Searching for a creative recipe to make use of last night’s leftovers? Forgot to adjust the thermostat when you left for work this morning? Did your kids leave the garage door open again? If you own a smartphone, then the solution is right at your fingertips. From smart refrigerators to wall-mounted temperature sensors, new appliances and home technology introduced at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show allows virtual management via smartphone apps. These home improvements are designed to help make homes safer and more energy-efficient.
Smart Home
The new home technology advancements are made possible in part by the rise of smartphone ownership. Today, the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project estimates that 35 percent of American adults own a smartphone. Since consumers have smartphones with them nearly everywhere they go, it’s easy for a smartphone to act as a central home control panel, integrating home management apps into a consumer’s regular app lineup. This number is expected to grow dramatically as smartphone prices continue to drop. As more Americans own smartphones, consumer analysts predict the ownership of “smartphone home technology” will also increase.
John Burke is the general manager of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., a company that builds technology for cable companies and wireless service providers. Burke predicts that the rise of smartphone ownership, coupled with bundled service providers, will help spark the adoption of smart home technologies. Parks Associates, a consumer technology research firm, agrees, estimating that by 2014, more than 10 million U.S. households will have a remote home monitoring and control system.
"We've seen all the major operators in the Americas putting home security, control and monitoring in their offerings,” Burke said. A universal control for home security and monitoring is one of the most important homeowner safety tips. A smartphone allows controls for everything from the garage door to the thermostat to be in one easy-to-access place.
Smart Appliances
Many gadget-geeks can’t wait to try out some of these "smart appliances" in their homes:
Home energy monitor: Reliant, a Houston-based energy company, recently gave away 10,000 Reliant e-Sense Home Energy Monitors to early-adoption customers. The monitors take the guesswork out of managing home energy costs, allowing customers to precisely track and adjust energy usage. Other home energy solutions introduced at CES include a wall-mounted censor that tracks when homeowners leave the house, automatically adjusting the thermostat.
Smartphone-controlled garage doors: A two-way garage door opener, introduced by Sears Holding Corp.'s Craftsman brand, connects homeowners with the garage door via their smartphones. A wireless router on the garage door communicates with a password-protected app on the homeowner’s smartphone, allowing the homeowner to see whether the door is open and how long it’s been open. A simple swipe across the screen can open or close the door.
Smart refrigerator: Using a camera phone, homeowners can scan a grocery receipt or product. The fridge’s computer then tracks its own contents and notifies owners when the milk is about to expire or what recipes (based on current ingredients) would be good for a family member’s high blood pressure. At CES, LG introduced a voice-controlled smart fridge that allows homeowners to even check their fridge’s contents via a smartphone app. The fridge is part of LG’s new series of smart appliances, including a smart oven that monitors baking via mobile devices, a washing machine and vacuum cleaner. Sadly, the vacuum cleaner still requires a human to operate it.
What smart technology would you most like to see in your home?
