How Do You Define a Smart Home or Smart Building?

In the home, this might include features like programmable thermostats, automatic lights and appliances, and even security systems that can be controlled remotely. In a commercial or office setting, a smart building might have energy-efficient lighting and HVAC systems, as well as security and access control systems that are integrated with employee badges or mobile devices. 

In both cases, the goal is to makethe home or office more comfortable, convenient, and secure, while also reducing energy consumption.

What Is a Smart Device? 

Smart devices are electronic gadgets that connect, share and interact with their users as well as other smart devices.

Some Examples of Smart Technologies 

• Smart TVs 
• Smart lightings 
• Smart switches 
• Smart thermostats 
• Smart locks 
• Smart security cameras 
• Smart appliances (kitchen, household, etc.) 

What Is a Smart Home? 

A smart home is a residence spacethat uses smart devices to automate and manage tasks, typically related to comfort, convenience, security, and energy efficiency. 

In other words, a smart home is ahouse that makes life easier and more enjoyable by automating the mundane and everyday tasks that we typically have to do manually.  

For example, imagine waking up in themorning and your coffee maker already has your favourite brew ready and waiting for you. Or, imagine coming home from a long day at work and your house automatically turns on the lights and starts playing your favourite music.  

How Do Smart Homes Work? 

Smart homes typically make use of acentral control system that manages and coordinates all the different smart devices within the home. This central control system can be a physical device, like a smart hub, or it can besoftware-based, like an app on your smartphone.  

The devices within a smart home arealso connected to this central control system and communicate with it wirelessly. This allows the devices to exchange information and carry out commands. For example, if your smoke detector detects a fire, it can send a signal to your central control system, which can then send a message to your smartphone to let you know.  

Both Zigbee and Z-Wave are two of the most popular home automationnetworks. Both employ mesh network technologies based on short-range, low-power radio waves to connect smart home devices.

Downside of Using Zigbee 

Zigbee and Z-Wave devices cansometimes be incompatible with one another. So if you have a Z-Wave hub and want to add a Zigbee device, you might need to buy a separate Zigbee hub as
well.  

Also because it relies on a cloud, rather than a local based smart home system.  

A cloud-based smarthome system is one in which your device information, room assignment, scene settings, and system controls are stored on external serversrather than within your home network. 

If a hacker hacks into a cloud, they could easily control many aspects of your house. 

All of your data is stored on yourhome network, too, which is not the case with a local installation, which Home-A-Genius smart home solutions use. Even if a company's servers are hacked, your data will be secure at home since everything stays on your local network. To gain access to your local network, a hacker would have to physically be on your property; this is much more difficult than hacking into a remote server.

What Is a Smart Building? 

Even though all smart homes are smart buildings, not every single smart building is a smart home.  

Enterprise and commercial buildingslike offices, skyscrapers, apartments and residences deploy IoT technologies to make the building more efficient in productivity or energy costs reduction
while also maintaining security and preserving occupant satisfaction - this makes a building a smart building.

Smart buildings, like smart homes,make use of many of the same smart technologies, including lighting, energy, heating and air conditioning, and security and access systems. 

A smart building, for example, maysave money by utilising sensors that determine the number of people in a space. The temperature can be adjusted automatically if sensors detect a full meeting
room, or heat can be lowered if it is clear that everyone in the office has departed. 

In addition to these benefits, smart buildings can offer predictive and efficient maintenance tobuilding owners and managers.