Although the concept and vision for Smart Automated Homes has been with us for God knows how long; it has never gained any traction amongst the general population.
Despite the fact that you can pick up light switches, door locks, and thermostats for less than €100, so why have my neighbors not taken time out of their daily lives to research, purchase and install smart home automation products.
In this post I cover my top four reasons why I think smart house automation has not become a standard feature in our neighbor’s homes:
REASON 1: LIMITED AWARENESS OF SMART HOME AUTOMATION
Knowledge of building automation systems and related benefits is low in general across the world and particularly dismal in most parts of Europe.
This will however will be a thing of the past in a couple of years’ time thanks to an upcoming education push from large service providers, retailers, and of course my own Smart House Book.
REASON 2: IN-COMPATIBLE SMART HOME AUTOMATION HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
Home automation is a pretty new and emerging paradigm and in some countries, poor interoperability of devices from different suppliers and limited support from the manufacturing community has kept penetration to a minimum.
Once a technical kink occurs in an installed smart house it can be difficult to solve the problem.
REASON 3: PERCEPTION THAT HOME AUTOMATION IS EXPENSIVE
For the past ten years, the incorporation of a full home automation system into a house required a significant upfront investment and was only practical within the realm of the affluent within society. The cost broadly covered the following:
- A structured wiring system
- Advanced control equipment
- An expensive home system integration professional – such as myself
Once these costs were accounted for, home automation systems became unaffordable for most people.
What people don’t realize is that nowadays with Home Automation it is entirely possible and is not that expensive as one might expect.
People can start small and install a basic wireless home automation equipment kit. This approach allows people to evolve the initial kit system over time.
REASON 4: NO ALIGNMENT OF THE KEY HOME AUTOMATION PLAYERS
The key players within the home automation ecosystem are not talking to each other:
- Manufacturers
- Utility companies
- Telecommunication providers
- Online e-commerce stores
- App developers
- DIY’ers
- System integrators & installers
Unfortunately, as with any emerging industry there lacks a cohesive approach to promoting the benefits of Smart Home Automation to the general public.
Although hurdles exist; smart home automation is on its way – the technology platforms already exist, we now need a way to implement home automation within the mainstream population.