Special section: HOME DESIGN TRENDS: INSPIRED UPGRADES
5 Home Technology Trends
for Today’s Innovative Living
Saving energy and money at home is a constant goal. From general conservation tips to tackling everything from overall
sustainability to accessibility, categories for change include improving your home’s heating and cooling, water, waste, climate
control and the outdoors. Here are a few more categories that can help elevate your home into the smartest house on the block.
Integration
Interactivity
Combine smaller audio, video, lighting and
entertainment components into an integral system. Linking
subsystems can be accomplished gradually until the total
integration is complete. Beyond the usual electronic devices,
subsystems also include Wi-Fi set-up, heating and cooling,
a security system and even a home theater for entertaining.
A knowledgeable contractor who specializes in integration
and electronic systems is a reputable source to turn to. There
is an organization called the Custom Electronic Design and
Installation Association (CEDIA). It can answer questions
you may have regarding installation, design and the overall
integration of your home. Go to cedia.org to learn more
about how a specialist can assist you with the proper design
and execution of your integration.
Experience the fun and function of your home with
interactive accommodations such as video games, streaming
content online, watching TV and listening to music,
including digital systems and speakers for the whole house
that are discreetly hidden behind walls. Interactivity doesn’t
end at just playing your favorite sounds; there are home
networks that allow your family to engage with technology
through music. Shades and lighting can be programmed
to open and close to sync with your mood, event, activity
and music choice. The music can be controlled by your
smartphone or tablet and different playlists can be synched
for different rooms in your house, including the pool and
shower—the most musically inspired place in the house.
Sustainability
This is real-time information at your fingertips—the
most basic of which is Wi-Fi network accessibility. You can
enhance your digital accessibility and keep your devices
streaming content and “full speed ahead” with access to
the Internet. With videos, blogs, online forums and other
informative and interactive media, the design of evolving
technology gives you the ability to relate to universal design
that’s usable by almost everyone.
Reduce, reuse and conserve is the message of today’s
sustainable design. A home’s energy conservation should
meet your needs without having a major impact on the
needs of the next generation. As a consumer you can
choose to shop smarter. From biodegradable materials to
recycled products, limiting the waste will maximize your
carbon footprint in a positive way. Your purchasing power
can go to energy-saving home appliances such as a washer
or dishwasher—saving you money in the long run. With
sustainability also being a large category for building a new
home, design-build firms are a way to go. You can book
a full-service design-and-build company to execute your
entire vision of a sustainable home to completion.
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Accessibility
Productivity
There is nothing more important to the function of the
home than productivity—or “getting it done” every day.
The “it” can be a range of daily goals set within your home
and work schedules. Having access to your smartphones and
tablets allows you to be even more productive in a day. From
remote systems that control everything from lighting and
temperature to the security system, productivity is one of
your home technology trends. n