3 Ways Automation Trends That Redefine Home Comfort

 2021 has been challenging due to remote work and lifestyle changes. With the new normal, the necessity for automation has increased. Automation solutions simplify everyday tasks and bring in comfort and convenience. In addition, it also improves your efficiency by eliminating mundane and repetitive chores, thus providing ease with everything that you do. 

At Anusha Technovision, we observed that current automation trends enhance lifestyle comforts, improve home security, and provide entertainment. This blog focuses on trend-setting automation products, which provide the same.

Lifestyle

Just like too many cooks spoil the broth, too many remotes or controllers complicate gadgets. Now, you can achieve a hassle-free automated lifestyle without worrying about controlling all the automated devices separately with the HomeWorks QS. This device seamlessly integrates various controls like lights, motorised blinds, temperature, etc. Moreover, it provides quick access to multiple electronic systems and energy efficiency without sacrificing comfort. 

With automation, you can transform every aspect of your lifestyle. For example, you can preset a timer to turn the lights on before reaching home with automated lighting control. You can also customise the ambience per se your mood. Sync the background music or playlist with the HomeWorks QS voice feature to turn a dull day into a happy one. Available in a variety of colours with attractive keypads, the HomeWorks QS enhances home efficiency.

With the Lutron Sivoia QS shading technology, you can control the amount of natural light entering your home depending on your requirement. Get complete shading control for your window treatments like roller shades, traditional drapery tracks etc.

To tie everything together and support any automation system, you require a strong and efficient processor. With a powerful 4-Series control engine, the Crestron automation processor provides high-speed gigabit ethernet control ports. In addition, the rack-mountable processor can help integrate technology into your modern house or commercial building with ease.

Security

Biometric security options effectively eliminate the need to touch surfaces and ensure hygiene. Of course, an added benefit is no more bulky keys! The Ekey biometric access control is one such suitable option for private and commercial spaces. It is a smart fingerprint scanner that connects to the server and has advanced features like timer settings.

Moreover, you can integrate it into regular locks, store fingerprints and operate the lock remotely with Ekey's app. Ekey biometric is available in various options like wall-mounted scanner, outlet mounted scanner and keypad. It is a perfect modern solution to address your security concerns.

Entertainment

Elevate and simplify entertainment with the latest automated technology systems with personalised features. Take the example of the Sonance Visual Performance Series speakers that enliven social gatherings with stunning sound quality. The speaker drivers are made from very rigid and lightweight materials, which provide excellent sound quality. It features a low-profile paintable grille blending into the wall or ceiling and is available in various shapes, sizes, performance levels etc.

Automation can help you save time and energy. These trending automation products come with hassle-free installation and upgrade benefits. The above are just a few trending examples of how automation can transform homes. Of course, the first step is to think through your needs and then make an informed decision to integrate technologies that make every day a little happier for you. 

Reopening: What Automation-Enabled Offices Will Look Like Post The Pandemic

 

The Covid-19 pandemic led to a massive disruption in the way the world functions. Back in the year 2020, people faced challenges while setting up home offices and working online. Offices are reopening while adhering to Covid norms. Employee health and safety are top priorities for organisations. Office automation is no longer just a 'luxury' but a necessity. Enabling modern solutions like digital automation, motion sensors, and voice detectors will effectively help deal with the pandemic. 

Digital Automation

With the world moving towards digitisation, various IoT (Internet of things) devices are gaining popularity. These devices help reduce employees' contact with the surfaces. For example, the automation with a Lutron Processor system enables scenes to be activated based upon the time of the day on an Astronomic time clock. Wireless wall-mounted keypads, allow for easy retrofit applications. This system replicates the controls on devices like smartphones, tablets, etc. 

Smart LEDs can adjust the light temperature of the room varying from a warm white (3000k)to cool white (5000k) and daylight levels of a particular space. For instance, the Lutron Digital Addressable lighting interface (DALI) modules provide different ambient lighting experiences to meet the occupants' needs. All these measures can help improve employee productivity and overall office experience.

Occupancy Sensors

Today, building automation and control tools are available to process and analyse occupancy patterns. These are called occupancy sensors that help to detect when a space is unoccupied and thus turn the lights off. As a result, one can save more energy and reduce carbon footprint. For example, the Lutron ceiling mount sensors feature high-end in ceiling sensors with minor motion detection ability. The dual technology version provides optimal energy saving and occupancy detection. This self-adaptive technology helps to eliminate the need for manual adjustments. Data from the sensors can also be fed to the Building Management Systems to manage the HVAC loads as well, thus maximizing energy savings.

Voice Technology

With voice-enabled devices, one can request services and enable contactless operations. Moreover, employees can use appliances without touching handles and buttons, making work simpler and ensuring social distancing. In addition, most voice-enabled devices understand commands like managing meetings, controlling conference room devices, and setting room temperature, simplifying work nitty-gritty.

HVAC System 

Smart building automation helps in creating a healthier and pleasant environment for employees. For example, ventilation systems with air cleaning and filtration technology can help reduce airborne contaminants creating a safer and more hygienic workplace. For instance, the Coolmaster System by Anusha Technovision facilitates seamless integration of the HVAC systems. The system provides services like maintaining the thermostat, touch keypad/dynamic keypad for control, occupancy/vacancy sensor, Lutron Connect App, etc.

The office spatiality is changing. Post the pandemic as the staff re-acclimate to the new normal, building improvisations and automation will increase office efficiency with employee well-being as the mainstay. Automated office engagement and innovation, embracing a hybrid work model will help deal with the pandemic effectively.

 

One of the new trends in international and multinational companies is to now focus on the Wellness factor in addition to focusing on minimizing the energy consumption in the building. As such now “wellness ratings” in addition to the LEEDS Energy ratings are being sought from international rating agencies. The realization dawns that the cost of energy in the building is nothing compared to the cost of employees and as such savings should be focused on increasing the productivity of the employees in proportion to the increased  “wellness”  -now being the new Mantra.

Home Automation Systems and Working Parents

There has been a constant evolution in man’s lifestyle, the curiosity to know more, and the aspiration for a shift in standards of living, that integrates humans with a world of technology and development. We can see how technology over the years has slowly made its way into the spaces we inhabit. The flexibility of which, can lend a helping hand to many working parents.  

The automation market of today is aiming at the absolute touch-free functioning of day-to-day activities. This revolution brought a myriad of new trends into the construction realm, which includes automated domestic help, temperatures control, facial and voice recognition, etc. Besides the fact automation that serves one’s routine, there is a rising need for integration of workspace at home. Fabricating intact communication at home, the new trends offer at-home conferences, keypad touch panels and contact of various devices, automated communication systems for a company, etc. 

From the smart clock that is automatically adjusted to one’s daily schedule to the sustainable features, these systems offer additional security and monitoring. Following are the most commonly used options available in the market : 

1. Smart Home basics

• Let’s start with the basics, with smart tv, lighting controls, and audio and video systems that can be turned on and off as per one’s need, and subsequently, a schedule can be formed for yourself and your child. Video doorbells not only sense, and alert you when someone is at the front door, but can also show you video footage of who is there and use intercom technology to talk to your visitor. Water Heaters can turn on and off based upon the time clock. Little kids can walk into the bathroom and not worry about how to turn the light switch on when the sensors turn them on automatically.
  
  

2. Automated Locks

• When your kids return home from school or if they lock themselves out of the house while you're at work, home automation systems give you the ability to unlock the door remotely. Better more, with their specific individual codes, they may gain access right away, and you'll get a notification on your phone as soon as they do. 

3. Smart Shades

• With motorized shading solutions, one can pull up or pull down shades for privacy or can be set to a schedule so that they can greet you with sunlight at the same time each morning. Smart privacy windows can be installed or a film you place over your windows. This changes from a normal window to an opaque window with zero visibility, from a remote or from your smart device. Many privacy windows also protect from harmful UV rays and work as insulators to maintain a comfortable temperature.

  

4. Saving Energy

• Kids that are too young to understand the importance of saving energy may leave fans, lights, and appliances on for longer than required. Using a home automation system makes it easy for you to handle all these controls with just a press of a button, no matter how far away you are from home. The efficiency of this system not only saves time but also helps in conserving energy. 

5. Smart Kitchens

• We often struggle with the efficiency of work that happens in our kitchens. Imagine if all the devices we use in the kitchen can be controlled and monitored from anywhere. From notifying you when the refrigerator door is left open to giving you timely updates on the load of the dishwasher or even if the stove or faucet has been left on. 

6. Smart Nurseries 

• Baby monitors incorporated with a video camera have made the life of parents stress-free. Multiple sensors when triggered send alerts to your smart device and can instantly be checked on. Whether it is a smart bed stand that acts as a baby station, and smart hub, or a changing mat that measures your baby’s weight to make sure they are properly fed, these products are changing the nursery game. A very common feature that a lot of parents use is having the maid watch over the kids at home, but with cameras that make it easy to check up and communicate with kids and the maid on your smartphone. 

7. Pet care

• Taking care of your fur-babies has been made easier than ever with smart pet care. From smart pet doors that open and close on command to the smart feeders that dispense food and water on schedule with a click on your phones. 

Further, working parents with differently-abled children can make use of home automation systems to monitor and keep track of their well-being. From a medical alert emergency button that can alert you or emergency service for immediate care, to activity-tracking that helps you schedule their food and medication on time. 

In a world where the line between work and home is blurred, it becomes quite tedious to have an organized home set-up with children around. Switching to smart homes or home automation systems can be efficient and less stressful especially for working parents. With rapid technological changes, it is quite clear that many contemporary and modish products will be introduced in the future, to enhance the scenario of what a futuristic home would look like. If you think you are ready to take a look at some Smart Home products, Anusha Technovision ( ATPL) has a lot to offer in the way of affordable and reliable Home Automation.

- The piece is written by Alok Hada, Director, Anusha Technovision Pvt. Ltd.

 

Contactless technology for safer built environments

In the past year, online searches for contactless products have increased by up to 2000%. As anxiety continues to spread over the outbreak of COVID-19 through contact or shared surfaces, these technologies offer a potential solution for homes, offices or any built environment that wants to reduce the risk of the viral spread. Here is a mini list of contactless technologies that are available at your disposal:

Digital Control: One of the most famous examples of contactless technology, IoT technologies, is the use of apps on your smartphones or tablets to control lighting, temperature, security, and more. This technology allows one to change the inhabited environment or access data without any external contact, eliminating physical interactions. Due to its flexible usage, you can apply this technology to almost any built space. 

Motion sensors: This technology eliminates unnecessary contact and the hassle of finding and turning the light switch on. With this technology, one minor but significant point of contact in workspaces and homes can be eliminated, reducing the potential risk of germs and diseases. Not only are we procuring safety measures, but ensuring the reduction in energy use and costs by adequate margins.

Smart bathrooms: One of the most important spaces to use contactless technology and to maintain hygienic and safer environments is a bathroom or public restrooms in workspaces and public places. Technologies such as intelligent toilets flush automatically through a timer and sensor and open and close automatically as well. Motion sensor toilets and faucets, intelligent bathroom systems have already received a spiked interest in society. 

Voice Control: Another aspect of contactless methods of interfacing with intelligent system is through the use of Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple Siri etc. to achieve a change in your lighting or to change the channel on your TV or to adjust the temperature on your AC or to even open your doors.

Smart Home Technology For A Sustainable Lifestyle

Living a sustainable lifestyle requires a great deal of dedication and awareness. Over the years, the environment has been harmed and polluted in numerous ways by us. Keeping that in mind, we are learning together to make a change by doing small bits to reduce the carbon footprint.

 

Before investing in smart home technology, it is crucial to understand what it means. Smart home technology incorporates a range of products that can be used at home to make everyday life more comfortable and simpler. The home can be transformed using advanced technology with a simple set-up and connection to the internet system.

Though smart home systems vary widely in pricing and capabilities, there are a number of affordable options available to make the right choice. Whether you select one simple device for your home or make your full home a smart home, you can pick the one suitable for your needs and budget.

Smart Plugs

Smart plugs can make a great addition to your home for smart set-ups. They can be used to set a schedule or use a voice command to turn on or off anything. With these plugs set to a timer, you can watch TV while falling asleep and a lot more without worrying about wasting electricity or fire risks. Not only do devices like this simplify your life, but they also keep you in line with your sustainable lifestyle goals.

Smart Thermostats

Smart thermostats work similar to regular thermostats but with greater control  and accessibility. With the integration of mobile devices, you can turn the AC on or off from anywhere in the world. It also allows you to see how much energy you have been using. 

Smart Appliances

Going eco friendly while buying your new appliance is a great option to consider. There are several appliances integrated with smart capabilities that can help your devices run more efficiently. Some of the features that these appliances come with are alerting you when the door is open, connection with smart devices etc. While purchasing these appliances, click for the certification with an official energy efficiency label to invest in an eco-friendly appliance.

Smart Lighting

One of the easiest ways of making a smart and efficient switch to a sustainable life with automation is introducing smart lighting into your home. Replacing incandescent light bulbs with smart LED bulbs can reduce your energy consumption. The LED bulbs are also safer and produce less waste over time. Using a mobile device to control the lighting in your home will ensure that you never forget to turn off lights when leaving a room.

- Alok Hada, Director, Anusha Technovision Pvt. Ltd

Automation - Comfort and Convenience

Automation is the process where technology does the job for us with minimal or no human intercession. It saves us from the regular annoying job of getting up on a lazy winter morning just to switch on the geyser. A magic wand that can turn the air-conditioning on to just the “right” level for us or turn on the lighting again to the required intensity – depending upon the space and the activity, and the person occupying the space.

Automation is the new era of evolution. Today, machines run the world, economy and societies. Hence, they reduce the human effort manifold. Globally, dependency on machines at all levels and scale of activities has exponentially increased and evolved. Not just big companies or factories, even our everyday household items are fully automated. Washing machines, water heaters, refrigerators, ACs, lighting or dishwashers, automation has left no stone unturned to make the human life comfortable and convenient. Therefore, technology helps us in our everyday life by reducing the workload, and increasing comfort.

Services like HVAC, lighting control systems, occupancy aware control system, integrated security systems that only require an active Wi-Fi connection and have a user-friendly interface, are all automated in function and execution. 

What exactly can Automation do?

In general, control of systems is often mistakenly referred to as Automation. For example, the ability to dim lights, to control A/cs from a smart phone or to change your Tata Sky channel with Alexa voice control is generally referred to as understood as automation today in the residential field. However “automation” ideally should be more than just control, even though the control could be via a touch panel or via a voice control. As long as there is a input given from our side to achieve a certain state from a system, it is control or even more refined control rather than automation. In my view, “Automation Nirvana” would be achieved the day we have lights automatically dimming depending upon the personal preferences of the home owner automatically (sensing time of day or sensing activity such as watching a movie) WITH OUT any input from the homeowner on an “every time” basis. Or say when the air-conditioning follows your pattern of temperature requirement changes through the night and then does exactly that for you next time with out any input. Or say the grocery is ordered from your regular vendor when ever sugar, salt, or wheat or Tissue paper or any of your regular stuff is about to finish for the month. Sounds futuristic? Not really. Amazon offers almost a similar service in the US. Smart refrigerators such as Samsung have unleashed some what similar function devices. Google Nest Thermostats do some of what you want. The ideal thing would of course be when all of this works seamlessly with out having to go to different sub systems and different products for each of the above things.

Then again comes in the question of privacy and how much do you actually want the devices to know about your daily habits and then to run your life, But then you have to either give up this Automation Nirvana Idea, or stop worrying about privacy. You can’t save your cake and eat it too! Or Can you? Time will tell!

Eco-Friendly Commercial Automation

No matter what kind of business one may run, you might find yourself wasting more energy as each month goes by. But how can one reduce their carbon footprint while trying to keep up with the daily needs of the business? You could own a restaurant or a small business or a large corporate office – but either way, a smart and innovative commercial automation system can significantly impact your energy usage for the better. Anusha Technovision Pvt. Ltd. (ATPL) can provide the space with the smart features necessary to lower your bills and make your business eco-friendly. Keep reading below to learn more about the commercial automation technologies that can make your commercial setup automated!

In US, as per data on the US government website, 38% of the Total energy consumed in a Corporate Building is on account of Lighting. A reduction is the lighting usage can significantly reduce the total energy consumption. That is where Lightingcontrol strategies involving  High End Trim, Day Lighting, Vacancy Sensing, Time Scheduling, Motorised Shades among others would help significantly in Energy Saving.

High End Trim: With the help of dimming we start off with Maximum out put of Lighting Fixtures clipped to 80%. The logic being that Human eye cannot easily differentiate between 10-20% reductions in light from a maximum of 100%.

Day Lighting: The use of Day Light sensors to measure the sunlight available and correspondingly reducing the output of Light Fixtures helps save energy.

Vacancy Sensing: Entering into a conference room and manually turning lights on, but having the facility where in – on exit the vacancy sensor automatically turns lights or even air conditioning off can significantly reduce energy costs and is a commonly used method today for energy saving.

Time Scheduling: Using a Time clock to reduce the over all lighting after normal office hours in public areas is one method of energy saving. The areas could also be places like Parking Lots where the maximum traffic is known to happen at certain times in the day and lighting can be adjusted according to the same.

Motorised shades: Automated shades are the perfect solution to cut down on the number of lights needed. With just a push of a button, you can lower or raise the shades at your command. Any of the employees or workers can operate the tech themselves – before a presentation, a meeting, or if a customer asks to have the natural sunlight come through.But when the sun is at its perfect spot, the shades can let the light in for everyone to enjoy its warm glow. When the shades are up – the lights can dim or turn off completely, effectively eliminating this waste of energy.

IN many places with intelligent software the shades can be made to raise or lower depending upon the path of the sun, automatically. Thus glare can be avoided when sunlight is direct and obstructing the ease of work on a desktop by bring shades down , where as in the same space depending on sun path when natural light is not the cause of glare, shades can be taken up to bring lighting and view for the space user.

Motorized windows are not just great for balancing a room’s lighting but they also provide the ultimate insulation for your business. Shades are able to create insulation, by relying on how they are installed.With a “gap” in between the shade and wall, there is an ideal amount of space created that acts as insulation for the building.In the summer, the HVAC will not have to work overtime to cool down the company space, and in winter, the heating bills won’t be nearly as high. Smart shades can keep one warmer or colder when needed, without even lifting a finger.

Measurement:

All Above strategies can save energy. However in order to measure the actual saving it is important that a big commercial building also invests in a proper Lighting Management System (LMS) that comprises of hard ware and software to measure, control and suggest energy saving methods based upon actual data and usage in the space.

                                                                                   - Alok Hada, Anusha Technovision Pvt. Ltd. 

User Interface

User Interface in the present world refers to the visual interface of any technology, application or service that is being accessed, interacted with and used by the end users. At Anusha Technovision Pvt. Ltd., we provide our clients with optimally designed user interfaces for services, both for hard products and applications running on smart devices.

Examples of User Interface

1. Keypads- To complement and help enhance the beauty of interiors, we provide wide range of keypads in a variety of colours, finishes, style and function. The keypad is easy to use, readable, with custom engraved buttons in both wired and wireless options. We can set any mood lighting, control of shades/ HVAC on the keypads. 

2. Touch Screen- The in-house GUI (Graphic User Interface) software is developed in a way that it will be easy to understand icons, that allows end user to control and monitor lights, shades, audio video, security through a touch panel anywhere and anytime. We develop own own GUI and it can be customized according to the requirement of the customers. The various touch screen panels are available in multiple sizes. 

3. Voice Command- Now you can control the entire home with your 

voice. Amazone Alexa or Google home provide the device but we are here to integrate the lighting controls, shades, audio video, security, HVAC system with voice commands. We configure each command according to user’s specific words and choices. 

We at ATPL provide customized keypads that complement the existing interior design of the space, keeping in sync with the existing tone, our panels contrast the colours and finishes of the wall. It provides easy to use, readable buttons and comes in both wired and wireless versions. Lighting moods, controlling of shades/HVAC and multiple other functions can be done using these keypads. The touch screen interface is designed by an in-house UI design team ensuring easy understandable icons with distinct buttons that allow users to control and monitor lights, play audios and videos, and control our phones through the same. The user interface can be customized according to the user, and the touch panels are available in multiple sizes. An interesting inclusion is the addition of voice controls to the panels. Intelligently integrating services with devices like Amazon Alexa or Google Echo, our panels integrate lighting controls, audio and video playback, air conditioning and security features by bringing into one roof all appliances in the house. Commands and order words are customized according to the client’s demands.

Each component in this system viz. the keyboard, touchpad, and voice commands hold their own importance. While keypads enhance the aesthetic appeal of the wall, users also might choose to simply use their personal phones to control the settings. The inclusion of voice control facilities in the system help users to work with both their hands while controlling the various parameters of your home. Integrated with devices like Alexa and Echo, this brings in the next generation implementations in home automation.

- Alok Hada, Anusha Technovision Pvt. Ltd.