home automation system, since it would not be able to control the rest of the installations. This is a very important aspect since many times the customer is confused with the adjective "home automation" to equipment that really is not.

Advantages offered by home automation

Intelligent building

All the advantages offered by a home automation system they are very extensive, and it is more evident if the difference is made between the domestic and the tertiary sectors. Logically, the reasons and advantages of including home automation vary depending on the type and use of the building.

Home automation

In the case of a home, an installation is generally linked to comfort and convenience, although aspects such as security and energy saving also intervene. For this, these examples serve:

Scenes

One scene consists of the control of several installations with a single command. For example, by means of an order through an application, it would be possible to turn on the TV with our favorite channel, turn on the lights at 30% intensity, lower the blinds and set the temperature of that room at 21º.

The feeling of create environments or scenes with lighting In a room it is, at the same time comfortable, really spectacular, since the client does not have to go through the room to get the right atmosphere.

Air conditioning

Home automation system

Possible control both AC and heating from a single centralized device, consulting the different temperatures and managing them more efficiently.

Blinds

For example, it is really useful and practical to make a general lowering of the blinds when leaving the house. It is also very common edition of time schedules to be lowered or raised at a certain time. This also saves energy during the hours when the sun hits the windows directly.

Integration of facilities

Having "all the facilities in one" generates great comfort for the user, who has the control of irrigation, video entry, swimming pool, doors, etc. in the palm of his hand.

User interfaces

Home automation user interface

This is one of the key aspects, since it is what really offers the feeling of control and comfort. Through touch screens, special mechanisms or mobile applications, it is possible to carry out a comprehensive control of the installation, including the control of all audiovisuals, managing multiple content platforms on the market.

Security

Finally, home security charges much more integers, since we ensure, for example, the cut of the water and / or gas supply in case of leakage, the detection of fires, etc.

Home automation in the tertiary sector

We understand how third sector buildings for hotels, offices, museums, government, factories, etc.

In this type of building, the inclusion of home automation is fundamentally linked to the cost reduction through energy savings and maintenance of facilities. These are some examples:

  • Through enlightenment: In many buildings, there are no longer any switches, since the percentage of intensity of the lights varies automatically depending on the input from the outside.
  • Through the blinds and blinds: in this case, a second "layer" of the façade is generated, capable of stopping or taking advantage of solar radiation through automatic operation.
  • Through air conditioning: with aspects such as the automatic shutdown of the air conditioning when a window is open for more than 3 minutes or no people are detected in certain rooms.
  • Through central software: in this case, the maintenance staff will be able to check the status of each of the facilities, as well as activate them without having to move around the building.

Types of home automation systems

Wired home automation system

There are many manufacturers and systems of various ranges and categories, which differ mainly by their communication technology. This part is somewhat technical, but we will try to briefly outline the key differences between the existing system types.

Wired vs wireless

A key differentiation is whether system elements communicate wired or wireless. Today, wired systems are the most robust and those that provide the most solutions to the end user.

Wireless systems (mainly Zigbee, radio frequency, Wifi and Zwave) are less reliable than wired ones, but also the best solution for small projects where it is not feasible to carry out works.

Standard vs proprietary systems

homekit

Another important distinction is between systems with standard or proprietary technology. A standard system uses a communications protocol, and there are many manufacturers that develop products capable of understanding each other within the same installation. This is the case of the KNX standard (the most used in Europe), LonWorks (American) or X10 (which uses the carrier currents of the electrical network although it is little used in Spain).

Respecto a proprietary systems, each manufacturer uses its own protocol of communication, with which, and each time they are mutating more towards standardized models.

At this point, it is interesting to also highlight recent solutions from other types of service companies, as is the case of Apple with your HomeKit or Google Home.

These types of solutions, at the moment more strategic for this type of company, offer small home-oriented features, based on Wi-Fi communication to communicate with certain products capable of being controlled by an app. But for the moment, it cannot be considered that they can respond to the needs required by a home automation installation that integrates all its facilities.

What does a home automation installation entail?

Home automation system voice control

Logically, to answer this question, we should first go back to the previous point so that, depending on the chosen system, consider the installation One way or another.

In the case of wired systems, they need an infrastructure ducting and custom wiring, which has the disadvantage of the need to carry out chases and added electrical work. But therefore, they also offer much more reliability.

In the case of wireless systems, these works will not be necessary Annoying add-ons, but it will be crucial to get full, well-designed coverage to minimize their lack of robustness.

Cost

The cost of an installation varies significantly depending on the characteristics and equipment of the building in question, so it is very difficult to give an approximate figure.

In some study, it has been concluded that the average cost of installing a home automation system is 3% of the cost of the building itself.

Examples

BBVA vela building

These are some success stories in which a home automation system has been incorporated.

The first of them is a promotion of homes with home automation in Madrid, which incorporates a complete comprehensive control system. The system implemented was through KNX standard, and all the installations of the house are controlled: lighting, air conditioning, blinds, blinds, security, video entry, and audiovisuals.

Another example but in this case focused on the tertiary sector would be the new BBVA building, called "La Vela". East large office center integrates control of lighting and exterior blinds, with the aim of promoting great energy savings. This installation takes into account the climatic factors so that the lights and blinds are automated.

These they are the main axes of a sector as broad as home automation, with many solutions and trends. Probably in a few years we will see advances and improvements, so we will be attentive to count them.


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