Top 10 Home Automation Expected Trends in 2022
Technology has taken over most aspects of our daily lives including health, education, and in our homes too. Smart homes are living spaces that use IoT devices to monitor and manage processes like heating, lighting, security and overall home maintenance. The first smart homes can be traced back to the beginning of the 21st century. As of now, the sector has seen accelerated growth in design and functionality due to a dynamic tech world. In this article, we will take a look at some of the biggest smart home trends to watch out for in 2022 and beyond. First, we will discuss what home automation is.
What is Home Automation?
Home automation is the auto control of electronic devices in your home. The devices are connected to the Internet, which enables you to control these devices remotely. In-home automation, the connected devices can prompt one another so there is no need to control them manually using an app or a voice assistant. For instance, you can put your AC on a schedule so that it is turned off at a particular time during the night and switched on when you are about to reach your home. Home automation makes life convenient and even helps you save money on heating, cooling and electricity bills. Home automation can lead to bigger safety with the Internet of Things like security systems.
What are the benefits of Home Automation?
Some of the major benefits of home automation include:
- Manage your home devices from a single place.
- The flexibility of adding new devices
- Maximum home security
- Remote control of home functions
- Increased energy efficiency
- Improved appliance functionality
- Home management insights
Home Automation Expected trends in 2022
Let us now take a look at some of the expected trends in Home Automation in 2022:
Home Security
There is no doubt that the future of home automation lies in automation. It is one of the basic features of smart homes today. Most security systems manufacturers are looking to develop solutions that are easy to use though advanced enough to handle cyber-attacks. As we inch closer to 2022, we are looking to see security and access control systems that merge the management of lighting, alarm, and CCTV cameras in a single interface. Due to advanced alarm systems, functions like remote arming and motion sensors are expected to be standard features. We are also expecting the growth of light simulation to know the presence of people in a home.
The future of smart homes, where every other device is listening, recording or watching, also makes the conditions for the need for an extra level of security. Due to this, the designers and developers of home automation systems include advanced authentication.
Smart Appliances
Modern smart home devices have functions like autonomous control, voice control, and gesture control. Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant are leading the charts in terms of voice assistants. Furthermore, we are expecting to see speakers like Google Nest Hub, Amazon Echo, and Sonos One in Smart homes in 2022. Most Smart TVs these days act as a central control system and not just fulfil the role of entertainment. Extra features like Google Assistant and Alexa in smart TVs mean heating and lighting can be controlled using your smart TV.
Smart devices also extend to the kitchen and bathrooms. We expect to see microwaves and ovens with built-in cameras that allow you to check on your food as it cooks. Self-cleaning toilets and heat-adjusting showers are some of the major improvements we expect to become common by 2022.
Energy Efficiency
Smart homes are designed to be energy efficient and better for the environment. Moving ahead towards 2022, we hope to see more smart homes make better use of green energy. As of now, we have smart lighting that only illuminates the occupied areas. 2022 looks promising in terms of energy efficiency through lighting systems that adjust light intensity depending on room conditions. For example, dim the lights when the TV is turned on.
Occupancy Sensors
Occupancy sensors or monitoring devices that detect when an area is occupied and turn on lights and heating are extremely important in smart homes. They further detect when an area is unoccupied and automatically switch lights and other devices off. In 2022, it is expected that occupancy sensors will come with the ability to learn movement patterns, and from this be able to distinguish between other individuals. This feature can be embedded in the security systems as a type of burglar alarm.
Health Management
As we move towards 2022, smart homes will have the ability to monitor and detect changes in your health. Sleep monitoring devices incorporated in smart homes can also detect early signs of depression. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have realised one thing related to our health. Our body temperatures can act as a pointer to various health conditions. It is expected that smart homes of 2022 will include temperature monitoring systems as a standard feature. Moreover, we can expect improved fitness gadgets that can track changes in our bodies and provide advice on a suitable diet according to your requirements.
Robotic Assistants
Robotic assistants are quite common in most smart homes today. You most probably own or know someone who owns a robotic vacuum cleaner to lead an autonomous and hassle-free life. We are expecting that the effect of robots in homes will increase in 2022. These robotic assistants will help in daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning, babysitting and monitoring your health vitals. As of now, we have only seen these devices in movies but now we are not far away from a time when these devices will be quite common in regular households too.
Smart Light
The smart light is a common part of smart homes. They allow you to save a lot in terms of energy consumption. Contemporary light systems come with multiple operating features like voice activation, gesture sensors, and remote activation. In 2022, we will see more features being added to the Smart Light systems. For instance, we might soon see smart homes with lights that adjust intensity depending on the natural light available in the room. We are also expecting to see a light simulation effect which acts as a security option for homes that are left unattended for a long period of time.
Smart Grid Technology
Smart Grid technology is becoming more evident with each passing year. Going off-grid is one of the most important smart home trends that will continue to stay. People are looking to invest in smart home technologies to lead a more sustainable and responsible life. An energy management system comes with a smart panel and data analytics and management system too. The system offers a number of benefits for smart homes like energy efficiency, controlled power storage, remote control devices and more. With the help of smart grid technology, the smart home can efficiently operate in the off-grid mode and have all electricity needs met in case of an outage or emergency. Along with a solar system, it allows a smart home to constantly work off-grid and effectively reduce its carbon footprint.
Management Features
Smart home trends may come and go but this trend will definitely last long. In the initial phase of smart home development, users were offered a primary level of control on their connected devices. It was possible to dim the light using an app or increase the temperature using a voice-assistant enabled thermostat. Now, devices come with a new level of management and a wide range of home automation features. A smart lighting system can create a balance of natural and artificial lighting by itself. Thermostats like Google Nest use AI to learn about the users’ habits and preferences. These AI-enabled devices zone the environment and adjust the thermostat when required to reduce energy consumption.
Advanced AI
Advanced authentication is one of the many applications of AI technology in a smart home. Some people think that not including machine intelligence to modern devices is a major loss that may cost a brand its position in the market. This is definitely relevant for the Internet of Things devices in smart homes. The work of IoT is dependent on the analysis of sensor data, and in various cases, the application of machine learning is a suitable way to handle it.
Hence, one of the main smart home technology trends is the use of AI at the backend and the frontend. For example, computer vision enables a Samsung Family Hub to determine the products in the fridge and create a shopping list or voice-controlled smart devices using NLP engines to understand the speech. These systems make use of AI to build a better experience for smart home residents.
Conclusion
After diving deep into the smart home trends, we feel that the future of smart homes is bright. Smart home device manufacturers are looking to develop devices that are energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable, and stick to the regulatory standards on privacy and security. We believe that future smart homes will run on auto-pilot. From security and accessibility, smart homes are expected to handle these operations with minimal human involvement. What do you think about these Home Automation trends for 2022? What is your favourite Home Automation trend? Let us know in the comments below.
Keval Padia is the founder & CEO of Nimblechapps, a fast-growing mobile app development company. The current innovation and updates of the field lures him to express his views and thoughts on certain topics.