Interior design, landscaping and home improvement in general have picked up the pace in recent years as growing affluence and more homeowners emerge in Malaysia. BizHive Weekly takes a look at the many possibilities available in the market today.
Bringing the comfort of the future with home automation
KUCHING: On your way back home from work, imagine driving up to your home gate only to find it automatically open for you to enter, closing immediately after sensing that your car has been parked properly and the engine switched off.
Upon unlocking your front door and walking in, you find both the lights and air conditioner switching on, allowing you to cool down and relax after a long day at work.
After locking your front door, you find your security system set in motion to ensure maximum security as well as privacy within your four walls.
Welcome to the 21st century, where technology has grown leaps and bounds to maximise comfort and simplicity while ensuring energy efficiency and security is in place.
An automated home can consist of a simple grouping of controls, or it can be heavily automated to the point whereby any appliance plugged into an electrical socket can be remotely controlled.
Such systems aim to ease the process of domestic activities and enhance living by providing better ambiance and security.
These include home entertainment systems, garden watering, pet feeding, ambiance setting, household chores and so forth.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that home automation systems are making inroads into Malaysian homes and are literally becoming household items as the incorporation of intelligent technology seen in automobiles, smart phones, and other electronic items is being readily accepted.
In fact, the popularity of home automation has been increasing greatly over the years thanks to better affordability and increasing simplicity of use.
Some of the more popular or common functions of home automation include scene control, noted Schneider Electric Industries (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Schneider Electric), a multi-national electrical and electronics solutions conglomerate.
“For example, lighting control is not all about reducing light.
“It offers the correct light when and where required while reducing wastage,” the group highlighted in an email response to BizHive Weekly.
“One can also enjoy optimal scenes by recalling the preferred optimised pre-set conditions every time for sustainable energy saving.”
Home automation systems are flexible in the sense that it can save energy based on factors such as occupancy, brightness level, time of day as well as temperature, Schneider Electric added.
This is perhaps one of the main concerns of residents living in a warm and humid climate like Malaysia, where the weather can be very sunny or cloudy in a pinch.
“Blinds and shutters can open and close automatically based on the time of day and amount of light to optimise the mix of natural light and artificial light,” the group revealed.
“It can also detect the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors to optimise heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) power consumption.
“It also ensures minimum wastage through occupancy detection.”
Another concept is time scheduling, whereby occupants can determine the timeframe for systems to operate.
Schneider Electric noted this to be particularly helpful for those who were away from home, providing you control as well as heightening security.
“Residents can decide on the timing for lights and the television to turn on to discourage potential intruders while you are away from home,” it noted.
“Also, this can help cut costs as these electronics are not left turned on all the time.”
Keeping control of the situation The key criteria for any home automation system is the freedom from controlling the systems and having them operate as scheduled without having to fuss about it.
However, maintaining some level of control over these systems is still a very necessary process, given that one might change one’s mind about the settings.
“To suit different moods, one can combine controls to create ambiances to fit the mood and activity, say a romantic dinner, family time, ‘welcome home’ mode and so forth,” Schneider Electric said.
Another major criterion is security.
Allowing yourself to relax and escape from the hustle and bustle of life needs to be complemented with the thought of your household’s security at all times.
Important points to note include allowing for display alarms (such as panic mode or pamper mode), display system status (arm failure or low battery) or even display zone status (such as living room, bedroom, remote alarm and disarm and remote video monitoring).
With the availability of mobile gadgets such as smart phones and tabs, home owners can remotely access, monitor and control their homes through these devices.
This also allows home owners to enrich the current control functions such as power monitoring and security monitoring.
“There are basically limitless possibilities that open up when you are fully connected,” the group enthused.
“By keeping connected with your home, you can monitor your home with video security systems. Some systems even alert owners when it detects an unexpected event, allowing them to prepare for the inevitable.”
Challenges of home automation systems
Owning these systems, however, is no easy task.
Apart from designing and customising the home automation system to your home, one also needs to confirm the designs and pricing of each individual project and then progress to job start installing, wiring, installation of equipment, programming, testing, commissioning and finally training the owner to operate the system.
Prices of these systems can also reach astronomical costs, taking into account the equipment, components, furniture and installation costs.
Ongoing costs also are not to be taken lightly: a large amount of electricity is required daily to run the control systems.
Maintenance is also needed for the control and networking systems, including troubleshooting and the eventual cost of upgrading as standards change.
Paving the future
Despite the aforesaid challenges, Schneider Electric believed that homeowners and those looking to own a house would consider installing home automation systems in the future.
“Most of the homeowners are technology savvy and are looking forward to high tech systems for their homes,” it concluded.