With each passing day, advancements in technology keep making life easier. With the help of technology we can now boast of various smart devices like Wi-Fi & smart thermostats.

If  Charles Babbage could do anything from wherever he is at the moment, he’d probably smile and be in amazement on how impactful technology has now turned out to be.

I will be writing on smart home technologies in this article, stay with me and let’s walk the path of knowledge (sounds cliche?)

Smart technologies broken down…

Smart home technologies refer to devices that allow for automation in their use. This makes it possible for home appliances, devices or gadgets to be controlled remotely from a single device. For instance, if you could control your home’s thermostat, lightning, locks and other  appliances from your phone it is no gain saying that you are living in a smart home.

Smart technology is able to function in homes because these appliances have been fitted with communication technologies which makes remote control possible.

What are the advantages of Smart home technologies?

• The basic advantage to having smart home technologies is the convenience that comes along with it. Infact, I am writing this with Nas’ Life is Good track autoplaying in my head. Imagine sleeping in bed while controlling the door locks or regulating the thermostat from your couch? The convenience which smart home technologies bring forth cannot be overemphasized.
• TYour time management improves: the ability to manage your home devices from a single gadget allows you to save a whole lot of time which in fact is tantamount to saving money. Imagine if you could save all the hours you have wasted searching for lost remote controls for each and almost all of your devices.
• With this life easing technology, you can monitor how things are at home without being at home. For instance if someone tries to burgle your home you could receive a notification.
• It makes it seamless to integrate new devices into your home since you get to control them all from one device.
• It allows you better insights on how you use your home devices. For instance you’ll be able to monitor how much time you spent watching the TV or for how long the light bulbs have been on and other insights that can result in improved efficiency in your home.
• To make life easier for the disabled: People with some kind of disabilities might not find it easy to navigate their way around certain home devices but having a smart devices that connects all appliances makes life easy for them.

These are few out of the many numerous benefits attached to the use of smart home technologies. Now the question is there any disadvantages to these seemingly endless advantages? Of course there are.

Disadvantages of smart home technologies.

• The most apparent disadvantage to smart home technology is their expensiveness. The installation of this technology may range from a few thousands of dollars to hundreds. And many people may not have that much to spend on the technology.
• Due to the complex nature of these technologies, you may experience technical challenges often and often.
• The over reliance on internet connection could be another major problem. What if the internet experiences a downtime while you are locked outside of your own home? Not a very nice scene right?
• The technology upon which smart home devices are built may become outdated without prior notice. Our pace of technological growth is so unpredictable that this can happen anytime.