Smart Homes

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The Basics

Smart Home: Definition, How They Work, Pros and Cons (Investopedia, Feb. 15, 2024)

• A smart home allows homeowners to control appliances, thermostats, lights, and other devices remotely using a smartphone or tablet through an internet connection.
• Smart homes can be set up through wireless or hardwired systems.
• Smart home technology provides homeowners with convenience and cost savings.
• Security risks and bugs continue to plague makers and users of smart home technology.
• Though full-scale home automation may cost thousands of dollars, smaller individual products costing less than $100 can get homeowners started on smart home products.

What Is Home Automation and How Does It Work? (security.org, Jan. 30, 2024)

“Home automation is the automatic control of electronic devices in your home. These devices are connected to the Internet, which allows them to be controlled remotely. With home automation, devices can trigger one another so you don’t have to control them manually via an app or voice assistant.”

The Advantages of a Smart House (SFGate, Dec. 15, 2021)

“There are many benefits of a smart home. Smart home systems with IoT (internet of things) applications take advantage of automation technology and modern building techniques to give homeowners a new level of control and access to information about their homes. Many new homes are built with smart home products included in the build, with automation as a key design goal. Existing homes can become smart homes during a major renovation. Or, smart home systems such as smart heating and cooling and smart lightbulbs, can often be added to an existing home In either case, the advantages of smart homes can be substantial.”

Smart Home Devices (Wirecutter)

“To help make life easier, we've researched and reviewed the best smart-home and automation gear. Keep your home safe with intelligent locks and security systems, and improve energy efficiency with smart light bulbs and thermostats. If you're new to automation, never fear—our picks are geared toward versatility and ease of use.”

How to Get Started

Guide to Smart Home Devices & Tech (Consumer Reports, Apr. 12, 2024)

“Consumer Reports tests a variety of smart home devices, including smart speakers, smart TVs, wireless security cameras, video doorbells, smart thermostats, and smart locks, with more product categories in the works. Our experts help you find the best products for your needs and make the most of them with guides to installation, setup, voice control, and automation.”

Best Smart Home Devices of 2024 (c|net, Feb. 22, 2024)

This list focuses narrowly on the best product in each smart home subcategory.

The Best Smart Home Devices for 2024 (PC Magazine, Feb. 14, 2024)

“You can make your home a little more livable—and a lot more automated—by adding appliances and devices you can control from anywhere. [PC Magazine] tested hundreds of smart home products in more than 20 categories to help determine which ones are best for every room in (and out of) the house.”

How to Build a Smart Home: A Step-by-Step Guide 2024 (Techopedia, Dec. 22, 2023)

“Transforming your living space into a smart home is more than just an upgrade. It’s about enhancing convenience and efficiency. With this smart home guide, you’ll learn the essentials of smart home installation, starting from selecting the right smart house devices to integrating systems like Google Home.”

The Ultimate Guide to Setting Up Your Smart Home (Wired, Feb. 23, 2023)

”With a myriad of ecosystems and standards to navigate, not to mention the diverse array of devices, the smart-home scene is daunting. [Wired] put together this smart-home guide to highlight your options, explain the jargon, and help you understand the consequences of the choices you make.”

Your Complete Smart Home Guide (Security.org, Jan. 30, 2024)

This guide will tell you everything you need to know about a smart home: what it is, what it may include, and how you can get one for yourself.

Benefits: Energy Efficiency & Security

Home Security and Home Automation (U.S. News, Mar. 6, 2024)

“Home automation involves using technology to make your home work better for you. Powered by sensors, software, and wireless protocols (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and Zigbee), everyday appliances in your home can do their jobs automatically. These “smart devices,” which include door locks, lights, thermostats, plugs, and other gadgets, communicate with each other and with your smart home security system. You can control smart home devices using an automated schedule, another smart device, or remotely from your smartphone.”

Smart Energy Management in Residential Buildings: The Impact of Knowledge and Behavior (Scientific Reports, Jan. 19, 2024)

The findings demonstrated that by lowering energy use and enhancing overall building performance, residential buildings that implement smart energy consumption management systems may move toward a more sustainable future.

New Model Shows How to Make Smart Homes More Frugal (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Apr. 1, 2021)

In short, Sowers and his colleagues built a system that crunches a combination of hourly market prices, spot prices (updated every five minutes), and day-ahead prices (determined by energy market prices established a day ahead of time to reduce volatility) to predict the cheapest time to schedule residential loads such as dishwashers, washers, dryers, and the charging of electric vehicles.

Can Your Smart Device Save You Energy and Money? Here’s What to Look For. (ASE, Mar. 29, 2021)

• Does the smart device schedule operations or automatically turn off appliances when you don’t need them?
• Does the smart device alert you to high energy use?
• Does your smart device alert you to changes in energy costs?
• Does your utility offer rebates or programs for grid-enabled devices?

The Impact of Smart Homes on Energy Conservation and Demand Management (ResearchGate, Nov. 2018)

The results indicate that smart homes can reduce overall energy consumption by an average of 30% and peak demand by up to 20%. This reduction not only represents a substantial cost saving for homeowners but also suggests a scalable opportunity for enhancing the energy efficiency of residential sectors. Moreover, demand-side management enabled by smart technologies presents a viable strategy for utility companies to stabilize the grid during peak times, ultimately contributing to environmental sustainability.

Home Automation and Accessibility

These Smart Home Devices Can Enhance Independence for People With Disabilities and Mobility Needs (Wirecutter, Apr. 4, 2024)

“[F]or those who live with accessibility challenges, smart-home technology can be a powerful enabler, one that allows them to live a more independent and empowered life.”

How Smart Home Technology Made My Home More Accessible (The Verge, Mar. 7, 2024)

”In many ways, smart home tech represents accessibility and assistive technology at its very best. It’s not merely pragmatic — it’s empowering. It takes ostensibly mundane everyday objects like lamps and garage doors and microwaves and turns them into spectacular, borderline magical marvels.

“For many in the disability community, this transformation means the difference between inclusion and independence or exclusion and dependence.”

Smart Home Technology: A Game-Changer for Disability Support and Care (LDRFA, Jan. 6, 2023)

Smart home technology can benefit those with disabilities by providing enhanced accessibility, independence, safety and security, and enhancing quality of life.

“Smart home technology has come a long way in the last few years. No longer just a novelty or relegated to home security systems, smart devices can help the elderly and those with disabilities live independently without having to pay a premium for products specific to their needs.”

Security Issues With Home Automation Systems

Practical Ways to Prevent Your Home Security Cameras From Being Hacked (c|net, Jul. 22, 2023)

While no one system is impervious to an attack, some precautions can further decrease your odds of being hacked and protect your privacy in the case of a hack.

• Use cameras from reputable manufacturers, whether they are part of a professionally monitored security system or a DIY device.
• Use cameras with high-level, end-to-end encryption.
• Change your credentials to something that cannot easily be guessed (in particular, avoid using passwords you already use for other online accounts).
• Update the camera firmware frequently or whenever possible.
• Use two-factor authentication if possible.
• Use a VPN (virtual private network)

Securing IoT Devices Against Emerging Security Threats: Challenges and Mitigation Techniques (Journal of Cyber Security Technology, Jul 12, 2023)

IoT devices pose significant security challenges due to their simple and low-footprint nature, which makes them incompatible with advanced cryptographic techniques and existing security solutions.

Cybercriminals often target IoT devices as they are essentially gateways to other connected devices and can be used to form botnets or facilitate man-in-the-middle attacks.

Unwanted Connection: Who Has Control of Your Smart Home? (The New York Times, Feb. 17, 2023)

“If we have authorization from the former homeowner to deactivate their account, and correct documentation from the new homeowner for customer set up, it is an easy process,” said David Porter, Vivint’s senior vice president of customer experience, in an email statement. “Alignment with the buyer and seller plays a key role in this — we recommend home buyers discuss with their agent prior to closing to avoid equipment missing and delayed deactivation."

10 Ways to Boost IoT Security in Smart Homes (Forbes, Feb. 22, 2021)

If your home is connected, it needs to be protected. IoT devices are the core technology behind the idea of smart homes, and while the latest devices have addressed patches that made their predecessors vulnerable to security breaches, the onus is still on the end user to ensure that their IoT security is up to date.

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