Smart Home

Smart Home is a general term for automation solutions in residential buildings designed to create added value for the user by increasing the quality of living and quality of life. A wide variety of systems and installation procedures are used. Only a few of them are standardized worldwide, e.g. the KNX®, unfortunately most are stand-alone solutions. The devices used for this purpose ought to be compatible among themselves and among manufacturers in order to implement convenience functions, safety functions and energy-saving functions. Human nature is ill-equipped to process the future information overload and extreme rapidity of changes. The human body needs to slow down to be able to consciously perceive its environment and to process and store experiences. This also presents future challenges for manufacturers and service providers of smart home systems, namely to provide relieve to human beings, instead of burdening them with information and instructions. It is very difficult to keep up with the number of automation solutions in the Smart Home field, and the number of actually totally senseless applications is constantly increasing. The consumer can hardly even recognize which hardware and application is smart and which isn't, as nearly everything is advertised as being ''smart'' without actually being so. Who really needs a toothbrush that tells you whether you've brushed your upper left row of teeth long enough, an app-controlled toilet flush or a washing machine that reorders the washing detergent. Applications are only smart if they actually provide the user with practical added value. Studies have shown that most users (over 50%) would like to have a smart heating control, followed by a remote-control window/shutter/rolling shutter control and automated lighting. Of course, the future advances at a rapid speed, and today's standards may already be obsolete 10 years from now and might be replaced by disruptive technologies. The heavy automation of processes and routines, pressure towards efficiency due to globalization, along with massive digitalization in all areas of life are the heralds of a new future. Robot technology and androids will be a ubiquitous part of all our lives in less than 20 years. There are already efforts to optimize the human brain to withstand the future’s heavily increasing challenges of the digital world. Normal life and work routines as they largely exist today will change significantly. There is a substantial future in store for the smart home – in particular the KNX smart home – in the private domain, which is why anyone who is planning to build or is currently building a home ought to be aware of the future requirements and at least make preparations now for relevant KNX installations. In our main Smart Home catalogues at eibabo®, we carry a vast selection of products from ABB, Berker, Busch Jaeger, Eaton Moeller, EIBMARKT, ELSNER, EMU-ELEKTRONIK, ESYLUX, Issendorf, GIRA, Hager, Jung, Legrand, Lingg & Janke, MDT, Merten, Siemens, SOMFY, Steinel, THEBEN, Thermokon and Warema available for private and commercial customers at top prices with worldwide delivery.