Limitless possibilities

Imagine a refrigerator that tells you when you’ve run out of milk or a washing machine that comes on while you are at work. And wouldn’t it be marvellous to wake up to your favourite song with the drapes opening automatically and a fresh cup of coffee waiting for you by the time you’ve freshened up?

Twenty years ago this could’ve been wishful thinking for every overworked suburban mom or the meanderings of a prolific Hollywood scriptwriter. But today the concept of the smart home is fascinatingly close to affordable reality, particularly in the UAE.

Rise in demand

According to the US-based full service market research company, Markets and Markets (M&M) the global smart homes market is estimated to reach $13.4 billion by 2014, out of which security integration is the highest revenue generator followed by entertainment and energy management.

 “Control systems have been around for the past three decades — but we have seen them largely in commercial spaces such as industries and airports. Their use in residential set-ups has been there for the past 15 to 18 years and in the UAE for about a decade now. But it is only  recently that the demand has risen exponentially,” says Brocas Burrows, Partner and Director, Platinum Vision, a company that creates bespoke technological control systems and specialises in home automation and smart home solutions.

In the past 3-4 years they have completed 60 homes and have another 40 in the pipeline, with a turnover that is expected to double this year. Khalid Wani, Sales Director — Branded Business iMEA, Western Digital, attributes the demand in the market to the availability of high-speed internet and relatively high broadband penetration. “People in the UAE desire solutions that allow them to have a better entertainment experience as well as mobility, which also means having access to their content when they are on the go,” says Wani.

Given the fact that these solutions have been around for a while, what makes them such hot-sellers today? “It has to do with a convergence of factors as well,” says Burrows. “To begin with there is the affordability factor — earlier the cost to integrate even one room was prohibitive. Today, the notion that it is for the very affluent is no longer there, with people selecting what they want in terms of a smart home and then finding affordable solutions to achieve it.”

One of the key reasons for enabling costs to come down is the surge in smart products in the market. With electronic giants such as LG and Samsung launching a slew of connected appliances that can be remotely activated and controlled with your smartphone, the dream of having a smart home is well within the reach for many.

“At Samsung, we strive to answer consumer needs with well-engineered and stylishly-designed home appliances, built around innovative technologies that really do make a difference in people’s daily lives,” says Robin Kadyan, General Manager of Home Appliances, Samsung Gulf Electronics. “Having a balance between performance and low energy consumption is the essence of our home appliance products, providing the latest solutions without any compromise,” he says.

That apart, a key driver for the popularity of automated homes is convenience, says Sunil Gopal, Director, Imagine Technologies, a company that’s been in the business of integrated home solutions for nearly a decade.

“Automation is just the glue between what you have and what you want to achieve and the primary factor for automating your home or kitchen or living room is to have your world at the click of a button or the swipe on a touch screen,” says Gopal.

“The random selection of a few smart products doesn’t necessarily give you a smart home,” says Burrows. “The key factor in a smart home is seamlessly integrating all your gadgets and toys including the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting, curtains, door locks, security alarms, water heaters, irrigation system and audiovisual.”

All this is automated and controlled via a central unit where the various household devices are programmed to execute certain operations on receiving signals. “The signals could be anything from you walking into a room to you clapping your hands or flicking on a switch,” says Burrows. “The point is that the technology to achieve this is more accessible as well as reliable.”

The smart advantage

The growing demand for smart homes is evident in the interest taken by property developers to install the latest and the coolest systems. The demand is fuelled by a sluggish market where any hooks to lure the buyer are more than welcome and the need to cater to the savviness of homeowners who want nothing but the best.

Take for instance the Al Reem Island Project in Abu Dhabi, which is being touted as the first smart community in the UAE. Some other projects in Dubai include Oceana, Tiara, and Royal Amwaj on the Palm Jumeirah, along with other projects including Victory Heights, World Trade Centre Residences and Le Reve Tower which have been outfitted by Opus Technologies, a leading supplier in the region for multi-room entertainment and smart-home automation systems.

Up until last year, the UK-based firm had installed more than 5,000 smart-home automation systems worth more than $30 million in the Gulf.

In the vast and at times mind-boggling world of home automation, you can do just about anything, from setting each room into hibernation mode to ensuring your pool is warm enough for a midnight swim, or your backyard is well-irrigated while you are on vacation. Apart from the superfluous advantage of having one up on the Jones, automating your home has some distinct advantages, says Gopal. “The biggest is energy management, where if you control your lighting and the HVAC in the house, you save on your utility bills while doing your your bit to stay green.”

Given the region’s climatic conditions and its high carbon footprint, a simple thing such as ensuring the curtains on the west side of the house are drawn in the afternoon can save on cooling. Now you don’t have to be at home to do that. Other esoteric benefits include entertainment and quality family time as well as these systems being a distinct plus for properties that are on the market.

As with anything in life, all this comes with a pretty price tag that can be anything from Dh50,000 for a room to more than Dh3 million for a palace, says Burrows.

Make the perfect choice

The latest range of My Net home routers from Western Digital consists of the N600, N750, N900 and N900 Central. The N900 Central also has a built-in hard drive, which you can use to back-up your data and create your own Personal Cloud system. This allows you to access documents, photos and videos from your smartphone or tablet when you’re on the move.

For all those who hate weekend vacuuming the LG Hom-Bot is the perfect smart home appliance that handles a wide variety of cleaning tasks.

It has a powerful main brush that loosens and sweeps dirt and dust throughout the home, while side brushes clean corners and edges. You can set the timer for any time during the day when you want the machine to get to work. 

Remember, a smart home is an energy-efficient home and the Samsung WF1124XAU washing machine from Samsung’s popular Ecobubble line uses on average 70 per cent less energy than standard machines in each cycle.