Over the last couple of years, the “Internet of Things” has quickly moved from specialist technology to mainstream electronics shops. Despite the geeky name, the concept is straightforward: it refers to a system where everyday objects are interconnected, enabling them to communicate send and receive data so we can control them over the internet. It’s real, it’s growing… and the smart home sits right at its heart.
In fact, connected “things” have been around for a while. Computer scientists controlled a toaster over the internet in the late 1980s. But the rapid spread of smartphones and the increasing intelligence of smart sensors is nurturing an ever-expanding Internet of Things. Connected living is taking off.
We already control many everyday services from a smartphone screen. We can order a taxi and buy the latest music or a bus ticket. We check our bank account or the latest sports scores. We can book a hotel, a train journey or even a private jet, all with a couple of swipes on a palm-sized device.
Smart-home appliances promise us still more capabilities. Smart thermostats can learn our routines, and track our phones to ensure the house is warm when we get home. Install smart bulbs and we can switch our lights on and off from the other side of the world. You can even pre-book a morning cup of tea by remotely boiling your iKettle
Home security, too, is getting smarter. Everything from smoke detectors to CCTV cameras can be controlled from an app. But what about the most important security point in the house: the front door? A smart home should start with a smart door.
With a smart door lock, homeowners no longer need to carry keys, or get spares cut for a cleaner, the kids or a cat-sitter. With a smart lock, you can let guests in remotely with an app, or provide them with a temporary PIN code to open the door. A glance at your mobile phone provides peace of mind that, yes, you did remember to lock the front door on the way out. A recent report* published by ASSA ABLOY and IFSECGlobal.com finds a large majority of consumers rate a smartphone or PIN code at least as secure as a key when it comes to opening the door to their homes. Indeed, between a third and half of respondents to the survey see a smart lock as a significant security upgrade.
While much of the buzz around home automation surrounds Silicon Valley start-ups and various Californian tech giants, it’s an ASSA ABLOY brand, Yale — a trusted locking specialist with over 150 years of experience — that has the biggest range of residential smart locks on the market. Connected Yale locks work with smartcards, fobs and smartphones. There are smart locks to fit timber, PVCu, composite or metal front doors, in multiple European formats.
At the heart of the smart door lock range is interoperability; open standards are the key to making homes smart. Yale smart locks work as standalone products but adding the Yale Smart Living module provides integrated app-powered control as part of the alarm and CCTV system. Add a Z-Wave module and Yale smart locks work on the Samsung SmartThings platform. SmartThings is a fast-growing hub for hundreds of compatible devices by multiple third-party providers, all of which can be controlled from a single app on the Android, iOS and Windows Phone operating systems.
Integration plans go further. In early 2016, Yale announced they were working with AT&T providing Keyless Connected and Keyfree Connected locks into the O2 smart home eco-system. Scheduled for launch later in 2016, the Yale Linus is a smart lock that works with the Google-owned Nest platform. It will join a growing Works with Nest ecosystem, alongside products from Whirlpool, Phillips and Lutron.
So this is just the start. But homeowners are already beginning to realise that a smart lock is the best way to open the door to their new smart home.
* Source: “The Smart-Home Security Report 2016”; available on www.assaabloy.co.uk/smartreport2016