Electrical Contracting News (ECN) November 2016 | Page 50

SPECIAL
FEATURE

A smart home
can provide a
truly integrated
solution capable
of controlling all
aspects of the home.

HOME AUTOMATION & INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS

CONTROL YOUR FUTURE
Mark Warburton at Ivory Egg looks at the benefits on offer for
electricians who are expanding into smart home technology.

T

he last few years have
seen a dramatic rise in
the number of products
and solutions available
to make homes
smart. However, a few
recent surveys have
indicated that there is
a lot of mistrust and misunderstanding
surrounding the Internet of Things (IoT)
and smart homes. This is understandable
– with so many products and solutions
available it can be difficult to pick the
right solution to use, and even more

so if you’re a homeowner who is not
comfortable with technology.
It is also not surprising given the lack of
companies offering smart home installation
services for the average sized home.
Homeowners don’t have anywhere to turn
for reassurance that having a smart home
is necessary or affordable. Electricians are
in an ideal position to advise on this where
they have always been trusted to install a
safe and suitable system even if this was a
traditional wiring solution.
So let’s take a look at how offering smart
home solutions will benefit your business,

‘There is
a lot of
mistrust
surrounding
the Internet
of Things
(IoT) and
smart
homes.’

what the benefits are to your customers, the
pitfalls and how to get involved.
But before we go any further let’s
define what a smart home is, as this is
a very ambiguous term. It could be one
or more intelligent devices that provide
a higher level of functionality, commonly
a thermostat or a lamp. Or it could be an
entire system that replaces the traditional
wiring of the house, providing a truly
integrated solution capable of controlling
all aspects of the home. To make it clearer
I am going differentiate this by calling them
smart devices and smart home systems.

50 | November 2016

50-51 HA&IB – Ivory Egg.indd 50

13/10/2016 13:27