If the door opens on its own sensing you have come and the lights start glowing on your presence, it’s not a fairy tale, it’s a smart home. You may think when you are smart enough, why need a smart home at all. But you may agree that due to stress, we are always not able to be that mindful and often we wonder whether we have turned the main door key properly while locking or did we turn off the gas cylinder after use. If you make your home smart, you need not worry about these any more. All the control of your home will be at your fingertips on your mobile phone.

Not only that, if there is an elderly person at home alone and you are worried about his or her safety, you can rest assured if your home is smart. Virtual assistants like Google Home, Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa can make your life even smoother with voice commands. All you have to do is to ask and all your appliances like refrigerator, air-conditioners, water heaters, lights and fans would start or stop operating with your command. The automatic sensors would sense movements and would welcome you when you return from a long day’s work. The gates would automatically open and so the garage for your parking and the moment you step out of the garage, the lock would activate which would only be reopened on your return.

As you enter your living area, the lights illumine on their own without any command. These sensor-enabled lights and electrical appliances with Wi-Fi powered technologies have offered us a great way to save power and reduce wastage. These intelligent networks and Wi-Fi enabled devices and appliances would not only make your home smart but sustainable too. The artificial intelligence would measure and monitor electricity consumption and save power too.

From the angle of safety and security also, smart homes play a vital role in helping working couples lead a carefree life. There is no doubt that the introduction of technology in every aspect and facet of our lives has made monitoring possible rendering more security creating a more safe environment. The smart cameras are endowed with sensors to turn on the lights, the moment any movement is sensed. Smart homeowners can now have access to the wireless door and window locks which can be operated remotely through Wi-Fi enabled technologies and can be used in case there is any unauthorized entry or attempt of burglary.

Smart devices would also sense and track data like noise levels, temperature, lighting, indoor pollution and humidity in your home too. For example, the smart homeowners can ask the virtual assistants to get updates about the health of the room or even set up the home coach that can send SMS alerts about switching on the air purifies or humidifiers when the pollution or the humidity levels increases which is useful for allergic or asthma patients.

Research has unearthed that lighting arrangements and exposure to light have an important bearing on our biological cycles and body’s natural circadian rhythms that are the day and night cycles. Thus, during the day, bright light is needed and at night softer lights help in relaxing and for the better functioning of the body. Smart lights can adjust the illumination according to the time of the day and keep you more fit and healthy.

Although all appliances and their smarter versions are available you can always opt for as much or little automation as you need. Home automation is of course a fast-changing industry and with rapid strides of technology, options available in the hands of the users would seemingly increase with the costs also becoming more affordable and reasonable to design your smart home the way you want.