How Can Smart Home Tech Connect Communities?

Smart tech has adapted quickly to today’s diverse lifestyles. A recent LG survey has shown that homeowners see the biggest benefits of smart homes as the ability to save energy, enjoy home life more, save time, enhance safety, save on effort, and make money savings. From smart TVs with streaming services and image/sound automation right through to washers that identify the best wash cycle for your clothing, or refrigerators with inbuilt self-diagnosis features, smart tech is making home life more appealing. The benefits of automation go significantly beyond that of individual homes, though. New technologies are also connecting communities and making them safer.

Enhancing Community Safety

Around 73 million homeowners form part of Homeowners Communities, owing to the stability, privatized amenities, and safety that comes with being part of a collective group. HOAs establish rules and set budgets for communities, prioritizing safety and comfort for all members. Safety enhances peace of mind, which is the main reason why many HOAs are including communal automation in their budgets, incorporating technology that was once used in individual homes, into their security systems. For areas like hallways, communal gyms, and shared pools, for instance, intelligent lighting systems are being installed. These automatically light up when someone is there, and close when nobody is present, thus making savings on utility bills. Communities are also embracing smart security equipment, which monitors and limits access to outdoor and community spaces via cameras, smart locks, and controllers that open and close for specific users.

Intelligent Water Management

In many states, water is a limited resource and communities are therefore keen to prioritize smart water management. Top technology once used for individual yards but now serving community green areas includes smart irrigation controllers, which optimize outdoor watering times to keep yards and plants green by monitoring local weather conditions. Intelligent systems essentially connect to the online sphere, sense weather conditions, and adapt watering schedules to real-time needs. These systems also send you alerts if leaks arise, so you can shut them from your phone, regardless of where you are located at the time.

Enhanced Care for Seniors

Senior communities are riding the smart tech wave to enhance safety and improve care for seniors. Amazon recently launched a vital tool that is being embraced by communities. Called Alexa Smart Properties, it involves placing Amazon’s Echo Show voice-activated video devices into every home in a community. These devices not only perform the same tasks as Alexa (video calls, smart device management, online queries), but they can also perform bespoke requests. The latter range from sharing community news with residents to conducting wellbeing checks, managing food orders, facilitating transport, and ensuring medication is taken. Residents wishing greater privacy can switch devices off if they desire greater privacy.

Smart home tech is taking over communities across the US. From smart security systems to intelligent water management, it is enabling homeowners to feel safer and saving energy and costs. Automation is also playing a vital role in senior care communities, enabling dwellers to feel that they have the attention they need quickly and efficiently.