Surpassing boundaries in age, home automation rendered comfort and convenience to a 75-year-old mother

“Why did you put this system in my room? I do not understand these 'keypads with buttons'. Please replace these with regular switches,” said my mother. 

It was 2012. We had just moved into our recently bought apartment in Noida. We had been living in an apartment in the same society for the past couple of years on rent. My wife was happy that after living on rent, we had finally bought the apartment in the same society and were no longer ‘tenants’ but ‘owners’. My kids who were in middle school were happy that they did not have to move from a society, where they had their own friends. But the challenge for me was to install an Automation system that did not require the breaking of walls and ceilings - just enable minimal work that could justify to the world and to my family that I practiced what I preached - I did want to use automation in my own home. 

After some deliberation, I managed to do that by installing a Lutron system that worked with existing switches and had a mix of on/off devices (lighting, fans, Air-conditioning, and geyser) on keypads in the bedrooms and some dimming in the living and Dining Hall. My 9-year-old son loved it. I eventually had to remove the master control from the common iPad, because in the first few days he discovered he could switch off the lights in his parent's room and his grandparent's room.

The only ones who did not like the 'system' were my parents – especially, my Mom. I asked her what exactly was bothering her in the system. “I do not understand what button does what and I do not want to complicate my life anymore,” she said. I first considered removing the system completely from her room and letting it remain in the rest of the house. 

Then, I decided to try and convince her otherwise. The first thing I did was – I engraved each button. In a few days, she had a nice-looking keypad and it had buttons that were backlit and labeled: Lights, Fan, AC, Geyser, Living, Kitchen, and Master, etc. 

The “Geyser” button caught her eye. She asked if she could honestly turn the geyser on from her bedside. It meant she didn’t have to use the step stool and a stick just to switch on the geyser. (Mind you, she is quite short!) I said yes. She told me to go on. I then explained to her she could use the “Kitchen” button to turn on kitchen lights from her keypad. This meant she did not have to walk in darkness from her bedroom to the kitchen early morning, and she liked it more.

I then told her I could also turn on the geyser and kitchen lights via a time clock and the geyser would automatically turn on/off after half an hour every morning. She seemed less averse to the idea of automation in the house now.  

3 months later, I came home to find my 10-year-old daughter showing off her Living Room Mood lighting from the remote to her friends. My Mom is talking on the phone with my sister in Jaipur telling her how convenient it is that she does not have to remember to switch on the geyser in the morning and she should try it at her home too. 

My wife- well, she says she is happy that she can just check if the kids were up by checking if the room lights were on, on her phone - not only that - she did not need to nudge me anymore to go and switch off the Ac in the kids' room after they were asleep. 

“But we could put on the timer with the AC remote too!” I exclaimed

“Yes,” she says, “I could switch off their AC (after they were asleep for a couple of hours), you see, but could not turn on their fan at the same time from here - Now I can. “ 

Well - To each - their own.

The moral of the story?

A)    Do not sell something to someone that does not work for them. I could never have convinced my mom to see the benefits of using a smartphone to turn the lights on or to use mood lighting, in her room. But the geyser on a keypad or the kitchen switch next to her – worked for her.

B)    It takes time for people to adapt to new technology or even new ideas. Be patient and ask them to do the same.

C)    Keep it simple

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

Hospitality Automation

Lighting needs in hospitality sector are no longer restricted to illuminating the space and enabling visibility. It, however, has evolved to be something that gives the visitors an experience of the place. Good lighting has the potential to transform the space and give the venue a character, look and feel. Today, we have different lighting control modules, each playing a distinct role to enable energy efficient lighting solutions.

Different areas require different type of lighting according to the function they perform. Lighting in the past decades, used to be a supplementary element to the overall scheme of a space. Now it has become a key element in a design scheme, and sometimes, is even used as a distinct feature in and of itself. The lighting solutions for hotels are chosen depending upon the requirement of the space. The type of lighting used enhances the look of the area and gives the visitors an experience in itself. Dull, dimly lit space often disappoint the visitors unless the space specifically requires such type of lighting. Lighting can play a huge role in the success of your hotel and how others perceive it. 

In the Hospitality sector, the major focus is on achieving the correct ambience with lighting controls. Hotels which are energy conscious stress on reducing energy consumption through controls. Dimmer compatible lights are a new addition to hospitality lighting solutions as they give the guests liberty to adjust the lights as per their needs. Such fixtures with dimmers also add to the overall aesthetics of the room liberating it from ugly looking light bulbs, while also adding an element of automation. This allows the users a higher level of control over his surrounding environment, which also helps them get more comfortable in a space. Hotel industry is continuously experimenting with the type of lighting they use. The innovations and developments are making it easier for the designers to use lights to accentuate the overall look of the space – both from the inside and outside.

Different types of lighting like light installations, façade lighting, controllable chandeliers, accent lights, dimmable LEDs etc are now used in the hotels. The LED industry is also changing at a very fast pace. Everyday there are new innovations and inventions. These changes and developments bring new opportunities along in terms of innovative and energy saving lighting solutions. We at Anusha Technovision (ATPL) strive to provide automation services in many sectors, including hospitality. From customizable guestroom automation to public area lighting controls, there is something for everyone. The products used and augmented in a design scheme by ATPL is versatile and allows designers a lot of flexibility in the way it can be implemented in a space, whether in an installation or the broader lighting scheme, making it an economical choice in terms of energy consumption.

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!

New Trends in Home Automation

Toward the end of the year, the world wonders, “What’s next?”  The world of home automation is no different, and manufacturers have started to give us a clue about what might be coming to your home in 2024

At Anusha Technovision, we look forward to what’s on the horizon for 2024, especially in smart home automation, lighting, and voice control. We can’t wait to share these trends with you, and we hope you’ll call us to speed up your home to keep up with the dynamic year ahead.

Smart Mirrors:

The famous scene from the movie “Minority Report” where Tom Cruise’s character manipulates images on a screen with his hands is now one step closer to reality thanks to smart mirror technology. Mirrors can now display news and weather updates, show you your social media feeds, interact with other automation systems in your home and much more. Having that smart technology in your bathroom may be a little disconcerting for some, but the added convenience and sheer “wow” factor will likely persuade many people to bring these smart screens into their homes.

MORE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CAPABILITIES

It may feel strange to admit, but we are firmly in the age of artificial intelligence. AI is poised to make a big impact on the world of home automation in 2024.

One major example of this trend is AI-enabled security devices. Security companies are in the process of rolling out smart door cameras with machine-learning technology. These devices will be able to identify specific faces, autonomously determine who’s at the door and then let them inside if they recognize a familiar person. There are also smart sensors with advanced AI systems that can detect fires and potential burglars as well as alert you if your carbon monoxide levels are too high

WHOLE-HOME AUTOMATION

When your whole home automation runs as scheduled, it feels as though your entire house falls at your feet and facilitates your most carefree lifestyle. If that didn’t feel seamless enough, we have heard that even accessing the technology will get progressively easier.

·       More Scheduling: How? All signs point to further automation via programming on devices — no touch necessary. If you want your lights to turn on and off at a set time each day, that is a time-event. A non-scheduled event would be lights that come on when the door to the room is opened and go off when it closes

·       5G Creeping In: 2024 might not unveil a fully capable 5G, which will nearly eliminate our reliance on Wi-Fi. But 5G, projected to emerge in the next couple years, will usher in robust, high-speed connectivity, which will enhance every area of home automation.

·       Demand for Design: We’ve also found that new tech shifts toward a more diligent focus on design, adding more hidden speakers, architectural details, smaller (or hidden) devices and fewer cords. The smart home integrators at Elevated Integration care about how design and tech integrate, an area in which we’re proud to be ahead of the curve.