7 ways to make a dumb home smarter

The buzzword “smart home” fits nicely alongside terms like “The Internet of Things”. But the smart home is tangible, it is something. Best of all, it’s something well within the reach of us, the little people. First off, what is a smart home?

Explaining 

A smart home is home automation. Remote surveillance, WiFi-enabled stoves, automated porch lights, flush-aware toilet bowls, stuff like that. With an internet-enabled device connected to a smart home appliance, the possibilities are fairly endless. Think of a remote control for your gate at home, but on a grand scale, and contained within an app on your phone or computer. The smart home also means big business and boffins have predict that the entire industry will be worth over US$44-billion by 2017. It’s not quite there yet — think about it, how many people do you know who actually have a “smart” home? — but there are shortcuts, and means of turning your house into a smart home. Let’s begin with one of the easiest options, your lighting.