IN Murrysville Spring 2018 | Page 24

M ixed materials, textures and technology are just a few of the major home trends in 2018. Homeowners are foregoing selling and updating their current homes with fresh ideas and innovative technologies. Thinking of upgrading a room or two? Check out 2018’s trends in home features and furnishings. SMART HOME K olton l andscaping Beautiful Landscapes Start Her e Residential &Commercial Weekly Lawn Maintenance • Spring Clean-Ups • Mulching & Edging Shrub Trimming, Planting, Pruning Fertilization • Family Owned & Operated • Fully Insured • • • • FREE First 2 Cuts with 2018 Lawn Maintenance Contract 22 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE ❘ Call Greg 412-680-6590 icmags.com The Internet of Things, or IoT, refers to a growing network of devices that allows objects to connect and exchange data. These devices are increasing at a rapid pace throughout many industries. Wearables allow consumers to track their steps and keep a closer eye on their fitness, and connected cars are equipped with internet access to send information to manufacturers or, as seen on the streets of Pittsburgh, to drive themselves. The smart home is one of the most popular and accessible markets for IoT application. • Everything is connected: This can include heating and cooling your home, turning on a light with a simple command, locking your front door from work, even checking to see if you have milk in the refrigerator from the grocery store. These are all features that make up a smart home. The list continues to grow, with ways to track and monitor everything in your home. Devices are learning how you live—when you get up and when you leave for work—and can adjust room temperatures, turn off lights and safeguard your home. All of which can be monitored from your smart device. • Energy tracking devices: These devices connect to your electricity meter to monitor how much energy you’re using, from tracking appliance usage to providing recommendations on how to save on energy. If cutting down on bills is on your list for 2018, a household monitor or individual appliance monitor may be just what you need. • Residential electric vehicle charging stations: Growing in popularity, hybrid and electric vehicles need somewhere to charge up before hitting the open road. These charging stations are accessible at home, allowing you to charge from a typical household socket. With advancing technologies, higher voltage charging stations are available to charge a car as much as four times faster than a typical charging station. • Importance of keeping IoT devices secure: IoT devices are growing exponentially, and security features aren’t necessarily keeping up. There are only a few regulatory standards set in place for IoT devices, elevating risk for security breaches. It’s important to always authenticate your devices with unique usernames and passwords.