Automation is not just in sci-fi movies and cyber space any more. It's now in our homes. Today, electrical devices in a house can easily be integrated.
This is "smart home technology", which allows the homemaker greater — and easier — control over her gadgets.
Here's how you can incorporate it in your home.
— Shahana Raza is a UAE-based freelance writer
LG SolarDom Lightwave Oven, recently used in the Life Tastes Good cooking contest, is an innovative fusion between an oven, a microwave and a grill.
Equipped with a vast, domed cavity to accommodate large food quantities, it is an ideal kitchen appliance for those who wish to save time on cooking. It requires no preheating and prepares meals up to three times faster than a conventional oven while preserving food nutrients. It uses advanced lightwave technology featuring a halogen and sheath heater, to cook food from outside and inside simultaneously, providing energy savings of up to 40 per cent.
Sharaf DG, Plug Ins, Jacky’s & Emax. Dh1,700.
Siemens home technologies introduced iDos, the world’s first washing machine with an integrated dosing system. Energy efficient, when using iDos water consumption is reduced by up to 7,062 litres per year.
Convenient for families, iDos measures and dispenses detergent automatically for any laundry load down to the millimetre. Just fill the detergent tank once for every 20 loads of laundry and enjoy more ‘me’ time at home.
Available at BetterLife, Dh3,899.
Mirror, mirror on the wall. What shall I watch today?
Move over LCDs, Plasmas and home theatres. The latest ‘television’ arrives. It’s your mirror.
German inventor Ad Notum brings a technology that transfers a conventional mirror surface into a LCD television displaying anything from satellite channels to PC presentations and video games, without the ungainly sight of dangling cables or intrusive TV boxes.
Mirror Image can be placed in the bathroom, kitchen, lounge or office, hung up like a picture or recessed into the wall. It is completely waterproof. So you don’t need to worry about missing the last hour of rugby, if you have a dinner date. Just continue watching as you shower. Switch it off and it goes back to being a mundane mirror panel.
B5 The Art of Living (www.b5living.com). Price from Dh5,500 to Dh200,000 excluding installation charges.
We’ve all seen a home where curtains close by themselves, lights dim automatically and the air-conditioning starts on its own in the movies. Now, it could be yours.
Shifra Smart Homes provide not just handling of multimedia and electronic items at the touch of a button, it also sets up home security and automation.
The solution selected (lighting, appliances, curtains, security, air conditioning, IR systems, and multi-room audio) can be controlled via remote through any mobile device such as an iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, PC or laptop, indoors and outdoors.
With a wirless music control in each room you no longer need to sync iTunes or dock the iPod. Just select the area and listen away. Or have your entire collection of movies, vidoes and pictures available on any TV in the house.
Should you fall asleep, no worries, at sharp 6.30am the water heater will switch itself on, five minutes before the air conditioning shuts off. Prices vary according to the Control Technology chosen.
Visit www.shifrasmarthomes.com
Look Ma, no hands. Equipped with the right arsenal of extra brushes, filters and polishing pads, the Palson Diabolo will do the dirty work.
The Diabolo is a robotic all-surface vacuum cleaner, that automatically detects dirt anywhere and can be used on parquet, marble, carpets and even terrazzo floors. Its reduced height allows it access under furniture and corners. Its sterilisation system of UV rays kills floor bacteria instantly.
Remember those automatic toy cars that turn automatically when confronted with an obstruction? The Diabolo does it too. And that’s not all, it returns to its charging base automatically when battery levels become low (usually lasting upto 45-60 minutes).
Available at Sharaf DG, Emax, Lulu, Geant, hyper panda. Dh799 Regular and Dh1,299 for Palson Diabolo Plus.
Disinfect the air you breathe at home with Airfree purifiers.
This European product is 99.9 per cent efficient in destroying airborne mould spores, bacteria, viruses, dust mite allergens and other airborne pollutants.
Completely silent, it requires zero maintenance and no replacing of filters or bulbs.
Just plug them in and breathe easy.
Airfree Allergen E2000 and Airfree Babyair cost Dh1,499 and The S-Exclusiv Outlined design, Dh4,500.
Available at select places, including Bin Sina Pharmacy, Boots, BabyShop, Airfree units can also be purchased online at DubaiBabies.com and The Green Ecostore.com. For more information call 800-AIRFREE (2473733) or visit www.airfree.ae
Love the taste of fried foods, but hate the fat? Say hello to Philips AirFryer and bye-bye to calories.
AirFryer can create simple, healthy meals without using any oil. Fries could have up to 80 per cent less fat. The secret lies in the patented Rapid Air Technology which combines fast-circulating hot air with a grill, to heat up and cook food from all sides and without losing the crunch or the scrumptious taste.
It not only saves oil heat-up time, it makes clearing up easier with its removable, dishwasher-safe parts and non-stick surface.
Moreover a food separator accessory allows multiple foods to be fried at the same time, without mixing up flavours. Dh899.
We’ve all seen a home where curtains close by themselves, lights dim automatically and the air-conditioning starts on its own in the movies. Now, it could be yours.
Shifra Smart Homes provide not just handling of multimedia and electronic items at the touch of a button, it also sets up home security and automation.
The solution selected (lighting, appliances, curtains, security, air conditioning, IR systems, and multi-room audio) can be controlled via remote through any mobile device such as an iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, PC or laptop, indoors and outdoors.
With a wirless music control in each room you no longer need to sync iTunes or dock the iPod. Just select the area and listen away. Or have your entire collection of movies, vidoes and pictures available on any TV in the house
.
Should you fall asleep, no worries, at sharp 6.30am the water heater will switch itself on, five minutes before the air conditioning shuts off. Prices vary according to the Control Technology chosen.
Visit www.shifrasmarthomes.com
No more chalk and black board for the kids. LG has introduced the Pentouch TV in the UAE.
This innovative plasma lets viewers control content displayed on the TV screen with a special pen that can be activated with a click of the remote control.
It allows access to files from the PC and easy editing while budding artists can use the screen as the canvas and print their masterpiece to a printer and share hard copies of their creation. The TV also supports simultaneous two-pen use as well.
Pen batteries can be recharged through USB ports at the back of the TV unit.
Sharaf DG, Plug Ins, Jacky’s & Emax. Dh3,599 and Dh9,499 for the 3D version.
