Builder’s Take: Homes of the future have arrived in Ireland

All “mod cons”, is a term often used by estate agents to describe modern conveniences included in house sales, but in the age of the smart home what exactly does it mean?

More often than not, it refers to the house of yesteryear rather than the house of the future. Central heating, cable TV, microwave, and other modern kitchen appliances seem to fill the mod cons description.

Granted, the smart home is an emerging phenomenon and still something of a rarity here but with a growing number of companies dedicated to creating homes of the future, the term “all mod cons” seems a little exhausted and vague.

According to a recently published report by ReportsWeb.com entitled Smart Homes Global Market, the smart homes market accounted for €24.9 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach €76.6 billion by 2022.

It is estimated now that nearly two in five (40 per cent) of new homes currently being built in Ireland will have some smart home technology included in their plans.

So what do these include? Well, how about a bed that can sense your body temperature and adjust to the appropriate temperature. It can also test your heart rate, track your movement and breathing, and wake you at the optimum time in your sleep cycle.

Or what about lights that slowly brighten in the morning, while the electric towel rail switches on and blinds roll up in the rooms you use. What’s that smell from downstairs? Freshly brewed coffee. Walk out the door to work and the doors lock themselves, the alarm goes on and the heating system idles to an approved setting.

Audio systems

All of this is a reality, that in the not too distant future will become standard issue. Anyone with an iPhone and iOS 10 will have noticed the “Home” app. It’s already there, ready and waiting to connect with Homekit-enabled accessories such as Philips Hue lights and Ecobee Smart thermostats.

One of the more common features we come across on jobs are audio systems. Wireless and Bluetooth systems such as the Sonos system are big sellers now. No need for a hifi system or docking station anymore. An entire music library can be directed through a phone, tablet or laptop into wifi speakers throughout the home .

Living settings such as thermostats, lighting and window blinds are the next common automation settings. Automation of these three items can be incorporated into morning and evening settings. Imagine, as light fades evening settings become activated where, among other things, blinds will come down automatically and lights will adjust to a designated setting.

Kitchen appliances can be fully integrated into the smart home. Fridges that monitor inventory and as stocks run low re-order groceries on in-built touchscreens. Cameras inside link to smartphones so there’s no more guessing whether you need milk or not.

Locking systems

Even cookware is in on the action. Put a roast in your “Belkin WeMo smart slow cooker”, and turn it on and adjust heat as necessary from your phone.

With smart locking systems you can remotely lock and unlock doors to the house. No more leaving the key under the flower pot for the tradesman or the friend that’s passing through.

There are really basic benefits too. A plug-in adaptor (the Smart Switch 6 by Aeotec), allows you to remotely power on/off anything that’s plugged into it. It’s certainly a handy security measure when you are on holidays for example.

The other big plus to organising all your domestic technology means it declutters the home of cables, boxes, remote controls and consoles as everything operates through a centrally located hub.

Alan Clarke from Dundalk-based company TechFit (techfit.ie), says that a basic home automation set-up usually consists of music and heating automation. "One of our biggest-selling products is the Control 4 set-up, which gives you one home automation app for controlling TV, lighting, audio, air con, security, electric gates, intercom and then pretty much anything else that is plugged into a smart plug.The average spend seems to be around €20,000," he says.

Obviously, it’s not so easy to retrofit this technology and ideally it is incorporated into a new build or a rewire of an existing home.

Kevin Moran is a builder, moranbuilders.ie