Integrating Smart Solutions with Sustainability to Lead an Efficient Life Are we really going to have smart homes any time soon? Let's explore

Coming back to a dirty, non-dusted house after a long day of work doesn't sound very pleasing, is it? Imagine living in an automated world of technology you'd b able to command a robot to tidy up your house with a click or receiving an alert if someone tries to enter the premises without permission, saving you the headache of checking every drawer and cupboard being locked before leaving for work.

How easy would life be? Well, that's how the concept of Smart Homes works. While consumers spend tons of money in designing a beautiful home, they spare hardly any time thinking which solutions could help them add "convenience" to their life. The time has come for homeowners to think about how connected their home is and how they can leverage the technology to reduce dependence on people.

Smart homes represent a collection of solutions and devices that help you solve small, everyday problems. For instance, a smart speaker can also remind you about your grocery list (Amazon Echo), a security camera can detect motion and all the way to a lighting system that turns on the lights when you about reach home at night.

Home automation allows house-owners to leverage technology solutions available for convenience and secure living. The concept sounds fun but being bombarded with different technology solutions available can end up overwhelming the customers. Hence, arises the need for a place where a prospective smart homeowner can go to seek consultation on the integrated solutions they require.

Comes in the aggregators for smart home solutions that educate consumers with practical ideas and helps them in the process of implementation. Smarthome NX is the only aggregator in the home IoT space in Asia that is making it easy for consumers to adopt a Smart home by spreading awareness and handholding the customer.

Talking to Entrepreneur India, the Founder & Director of Smarthome NX, Dhaval Doshi helped us understand the "misunderstood" concept of home automation:

A Misunderstood Concept

"I think the concept of home automation is misunderstood. In today's age of "Internet of Things' and connected life, we need to rethink home automation and start using the term "Smart homes'," Doshi said, emphasizing that the home automation solutions were built to make a smarter lifestyle possible.

Smart home space is extremely fragmented by different players in the value chain. Manufacturers are coming up with innovative products that are essentially divided the plug & play devices like an Amazon Echo or a Philips Hue bulb and home automation solutions that connects everything in your house to the internet. This could include voice interfaces, the ability to detect temperature, motion, etc.

These solutions provide customers with the convenience of leveraging technology through an app on their phone. Shedding light on how Smarthome NX comes into play, Doshi enthused, "Our team helps in identifying and bundling the right solutions and therefore, makes it easy to set it up," adding that their team hooks up the customers with local consultants who can help them to adopt a Smart home.

The Game-Changer Tech

The penetration of technologies like IoT (Internet of Things) and artificial intelligence in home automation space has changed the definition of home automation to smart homes. Doshi believes that via cloud connectivity, these technologies have helped in the storage of data, data analytics and so much more. "For example, a smart connected camera can enable an AI software resting on the cloud to detect faces and that face recognition is possible because it's an internet connected device."

Smarthome NX is currently working on a smart AI-based discovery platform that will make it easier for consumers to not only build their smart home but also manage it. Their easy approach for educating consumers about different solutions available in the market and the ways in which they can live better has helped many build their dream smart home.

With an array of products and solutions in automation, lighting, smart security and entertainment, the bootstrapped venture is changing the way homeowners live at home with technology. They have tied up with 200 solution providers across India who represent 50+ brands and are piloting a "service-oriented' approach for selling these technology devices - by doing home demos and explaining them the benefits of these devices.

"We create content which goes beyond the product itself, we talk about saving electricity, about thinking more functionality in your home, smarter way to do a wedding, a more connected way in technology to give a gift to someone, a smarter way to redeem the carbon footprint of your home," Dhaval stated.

Green Solutions

Have you ever heard of treadmills that generate energy when you run on them? Well, they exist and so do other solutions that help you live a more efficient life that involves green building solutions like a solar panel. Unconsciously, we consume tonnes of electric energy on daily basis increasing the carbon footprint we leave on earth.

Smart homes provide sustainable solutions to identify areas where the electric usage can be reduced and green energy can be incorporated. In a bid to contribute to the "Smart Living', Smarthome NX is introducing green products and solutions for customers to adopt as a part of their "smart' living initiative. This will include products in water harvesting, solar and more.

"We have systems and solutions identifying if you are there in your house or not and switch off your light accordingly. You'll get alerts on the phone when your monthly energy consumption gets too high so you can get a little conservative about using electricity," Dhaval said, adding, "We are working with solar panel integrators that would harness renewable energy in your house."