Turning your home into a ‘smart home’

Jax Oleum

Turning your home into a smart home is no longer a futuristic idea – the smart home market is growing rapidly all over the world. In South Africa, homeowners are moving quickly towards installing cutting-edge technology to make their lives easier, healthier and more energy efficient.

Solenco and stock images

Once expensive and out of reach for the everyday homeowner, smart home products have become more accessible, cost-effective, and user-friendly.

The definition of smart homes has also evolved to not only include voicecontrolled, automated houses. There are many simple, efficient, and easy-to-use appliances that make your home smarter, more secure, and more comfortable, says Trevor Brewer, director of leading lifestyle technology manufacturers and importers, Solenco.

“Homeowners can start with smaller, less expensive items to turn their homes into smarter, easier and healthier places to live. These items not only save money in the long run, they also look after the overall health and wellbeing of homeowners,” says Brewer.

Here’s how to start on your smart home technology journey:

A smart alarm system – this allows you to be in control of your home’s security. Your alarm can be enabled and disabled remotely, meaning you don’t have to be in your home to set your alarm. There are many smart alarm systems that can be configured from a tablet or smartphone. These alarms can also be connected to home appliances that can also be controlled remotely, as well as CCTV cameras that monitor the inside and outside of the home. Smart alarms are a clever way of protecting your property and allows you to be in control of your own security system wherever you are.

Robotic vacuums – besides the obvious benefit of not having to break your back by vacuuming, advanced robot vacuums allow you to clean your house when you are not at home and they are easily managed through a smartphone app. Brewer says when purchasing a robot vacuum, take into consideration room size, mapping and mopping technology, type of surface to be cleaned, battery life, noise level and scheduling.

Smart light bulbs – there are LED bulbs on the market that allow you to run them from your smartphone. LED bulbs are better for the environment, safer, and they save money. LEDs emit almost no forward heat while traditional bulbs convert more than 90% of the total energy used to power them directly into heat. Additionally, because LEDs consume less power, they can operate effectively on low-voltage electrical systems. “In our increasingly busy lives where our homes are often our offices, having a discreet, permanent appliance cleaning up after kids, animals and spills is necessary to maintain peace and order when the day is done,” says Brewer.

Photo credit Miele

Air purifiers – these devices tackle the threats that we can’t necessarily see but that we breathe on a daily basis – an element of health that simply can’t be ignored following a global pandemic and a frequent poor air quality index in cities like Johannesburg.

Keyless entry – never worry about losing your keys again. Keyless locks can be used with a variety of devices and will provide you with smart security for your keyless home, while enhancing its aesthetics. You can access the lock from anywhere, control it with voice, use it with different devices, and enable automation. You can see who came, went, at what time, and send your digital keys to your family and friends quickly if they need to get into your home. With no physical key to lose, steal or duplicate, keyless entry systems lower your security risk.

The contributor, Solenco, is a well-established supplier in air treatment and lifestyle products that help improve overall health and provide more comfort inside a living space. In fact, Solenco points out that their name is an acronym standing for Solutions for Environmental Comfort and that their dehumidifiers and anti-allergy equipment is ubiquitous in the large chainstore health market. “There are several different types of air purifiers that use filtration mechanisms to remove toxins and airborne viruses from the air,” says Brewer. “Look out for those that are medical grade and offer multi-stage filtration to capture the smallest of airborne particles from pollution, allergens and viruses to pollen, dust, smoke, and pet dander.”