Smart apartment technologies had a long journey on their way to becoming affordable and desired amenities for common people. Today, everyone from every resident to property managers can have the advantage of a smart apartment experience.
By 2027, the number of active households in the smart apartment market will likely exceed 672 million users. These figures prove that for multifamily communities, smart home technology will surely be standard amenities, rather than luxury goods, and the demand will remain ever-increasing.
Smart building technology is therefore not only about smart devices. It’s about a new way of life, with peace of mind and a calming sense of control over everything that is happening at home.
Want to become a part of the future by creating high-tech apartments? Read on to get into this industry and take your first steps in smart home tech.
What are smart apartments? Key features of a smart building
Smart apartment buildings aim at making the lives of the residents easier, more comfortable, and safe. A smart building is equipped with interconnected smart technologies that can automate a lot of community management tasks, which is especially important for multifamily housing.
Although some components of smart home technology for apartments are already known to a huge number of residents, a true smart apartment experience is much more than auto turn-off lights.
Here are the three key features that reveal how to turn an apartment into a smart home:
- Smart devices for apartments — The core of every smart building is a set of advanced devices that can monitor different indicators, send this data to the cloud, and react or provide analysis based on this information.
- Connected ecosystems — Smart apartment connectivity is another decisive component that makes up an environment of interconnected devices and sensors, and provides property managers with control over the whole building.
- Smart property management — A connected apartment includes management features that allow users to automate tasks and create a more convenient system with calendars, messengers, and on-demand services included.
It’s a common misbelief that only newly built or future apartments can be suitable for installing smart home tech. In fact, virtually all multifamily and apartment buildings have compatible electrical wiring and Wi-Fi or at least cellular connectivity and enjoy all advantages of smart device ecosystems.
Benefits of connected apartments
A smart apartment is essentially a revolutionary concept that breaks the pattern of residents being servants of their homes. How can a smart home apartment be beneficial for a multifamily community, both for residents and property owners?
- Convenience — First and foremost, smart apartment solutions are designed to make the life of its residents easier, give them more time for things that really matter, and help them get rid of routines that can be automated thanks to advanced technologies.
- Cost efficiency — With smart devices, not only can you cut significant energy costs thanks to self-regulated items such as thermostats and smart lights, but you also can substitute additional property staff like guards and doormen for automated systems.
- Affordable high-quality security — When building smart apartments, property designers put a special emphasis on security issues. You can install an advanced security system with smart sensors and cameras to ensure yourself that no one will get away with disturbing the peace of your home.
- Sustainability — Last but not least, eco-friendliness has recently become a new standard for home appliances. Regular devices like lights and fridges are now manufactured to use a minimal amount of energy. Other systems, like leak detectors, can prevent your home from unpleasant accidents and excessive water consumption.
The advantages you get from living in smart buildings will surely be a basic requirement for multifamily communities, rather than excesses. So, what exactly can provide residents with the comfort and safety they seek? Let’s take a look at smart apartment ideas that are widely implemented in modern smart homes.
The most popular smart home tech
There can be as many smart home devices for apartments as regular devices and appliances you use to make your life convenient. Smart devices cover almost every aspect of your life in a multifamily community, however, there are some basics that are usually installed primarily. Let’s discover them in detail.
Lighting & temperature control
Smart switches and thermostats are the most basic smart amenities that you can find in nearly any smart apartment building. With these systems, you can forget about manual regulation of your home temperature or lighting, as everything is manageable at the touch of a button and can be automated according to your preferences and schedule.
Smart lighting systems allow you not only to create a desired setting but also to turn on and off the light when you enter or leave your rooms thanks to motion detectors. Additionally, these devices are also preferable in terms of energy efficiency.
Smart locks
Smart locks increasingly often replace traditional physical keys. However, its benefits go far beyond unlocking the doors using a smartphone. You can also manage access to other facilities such as gyms, and provide access to it to certain people.
A remote control is another advantage of smart lock systems, as you can open the door of the multifamily housing for guests and deliveries without leaving your apartment.
Read also: FAQs on How to Develop Smart Lock and Doorbell Systems
Video monitoring
Smart cameras are an integral part of any smart home for apartments. It provides you with round-the-clock control over everything that happens inside and outside your place.
On the one hand, you always have access to your rooms and can track the motion of your kids or pets. On the other hand, you see every visitor to the building and can react promptly when they are unwelcome.
Leak and gas detectors
Leak and gas detection is an extremely important aspect of your home security. In most cases, people identify leaks when it is too late, and harmful effects are unavoidable.
With the help of special smart apartment solutions, this will never be the case, as detectors notify you on your smartphone about the early signs of an accident, and you can manage the problem immediately.
Building smart apartments: Things to keep in mind
Now, how to make a smart apartment in practice? Since smart home apartments are a complex system with a bunch of interconnected components, you need to take into account several aspects to make them function correctly and according to the residents’ requirements.
- Infrastructure is key. A smart home is often associated with rooms stuffed with sensors and modern devices that are controlled through a voice assistant. In fact, a smart apartment is a foremost connected apartment, and building an IoT infrastructure should underlie every project of a smart building even before considering the set of devices.
- Consider cybersecurity among the first steps. Smart home tech is tightly related to data protection. To use all the benefits of smart devices, people should share their sensitive data; that’s why cybersecurity should be a top priority for developers. So looking at key local and global data protection regulations is an essential part of smart apartment solutions development.
- Choose the right hub. Smart apartment connectivity implies having a unified platform that brings together all aspects of smart building technology, from devices to property and community management. It provides the required productivity of the smart home system and ensures its longevity, taking into account that you’ll want to update and change devices in the future. To create a robust smart platform, you’ll need not only Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity but also battery backup and a ZWave hub. On top of that, you may want to choose a hub that meets commercial quality standards.
- Take demographics into account. Just like with any technology, smart home solutions can vary depending on the age of the residents. You may want to conduct demographic research to find out what requirements users will have when it comes to choosing devices and software. Younger generations are generally open to learning new systems, whereas older ones might want to have a closer connection to traditional amenities.
- Check out special regulations. On top of general security regulations, local authorities may require you to follow some special recommendations that relate to the type of systems and devices you offer to the residents. Make sure to bring your multifamily housing in compliance with specific local laws.
- Create a single platform. When it comes to user convenience, it’s always a better idea to create one app for all devices and functions offered by smart apartments. That requires a lot of work in terms of app development and hardware integration, but as a result, residents will be happy to manage their homes in one app.
- Make the interface clean and intuitive. Another important aspect of connected apartment app development is the front end, namely the way users interact with your platform. Residents will want to manage their appliances regularly, if not every day, and it’s crucial to offer a clear interface and navigation that doesn’t require additional explanations.
- Integrate property management. Property management is a core feature for buildings of multifamily communities. Adding this functionality to your app will make it even more complex, yet prove the concept of an all-purpose platform.
- Track batteries and connectivity. Another small feature that allows managers to identify any issue regarding connectivity is important. It will help them detect all problems instantly and solve them as fast as possible so that residents don’t feel inconvenienced.
- Add a move-out option. In multifamily buildings, residents can come and go, and having a move-out feature will help manage these processes easily. Once a family leaves their apartment, you can reset their smart home system automatically.
Getting started with smart apartment technology
Smart multifamily and apartment buildings are much more than voice assistants and amenities that are manageable via an app. The essence of such homes is a completely new smart apartment experience that makes people reconsider simple everyday routines, their activities, and the comfort they get at home.
Smart home technology has already become accessible and popular, and it will be in basic demand for residents in the following decades.
The Eastern Peak team knows how to build an apartment of the future and is ready to share their expertise. Book a free consultation to launch your project.
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About the author:
Oleg Roberman, Chief of Delivery at Eastern Peak
With strong technical background and outstanding project leadership skills, Oleg helps Eastern Peak customers introduce competitive advantages and instill productive changes in every process by resolving complex business issues and managing multicultural teams through innovation and creative thinking.
