What is a smart home?
A smart home or building uses devices connected via the internet to enable remote monitoring and management of appliances and systems.
Smart home technology, also known as home automation, provides homeowners with added security convenience and energy efficiency. It enables them to control smart devices simply with an app on a smartphone or other networked device. Smart homeowners can control lighting systems remotely, schedule and monitor thermostats, grant or deny home access to smart locks, check in on security cameras and even brew coffee remotely.
A part of the internet of things, smart home systems and IoT devices often operate together and share data, sometimes via a smart home hub. Machine learning and AI systems powered by Amazon, Google and Apple also contribute to a smart home.
Beyond the smart home is the smart building, which is similar but on a grander scale. Smart buildings generally have a focus on lighting, energy, thermostats and security.
As with any new technology, vendors are still working to address security challenges and complexity concerns. Those remain challenges to adoption despite smart technologies' convenience and efficiency.