Home automation has been around for a while now, but every homeowner knows that they need to plan for the future.

While the initial methods of home automation are most likely still going to be in use, the new and improved technology will likely include some wild and wonderful ideas. Let’s explore how this technology can be used to improve our lives.

Where most of the home automation we have currently involves less technology than we are envisioning for our future, that isn’t to say it’s not useful. For example, linear actuators have given us security systems which have more scope than they did before. They have given us ways to save money by creating tables and chairs which can be adjusted to fit the space and the person using them.

Internet of Things

Our home automation technology at the moment allows us to remotely control certain aspects of our home, including security systems, lighting, heating, and even music. The future will see this technology taken even further, with a two-way link established between a homeowner and various appliances around the home, such as a fridge, or a sink.

Where the link between a heating system and a remote device exists solely for the purpose of giving a homeowner greater control over their home, the two-way link can go much further than that. Having the internet of things will allow homeowners (to use the fridge as an overall example) to work with their appliances in more unique ways. Rather than being restricted to simply giving commands to an appliance, the homeowner can request items from the appliance. For example, the fridge can let its owner know when food is running low, or needs to be used, as well as possibly letting its owner know when it needs to be fixed.

Unusual Living Spaces

The future will likely see more people choose to live in unusual living conditions, through either necessity or wanderlust. These spaces include micro-apartments, tiny homes, and the oft-mentioned but still contentious ‘earthscraper’, among other things.

Tiny homes are often built in such a way as to render their inhabitants mobile and not reliant on the grid. The people who aim to live in these types of dwellings either like to be nomadic or they appreciate the freedom which comes from being off the grid in terms of not needing them for power. These homes also appeal to people who want to use less energy, as they have green forms of energy collection such as solar panels and water collection systems integrated into them.

Micro-apartments are used for almost the same reasons. While they are hooked up to the main power grid, for the most part, micro-apartments are still much smaller than the average living space. This allows for more homes to made out of a similar sized space.

People wanting to live in micro-apartments could do so for many reasons, and the newer technologies which we are now coming up with for home automation mean that less space does not mean compromising on comfort. Linear actuators in automatic standing desks, for example, would be useful for creating beds and tables in small spaces.

While an ‘earthscraper’ is still something of a concept, it would most definitely be possible with the advances in technology which we have seen. An earth scraper is a skyscraper inverted so that it extends under the ground. This would save on space within a city or town, and there is a lot of potential for using the earth itself as insulation for winter, and a cooling system in summer.

Laundry

The internet of things can be used again as a way of controlling the washing machine and dryer for your home, but technology has moved on to the point where we can now create other methods of cleaning clothes. One of them is a clothes cupboard which actively cleans clothes as they hang in it. The cupboard works by having specific airways and sensors set up to find dirty spots on clothes, and cleaning them directly through focusing air pockets onto them.

Another option for clothes is the washing machine which also functions as a clothes basket. Rather than have a separate item for each function, a removable washing machine drum allows you to carry clothes around in one go.

Another option for cleaning dirty clothes is to use individualised cleaning tags which use solar power and nanotechnology. The idea behind the tags is that they are attached to old clothes, and the nanotechnology find the individual stains, and cleans them off. Being powered by solar power makes these tags very clean indeed, as they do not require any outside power source like other forms of cleaning do. The tags can also be used either with clothes which are hanging up or with clothes which are in a basket.

How will the advances in technology change the look of homes in the future? Feel free to share your ideas with us in the comments below.


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