If you been working from home for the last several months, how do you like it? It could be that some companies decide not to call their workers back to the office. After all, they would save a ton of money on overhead by closing down their offices. As for you, working from home offers its own set of challenges.
You might be able to offset some of those challenges with a bit of smart home technology. Maybe you would have to beef up your internet service in order to permanently work from home. Faster internet service would make it easier for you to upgrade the rest of your home with some new smart features. It is something to think about.
The Dallas Morning News recently ran a piece suggesting that we all keep working from home even when the COVID-19 pandemic is but a distant memory. Whether you agree with that premise or not, working from home could be your introduction to smart home technology.
Here are five reasons that a permanent work-from-home revolution could boost smart home sales significantly:
1. Boosting the Tech Mindset
One thing working from home has forced on all of us is a mindset of learning new technology. Team meetings in the conference room have been replaced by videoconferencing. Office file cabinets have been replaced by storage in the cloud. Network security is now just as important at home as it was in the office. We are living and breathing technology from the minute we get up until the minute we go to bed.
Upgrading a home to make it smart is all about technology. And now that we are all thinking about things like video meetings and getting used to the new groupware application, things such as video doorbells and smart thermostats aren’t so scary, says Vivint Smart Home. If we can configure our laptops to handle regular team meetings over the internet surely we can program our thermostats and lighting as well.
2. Remote Access Is Less Foreign
For some people, working from home has introduced them to the idea of exercising remote access of an office computer system. For example, some of us are using our home computers to log in to our work computers. We can see the work computer desktop and navigate around it as though we were sitting at the office desk.
This idea of remote access blends very nicely with smart home control. With a connected smart home system, consumers can control all of their automated devices even when they are not at home. All it takes is a smartphone app and a little bit of programming.
From anywhere a consumer has an internet connection, he or she can check security cameras. He/she can adjust the thermostat temperature and turn lights on and off. It is pretty amazing what can be done with remote control these days.
3. Energy Savings Are Important
A lot of us have learned just how much energy we use to get our jobs done over the last several months. Residential utility bills have gone up because people are home, consuming a lot more electricity with all of their electronic devices. Smart home technology can be a game-changer here.
Let’s say you live in Dallas where summer temperatures can get exceptionally hot. You decide you want to save as much money as you can by reducing the frequency with which the AC turns on. A smart home can help. It starts with a smart thermostat that can learn your routine and program itself around your habits.
Smart window blinds can be programmed to rise and lower based on the seasons and the time of day. Keeping the blinds closed during the daylight hours will reduce the amount of heat that builds up in your home, thus reducing the load on the AC. Programming lights to turn off when no one is in the room will save money by preventing the kids from turning on every light in the house.
4. Voice Control Is Awesome
Spending more time at home also means spending more time on your devices. But all that screen time can be tough on the eyes. If you have a voice-controlled smart speaker, you can reduce your screen time by increasing your voice time.
Maybe you want to order pizza from your favorite Dallas pizzeria. Speak to your smart speaker and it’s a done deal. Ask your smart speaker for the Dallas weather forecast while you’re making breakfast in the morning. The speaker will fetch the forecast and read it to you while you are working on the eggs.
In the simplest terms possible: voice control is awesome. The longer you work from home, the more a smart speaker becomes a personal assistant ready to answer your questions and complete your commands. Everything from looking up the latest news headlines to turning lights on and off is possible with voice control.
5. We Need More Surveillance
Last but not least is the surveillance issue. Normally, burglars prefer to target vacant homes. But they still need to ‘make a living’ in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. So now they are finding they cannot do things the way they used to. They’re having to find creative ways to get into homes that are occupied.
Video surveillance cameras are an important part of staying safe at home. While you are working from home, safely tucked away in your office, a full range of surveillance cameras can keep an eye on the exterior of your home.
Install a video doorbell and you can instantly identify anyone who rings. You can speak to that person using your smartphone as well, letting him/her know that you are home and you know about his/her presence. It is a great way to deter burglars.
We are all spending more time at home these days. If the work-from-home thing becomes permanent, it would be no surprise to see smart home sales jump accordingly.
