We already know how much convenience and efficiency have been brought to our lives by smartphones – and smart homes are the next logical step.
What we want is to make our lives more comfortable, more convenient, more glamorous and yet simpler. The benefits of a smart home far outweigh the costs, like seeing the difference between the first smart phones and the Nokia 3310. Once we see the value of those benefits, we can happily choose which elements of the smart home we need.
1. The way it makes you feel
Your home is an extension of who you and your family are, just like your car and phone. Are you a trendsetter, a convenience fiend, a tech junky, a comfort craver or are you a little bit of everything? Do you want the comfort of a warm room due to your aircon being turned on before you wake (so you don’t have to leap out of bed and into your work wear while shivering to death)? The convenience of the lights in the house automatically switching on when the sun goes down (if you are sitting on your porch with a drink in hand), making you feel like James Bond? Or the ability to set trends among your friends by having something they don’t have? All of these aspects make you feel that your home is special and your life is a magnificent version of how you want it to be.
2. The value it adds to your home
You can add value in the short term; and in the long term, protect the value of your home. The average South African lives in their home 7 to 10 years before moving. If you are moving into a new home now, you would probably sell in about 7 to 10 years’ time. By then, smart home technology will be far more advanced than it is now, and likely to be part of most homes. Selling your home then, could pose problems, as you need to sell in a market where your home can compete. If you are installing technology now that can update itself, you won’t be stuck with a home that does not have what buyers are looking for in a decade’s time.
3. Practicality
Many aspects of smart home technology have everyday practical benefits. There are numerous ways in which automating, or remote controlling, your home can benefit your life practically. Whether it is to reduce your energy consumption with smart air-conditioning, feeling safer by switching on all the lights in your house with the touch of a button (even if you’re not home), not needing to raise and lower the blinds every day, or getting a notification that you have left your garage door open, there are practical everyday positives. These are just a few of the things that can be done with a smart home. The cost to deal with these little things individually isn’t worth the investment, but being able to take on all these problems at once is worth spending on.
The decision comes down to the value one derives from solving the problems, adding value to your home and the more intangible way it makes you feel. Having a solution that is flexible enough to allow different pricing, while still being reliable and allows one the chance to find value.
If you want to protect the value of your home, have practical everyday benefits and feel magnificent at home, then the luxury of a smart home is worth spending on.
