Home automation or domotics is building automation for a home, called a smart home or smart house. It involves the control and automation of lighting, heating (such as smart thermostats), ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), and security, as well as home appliances such as washer/dryers, ovens or refrigerators/freezers. Wi-Fi is often used for remote monitoring and control. Home devices, when remotely monitored and controlled via the Internet, are an important constituent of the Internet of Things. Modern systems generally consist of switches and sensors connected to a central hub sometimes called a “gateway” from which the system is controlled with a user interface that is interacted either with a wall-mounted terminal, mobile phone software, tablet computer or a web interface, often but not always via Internet cloud services.

Even from the mere definition on Wikipedia, you know what to expect of a Smart Home. It is the ‘house of the future’ as we have seen it in movies a long time ago.

Complete automation of systems inside a house and the possibility to remote control them became a reality in the last few years. Because of the house’s ability to ‘respond’ to requests and needs of the inhabitants, it was named in the real estate domain a ‘smart home’. But is it smart enough to fascinate an English buyer?

Photo source: Property Reporter http://bit.ly/2x5GpDi

Latest research shows that most Brits are afraid of smart homes because of reasons like:

• unapproved data collection;
• hackers;
• web viruses.

More details in the article on Property Reporter:

Majority of Brits are fearful of ‘Smart Homes’

Distrust in this type of a ‘connected house’ can be caused by lack of knowledge. Maybe testing the house before can prove to be a good way to increase confidence in home systems and technologies.