The Latest Smart Home Technologies for Luxury Living
Gone are the days of coming home to a dark house and feeling around for a light switch or manually activating your security system before shutting the door behind you. Recent advances in smart home technologies have revolutionized the way we interact with our living spaces, allowing us to control our home’s basic functions with our voices and cell phones. From automated home entertainment systems to climate control solutions, smart home devices provide homeowners with convenience, efficiency, and security—and are now considered an essential feature of high-end properties.
Let’s explore the latest innovations in smart home technology and how they’re setting a new standard for luxury living.
Let There Be Light
Smart lighting systems allow homeowners to control the ambiance of their spaces with the touch of a button or a simple voice command. Whether it's adjusting the brightness levels for a cozy movie night or setting the mood for a dinner party, smart lighting offers convenience and flexibility while enhancing the aesthetic appeal of a home. Products like LED smart bulbs and smart light switches allow you to adjust color temperatures and brightness levels in a particular space via voice command or an app, while automated window coverings help make it easier to control the amount of natural light that’s entering your home.
Some advanced systems even feature built-in sensors that adjust lighting based on levels of natural light throughout the day, maximizing energy efficiency without lifting a finger. Known as circadian lighting or human-centric lighting, this feature follows the body’s circadian rhythm, which has been proven to have positive effects on health and well-being.
Hot & Cold
If you and your spouse’s most common argument is whether or not 74 degrees is too hot to live in, advanced thermostats can help settle the debate. Products such as the Nest Learning Thermostat and Ecobee SmartThermostat offer intelligent climate control features, including learning algorithms that adapt to the homeowner's preferences and occupancy patterns to optimize energy usage and comfort. And by installing a zoned system and/or smart air vents, you can set different rooms to different temperatures.
Safety First
Smart home security systems integrate high-definition cameras, motion sensors, door and window sensors, and smart locks to provide comprehensive protection against intruders—or alert you when a package is dropped off or in emergency cases of fires or flooding. These systems often include features such as remote monitoring, smartphone alerts, and integration with virtual assistants for voice-controlled operation. Popular DIY smart home security brands like SimpliSafe and Ring have made protecting and monitoring your home investment simple and fairly affordable.
House Helpers
If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own Rosie the Robot android maid from the 1960s futuristic cartoon The Jetsons, you’re in luck. Today’s smart home appliances and cleaning solutions make everyday tasks faster, more enjoyable, and less hands-on. From refrigerators with built-in touchscreens that can stream your favorite TV shows and music and suggest recipes based on the ingredients you have on hand, to high-tech ovens that can be controlled remotely via smartphone apps, smart kitchen appliances have transformed the way we prepare our morning coffee or our kids’ lunches. AI-powered laundry machines can detect fabric types and soil levels to provide a more efficient clean, and robot vacuums and mops clean up pet hair and grime while you’re at the office.
High-End Entertainment
Audiovisual systems have become smarter and more immersive in recent years, with features like voice-controlled bluetooth speakers and 4K Ultra HD projectors. Multi-room sound systems allow you to travel from space to space without missing a minute of your favorite podcast, and of course, music, TV, and other entertainment can typically all be controlled from your phone or voice command.
Fully Connected
Many luxury properties are now equipped with integrated home automation systems. Rather than using several isolated products to control your home’s lighting, climate, and security, integrated home automation is a professionally installed network of hardware, communication, and electronic interfaces that work to integrate everyday devices with one another via the Internet. Luxury brands like Savant provide a one-stop interface where you can control nearly every function of your home.
The Impact on Real Estate
The more accessible and ubiquitous smart home features become, the more they become a must-have on homebuyers’ wish lists. So, if you’re preparing to sell your home in the near future, you might consider installing some of these new technologies. A recent survey by security.org reported that:
7 out of 10 homebuyers are actively looking to buy a smart home.
78% of homebuyers would be willing to pay more for a smart home.
82% of renters want at least one smart home device.
For 35% of renters, owning a smart home device was either ‘important’ or ‘extremely important.’
Convenience and time-saving are the top two desired benefits of smart home devices.
Want to learn more about real estate trends and strategies? Iron Works Realty can help.
With two decades of local market knowledge, we have the tools and resources to develop a foolproof strategy for selling your home. From smart home technology to outdoor living amenities, we take current trends into consideration and provide marketing materials that target buyer’s demands. Reach out to explore how we can help you get the best return on your investment.
