Freelance writer Russell Bowes outlines how the implementation of smart technologies can impact the way our homes are built and heated…
The home of the future is almost here. A phrase which has become a little overused in the past few decades. The difference in using it at the start of 2016 is that in a very real way, our homes are already becoming homes of the future. Smart, connected devices are permeating every room in our homes and almost every aspect of our daily lives. What makes this revolution much more muted than one might have expected is both the gradual rollout of new technology and the non-invasiveness of it.
Disruptive technologies are affecting and changing every aspect of our homes from the way they are built, using natural cement churned produced by bacteria or constructed from fungi, to how we interact with and control our homes through connected devices. Cloud computing, energy and water saving technologies are becoming ubiquitous across every room in the home and will become standard in the future.
Perhaps the most disruptive concept driving the adoption and application of new, smarter home technologies is what is known as ‘the internet of things’ (IoT). The internet of things is not a new idea. The concept has been around for several decades. At its most fundamental it is a simple idea. What if your fridge could tell when you run out of milk or when the butter was past its use-by date and could notify you and order more butter or milk? Pretty useful, and that is the IoT at a day-to-day level. Within the UK the most common application of this technology has so far been in home heating and energy usage.
In part this is due to the government’s aggressive rollout of smart meters which allow you to control every aspect of your heating from your mobile phone, at home or remotely. ‘Smarter’ devices can also control heating and lighting to work with natural light levels, warmth and weather and even shut off or switch on heating and lighting when you are away from home.
These and other technologies will combine to help consumers to better monitor energy their energy usage through connected heating systems and appliances and smartphone applications. This monitoring via apps and smarter, self-controlling technology will push down energy usage by making our use of heating and lighting much more focused. Imagine a world where your fridge freezer, washing machine and boiler can all switch off for peak energy price periods – whilst still keeping your food fresh, water hot enough to shower and getting your clothes clean.
More intelligent and thus lower energy usage will ultimately result in lower energy bills and in the end lower emissions.
As I mentioned earlier, smarter technology is also pervading how homes are being designed and built. Traditional house building with bricks and mortar is a carbon intensive process. New homes may use building materials such as natural cement created by bacteria and the reintroduction of straw-bale panels as a super insulator.
Roofs will also become smarter utilising super reflective tiles in warmer climates and bio solar roofs in moderate climates. These will combine habitats for pollinators alongside energy-generating panels and self-cleaning finishes. These technologies will help to lower mains energy usage with more homes generating a greater proportion of their energy through smart and green technologies. The follow on from this is a lower of energy bills and carbon emissions from people living in these homes.
Perhaps for the next few years the area we will see the greatest progress and uptake of smart technology and the internet of things is in home heating controls. Smart thermostats and heating controls give you almost immediate insight into your energy usage via smartphone apps. This is information which you can use to reduce your energy usage and bills whilst making your life a little more comfortable.
With devices such as NEST and competitors you can switch your heating and lighting off when you leave in the morning safe in the knowledge that should the temperature drop or it get dark before you get home both your heating and lighting will come on in time for you to come back to a warm and welcoming home without having wasted energy heating empty rooms and lighting an empty house. Intelligent thermostats will know how long it takes for your home to reach and maintain a specified temperature and will switch on at the optimum time to reach it.
As these devices are connected to the cloud and to your smartphone they can also be location activated, switching off as you leave and switching on as you return home without you having to pre-program timers. The major benefit of both of these is a reduction in overall energy usage, bills and carbon emissions.
Other applications of this type of connected technology which are just around the corner include the instinct vacuum cleaner – a dog like vacuum which will patrol your home using 3D mapping, smart toilets which recognise you and can analyse and monitor your excrement shedding light on the state of your health and microbiome. Bathrooms will also become smarter with gadgets such as Water Pebbles, a water activated shower timer to save water, and thus heating and energy wastage. The bedroom will also see the introduction of smart mattresses which track sleeping patterns, breathing and heart rate. Some may also prompt couples when they haven’t been intimate in a little while.
Russell Bowes
Freelance writer
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