3 Home Automation Trends to Watch in 2021

Home automation, smart homes, connected devices: whatever you might want to call this set of technologies, they are as inexorable a trend as the smartphone revolution. Scarcely a day goes by without another smart device introduction from companies large and small.

Since it’s the beginning of the year, it’s always a good time to make some fearless prognostications on what will be big in home automation for 2021. But we're not going to take big chances on predictions in this blog; the trends we see are already here and will accelerate even more sharply in 2021. What are they, and how might they affect your Atlanta, GA home? Keep reading below.

SEE ALSO: The Most Rapidly Advancing Home Automation Features in 2020

The Perceptive Home

We have talked much on these pages about forms of control from your smart home. A myriad of ways exists to command your house, from wall-mounted keypads to touch screens to voice to smartphone apps. We have also talked about scenes, which enables you to coordinate various functions to happen with the touch of a button or a voice command.

The most advanced systems are now integrating additional intelligence to anticipate what you want and adjust your house to your preferences. If you own an iPhone, a current feature is smart charging that intelligently monitors your phone usage and only charges it to a certain level (like 80%) to optimize battery life. Home automation will adjust the same way. If you adjust your heating up when the temperature outside dips toward freezing, your smart home system will start doing it for you on those days. Smart home systems will do similar things without programming with lighting routines and motorized shading too. Your smart home will better understand and anticipate your desires without your help.

The Working Home

With the current pandemic, millions of professionals started working from home regularly. And companies like Facebook have recently announced that it will let some employees work from anywhere. Working from home is not a new trend; advances in communication and collaboration technology have accelerated the trend for years. The pandemic proved that many roles could be done from home – with the right technology. Look for more elaborate home offices with more robust networking, sophisticated AV, adaptive tunable lighting, and more to continue to be in demand. You will see more technology employed from the commercial space – like small office video and audio conferencing equipment – appear in higher-end home offices. Look for multiple home offices customized for several family members, too, as one may work for an employer, and another may be operating a home-based business.

The Healthy Home

Home wellness aided by technology burst on the scene in a big way in 2020 and will continue to grow in 2021. With all the time recently spent at home, people are investing more in fitness and health functionality for the home. We have discussed at length the benefits of tunable lighting for various home activities. Improved audio-visual equipment can help facilitate wellness, with everything from whole-home audio for relaxing and mood-improving music to TVs in exercise rooms and outdoors for virtual workouts. The latest trend is Zen home theaters, where relaxing scenery and music can transport people away from everyday stresses.

Smart technology is also making healthier air and water possible in the home. Air and water filtration systems can use available information on air and water quality to control equipment and keep homeowners better informed about the healthiness of the environment.  Even better, these systems can tie into smart home automation systems to complete the promise of the perceptive home, one that knows you and your optimal environment, orchestrating light, sounds, temperature, humidity, air quality and more to your preferences.

Trust GHT Group to be your home automation partner to bring the latest technologies to your Atlanta residence. To learn more, call us at (770) 955-8909, contact us here, or use the chatbox below to connect with us right away.  We look forward to working with you!