STACK #185 Mar 2020

LIFE TECH FEATURE

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Energy efficiency There are certainly ways that the smart home can be made more energy efficient. By setting up a lighting system that turns off when it’s not in use – either via a sensor or remotely – will certainly save you dollars. And if you install smart plugs on the devices that drain the most when in standby mode (known as vampire energy), such as TVs and laptops, you can eliminate the wasted energy. Monitoring energy usage is also a great advantage of employing smart plugs, so you can ascertain which devices in the house are the least efficient. Water leak sensors and smart thermostats that moderate heating/cooling according to the household’s requirements are also great asset savers.

sprinklers to switch on and water the garden in your absence. Or if you’re at home and too busy with the kids, the Aqua can be activated with a voice command such as, “Siri, put on the sprinklers for 20 minutes”. It’s that easy. If you have a large property, you’ll need to include the Eve Bluetooth Extend to ensure coverage. And like all Home Kit products, if you leave home, you’ll need Apple TV or a HomePod to use your smart home devices remotely.

H20 Yes, now it’s possible to control the condition of your garden if you’re at work or even on the other side of the world. Eve has a nifty little product in this area called the Eve Aqua, although the company only caters for Apple Home Kit users. The Bluetooth device connects directly to your garden tap and allows users to schedule

Smart Home Glossary

Automation It’s all in the name. Automation is where all the smart devices in your home operate with little to no input from you. Bluetooth Bluetooth is a term used to describe a wireless radio frequency that connects devices over a short distance. Geofencing Imagine there is an invisible fence around your house. Utilising Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or GPS, connected devices

Protocol The easiest way to understand what protocols are is to think of them as languages that smart devices use to communicate. Wi-Fi A term most people would be familiar with, Wi-Fi is a wireless protocol that communicates through your standard home network router without the need for a hub, and thus can connect over further distances than other wireless protocols.

ZigBee Similar to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, ZigBee is an increasingly popular wireless protocol with smart devices. It uses low energy and is relatively fast, too. Z-Wave Another wireless protocol becoming more and more popular in the smart home field, Z-Wave uses a mesh network where boosters work as a net to cover a wider field.

such as the TV or lighting trigger to come on or off as you enter or leave the home. Hub If all of your smart devices are an orchestra, then the hub in the home is the conductor that ensures that everything is working together. IoT (Internet of Things) Simply put, IoT is a broad name given to any device that connects to the Internet.

42 MARCH 2020

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