The Internet of Things is expanding rapidly and seems to be impacting every part of our lives. Nearly 20 billion IoT and connected devices will be deployed worldwide by the end of 2017, and another 10 billion added over the next four years alone. But it’s the smart home devices that will overtake smartphones by 2021 as a share of deployed connected/IoT devices.
That’s not just good news for homeowners looking to bring smart home technology and convenience to their homes. It also paves the way for IoT business opportunities. From smart security to enhanced cooking, here’s how smart home technologies are changing the business and consumer landscape.
Smart Security
When it comes to security, homes are getting smarter about how they protect us. But at the same time, they can help monitor who is coming in and out of our home and make sure our loved ones are welcomed. We can unlock our homes right from our smartphones with an August Smartlock, generate special codes for friends and family to let themselves in. Coupled with a smartphone like an iPhone 8 Plus, smart home security can be monitored with a 5.5″ display to get clear quality video and communicate with our guests.
As new smart security systems enter the market, IoT entrepreneurs can focus on learning the routines of our family and look at crime statistics in our neighborhood. As crime spikes, smart technology security can automatically connect suspicious behavior that leads to area break-ins including the time of day to help enhance our security.
Connected Plumbing
Considering the destruction that can happen when your home has a leak or freeze, they’re not very easy to spot until it’s too late. Smart technology is stepping in to solve the problem like Honeywell’s Lyric Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector. Your smartphone is alerted at the first sign of a leak and can also detect the temperatures that can freeze pipes or humidity that damages your home.
Honeywell has also thought about what happens when you’re out of town or unavailable during a crisis. Lyric Water Leak and Freeze detector can be set-up to send a neighbor contractor an alert when you’re away to resolve the problem before it gets out of control. IoT companies could also look to how smart technology can detect clogs, pipe corrosion or water pressure issues that help keep our homes running smoothly.
Refrigerator Hubs
Smart appliances once just adjusted the temperature of your food or optimized your energy. But now you can also look to your appliances to help run your household. Samsung Family Hub offers families the chance to shop for food, organize your family’s schedules and entertain from your fridge. Interior cameras let you check on what’s going on in your fridge even when you’re away. You can also set notifications on when food is expiring so you remember to pick up milk on the way home, or just shop from your refrigerator door instead.
Family hubs will continue to evolve and open new doors for IoT businesses to develop new functionality and apps. We can already play music from our refrigerators, and there’s room in the marketplace for family hubs to help connect and run all of our appliances into a household machine.
Smart Cooking
There will come a day where it will be nearly impossible to overcook a meal with the help of IoT. The June Intelligent Oven lets budding cooks keep an eye on their meals from anywhere and watch your food being cooked. You’ll also receive a notification when your meal is ready so you can wrap up your day at the office or finish up errands and head to dinner. It also comes with adaptive cook presets to get your chicken roasted just right.
Let’s hope more IoT businesses help homeowners by working out how to get their meals prepped, put together and put into a smart over to cook to perfection. In the meantime, as smart ovens learn more about our cooking habits, IoT businesses can look to help our family hubs determine what type of ingredients and meals we want to cook during the week.
Smart home innovations aren’t just a thing of the future, they’re entering the mainstream and helping run our homes efficiently and smoothly. As more tech entrepreneurs look for new opportunities, they can look at smart home innovations as a way to enter the marketplace and revolutionize everything from protecting our homes to cooking our food.
