Home automation is the application of information technology to human living in the daily housing context; to take advantage of technology to improve the way we live in our homes.
This discipline is increasingly present in our lives, but it dates back to the end of the 1800s. One of the pioneers of home automation was William Penn Powers, a construction builder who in 1891 in Chicago created the Power Regulator Company, a temperature regulator industry, introducing the concept of automatic technology for the first time.
What is home automation?
Home automation can be controlled by various types of interfaces (buttons, remote controls, touch screens, smartphones, voice recognition or retina), which send commands and receive information through a central computer.
The computerized system therefore transforms the impulse coming from the interface into the action desired by the interlocutor.
This system carries out the commands given by the user, monitors and reports any anomalies and manages everything with the settings given by the user, for example energy savings.
Home automation therefore creates a “smart” home, in which all functions and systems are easy to manage; an house able to adapt to our needs and consumptions. The home automation interface devices that were not supposed to do so.
What should a home automation house be like?
There are two prerequisites for home automation.
- Simplicity
An home automation system must be simple and intuitive, with a single interface, easy to use, that can handle everything.
- Continuity of operation and reliability
Operation must be continuous, therefore it is necessary to take into account also faults or malfunctions and rapid replacement times. The system must also be able to process and report faults or anomalies in advance.
What are the functions of home automation?
The home automation functions are mainly four:
- Environmental
Home automation includes the management of all the devices that modifies the environment of a house: latest generation heating devices, air conditioners, plumbing fixtures, indoor fountains for humidity regulation, management of green spaces.
- Electronic devices
For the integrated management of all the most common appliances such as washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, ovens, vacuum cleaners etc…
- Communication and information
Through home automation it is possible to coordinate all the communication equipment, such as traditional telephones and VOIP ones, intercoms and video entry phones, internet communications, data transmission, smart TVs.
- Safety
Home automation is also important from the security management of a home, an office or a public or private structure pont of view. Through that it is possible to monitor accesses, anti-intrusion and fire-fighting systems, video surveillance, remote assistance for elderly or sick people.
The applications of home automation are endless and they project us into a near future.
When this technology will actually be available on the market at advantageous and affordable prices, we will be able to consider home automation as an achievement for everyone.
