Smart Homes
Institut für Architektur und Medien
Technische Universität Graz
Smart Homes
Instructor: Dipl.-Ing. Stefan Zedlacher
Author: Taja Tadeja Rampih, 08315385
SS 2012
Contents
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1. Introduction
In this paper I am going to present the definition of Smart Home, the development of a so called Information System, his advantages vs. normal home system and the future of the home automation.
Smart Homes is a very large theme and it reaches in many different areas such as health, economics, special information system s,… I decided to write about the most common use of such system – in a home environment.
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2. What is a Smart Home?
The terms smart homes, intelligent homes, home networking have been used for more than a decade to introduce the concept of networking devices and equipment in the house. According to the Smart Homes Association the best definition of smart home technology is: the integration of technology and services through home networking for a better quality of living.
Other terms that are related to smart homes are aware house, changeable home, attentive house and ambient intelligence. These terms are used to emphasise that the home environment should be able to respond and modify itself continuously according to its diverse residents and their changeable needs.
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2.1. How does it work?
Anything in your home that uses electricity can be put on the home network and at your command. Whether you give that command by voice, remote control or computer, the home reacts. Smart homes work with fairly simple systems: receivers and transmitters. Receivers detect a certain signal from the transmitter, that issues a command.
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2.2. Elements of a Smart Home
Three things a home needs to make it smart:
1. Internal network
– wire, cable, wireless
2. Intelligent control
– gateway to manage the systems
3. Home automation
– products within the homes and links to services and systems outside the home
1 http://www.tiresias.org/research/guidelines/smart_home.htm, 5.6.2012
2 http://www.slideshare.net/BradFitzpatrick/smart-homes-6093606, 5.6.2012
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2.3. Overview of the basic Smart Home domains
1 – graphic display
2 – electronic lock access control
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– PIR sensor (Passive Infrared Sensor)
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– siren in case of burglary
5 – sensor for floods in the bathroom
6 – thermostat for temperature control of water
7 – flashing lights in case of burglary
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– communication via GSM on the status inside the house
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– intruder protection sensors on the windows
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– shutters control
11 – automatic garage and front door with remote control
12 – video surveillance of the surroundings
13 – sensors for wind, external temperature, brightness,..
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– automatic watering of the lawn
15 – automatic shutting off of the electrical devices by leaving the house
16 – audio and video control
Fig. 1. Basic Model of a Smart Home 3
3 Lovrenčič, 2009
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3. Development of the Smart Home System
The development of an Information System is often described in the view of its life cycle . It consists of phases, such as:
- planning;
- systems analysis;
- design;
- implementation;
- operation and support.
In the planning phase, the formalization and development of the information system is firstly analysed from the feasibility point of view and the costs and benefits are exposed to find out whether the IS should be developed or not.
In the system analysis phase, the actual business system is under investigation.
Through the process of fact-finding and requirements determination the user needs are examined. The result of the design phase is the shape of the new IS and a system design specification. Briefly, this means that after this phase, programmers and database and network administrators have a clear picture of the new IS and that the implementation phase should start, where actual pieces (software modules, hardware equipment, communication networks) are combined together in a real
(physical) IS, which can be used in every day activities. Unfortunately, the whole process is not so simple. This is especially true for big, costly ISs.
From the description above it is clear that the analysis phase is of the highest importance,since it means that the user needs have to be known in advance. In the last phase, there are different activities, where the main goals are satisfied users and the utility of the system (e.g. training).
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4 Shelly, 1998
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4. Smart Home Advantages
Smart homes obviously have the ability to make life easier and more convenient.
Home networking can also provide peace of mind. Whether you're at work or on vacation, the smart home will alert you to what's going on, and security systems can be built to provide animmense amount of help in an emergency. For example, not only would a resident be woken with notification of a fire alarm, the smart home would also unlock doors, dial the fire department and light the path to safety. Smart homes also provide some energy efficiency savings. Because systems like Z-Wave and ZigBee put some devices at a reduced level of functionality, they can go to
"sleep" and wake up when commands are given. Electric bills go down when lights are automatically turned off when a person leaves the room, and rooms can be heated or cooled based on who's there at any given moment. One smart homeowner boasted her heating bill was about onethird less than a same-sized normal home.
Some devices can track how much energy each appliance is using and command it to use less. Smart home technology promises tremendous benefits for an elderly person living alone. Smart homes could notify the resident when it was time to take medicine, alert the hospital if the resident fell and track how much the resident was eating. If the elderly person was a little forgetful, the smart home would perform tasks such as shutting off the water before a tub overflowed or turning off the oven if the cook had wandered away. It also allows adult children who might live elsewhere to participate in the care of their aging parent. Easy-tocontrol automated systems would provide similar benefits to those with disabilities or a limited range of movement.
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5 Robles, 2010.
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5. The future of Home Automation
Fig. 2. Historical evolution and shift on availability of computing power per person 6
The smart home’s history can be easily traced back to the early turn of the century, where electrical and telephone wiring was installed in new houses. Integrated smart home infrastructure was usually built by hobbyists in the 1960s, but it wasn't until
1984 the term "smart home" was coined by the American Association of Home
Builders. General Electric company was one of the first pioneers to develop a series of products made for smart homes in the mid 60’s, these products included portable automatic dish washers and microwaves.
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6 Augusto, 2008.
7 http://www.slideshare.net/BradFitzpatrick/smart-homes-6093606, 5.6.2012
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We are gradually making a transition to a new era where computers become truly intertwined with our daily lives. Up to not so long ago, we were able to know clearly where computers were and in which way they affected our lives. This has been gradually blurred and now computing devices of various types are all around us, embedded in different objects we interact with and in that way they influence our lives. There are indications that this trend is irreversible and that computing and society will now interact with each other in far richer ways than before, to the point that computing will become transparent to humans and stillintrinsically involved in our daily living.
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8 Augusto, 2008.
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6. Conclusion
“Keeping in mind that technology is rapidly changing, it is important to recognize how technology is changing how we function within our households. It is estimated that in the next 10 years 90% of new homes will become equipped with some form of networking, programming and automation. The future home is a “SMART HOME”.”
- Jordan Edwards
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7. Bibliography
7.1. Literature
[1] Augusto, J.C.: Past, Present and Future of Ambient Intelligence and Smart
Environments. University of Ulster, Jordanstown, 2008.
[2] Robles R.J., Kim T.: Applications, Systems and Methods in Smart Home
Technology: A Review. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol. 15, Daejeon 2010.
[3] Shelly, G.B., Cashman, T.J., Rosenblatt, H.J.: Systems Analysis and Design.
Course Technology, Cambridge, 1998.
[4] http://www.slideshare.net/BradFitzpatrick/smart-homes-6093606, 5.6.2012
[5] http://www.tiresias.org/research/guidelines/smart_home.htm, 5.6.2012
7.2. Figures
Fig. 1. Lovrenčič, T.: Sistem inteligente hiše (Diplomska naloga), Maribor, 2009.
Fig. 2. Augusto, J.C.: Past, Present and Future of Ambient Intelligence and Smart
Environments. University of Ulster, Jordanstown, 2008.
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