Demand for smart homes: safe and robust
The number of IT functions in houses is increasing. Research students at the KTH School of Architecture are now able to show that people who live in so-called Smart homes value increased comfort and safety greater than IT functions that lead to savings.
At the turn of the millennium, Swedish building companies carried out three comprehensive investments in IT functions in smart homes in the area of Stockholm. Two hundred families in the three accommodation projects were then studied for a period of five years of their initial period in their accommodation.
The results show that IT functions which increase security and safety are those that have so far been most appreciated. The safety functions include among other things an access system which is has two different modes - “Home” and “Away”. These modes in turn control the water, the electricity to the cooker, the burglar alarm, the ventilation system and the power outlets. Everything is controlled via the lock in the front door.
Similarly functions which provide increased comfort, for example a digital booking system for the communal laundry room are much appreciated according to the study. Energy-saving IT functions are not as popular however.
Greger Sandström, PhD (Engineering) and the person who has carried out the study says that the results also point to a number of problems.
“The Smart home system has to be extremely robust, otherwise there is a risk that the people using the system lose faith in it which will lead to the functions not being used. In addition there are a number of questions regarding who or which parties will be in charge of operations and maintenance and also regarding the standardisation of smart homes. Without this in place, smart homes will be a difficult investment decision for housing companies,” says Greger Sandström.
The study also shows that small differences in the design of smart home systems produce major differences in users’ behaviour. For example, accessibility is of major importance.
“An easily accessible touch screen to control the system is preferable compared to a portable computer which the user has to log into in order to use,” says Greger Sandström.
For more information, contact Greger Sandström at 08 - 782 86 29.
Peter Larsson