The “Learning” Home – Chapter One

Smart Home is a misnomer. At best, saying that it is “smart,” suggests that it’s somehow intrinsically-advanced, which is far from the truth. Until we can 3-D print homes within a few weeks or use advanced materials for walls, we’re still fundamentally building using centuries old methods. Alternatively, calling “smart” can also imply that it has somehow “graduated” and reached an endpoint. Given the continuously-evolving ecosystem of devices, network hubs, and platforms, this would also be untrue. Thus, we are left with the “Learning” Home. A home that continues to evolve and improve as software advances and hardware is added. And that’s also where this tech journey starts.
 

Homes Weren’t Born Smart

On the heels of first-time home-ownership, savings drained, and at the peak of Nest-frenzy, I was eager to make our new place not just our own on paper, but also in function. Fresh paint? Check. Adventurous accent walls? Check. Self-learning Nest thermostat?–Hold on with this one–the Nest was too expensive and I wasn’t even sure if I really wanted a device that promises to completely usurp my free will–What if I change my preferences often (or unpredictably)? What if I don’t want it to tell me what temperature I like? What if I’m cheap?
 

How My Home Learned

With some research and acceptance–okay, the Nest did look cooler than anything else out there–I decided to go with the Emerson Sensi. WiFi? Check. Schedules and phone control? Check. Easy(ish) installation? Check. And, most importantly, it was “Smart Home” compatible and was cheap enough to be effectively-free (thanks to a home efficiency reimbursement). Mind you, this story starts about four years ago, well before the ubiquity of Google Home and Amazon Alexa speakers and integration. But, the Sensi was “Wink” compatible. I researched what that meant, and understood that this roughly meant that it could, theoretically, be part of a connected home–some day, some how. Always optimistic for the future and the wonders that tech promises, I bought into this future and went with the Sensi. Fast-forward four years and, indeed, it has become an integral part of a growing Google Home-centered Smart Home project. Wink compatibility was expanded to Google Home and Amazon Alexa compatibility, which paved the way to connect my thermostat to my new Google Home-compatible smart speaker. And that was just the beginning of this tech journey.
 

Let There Be Light

The concept of a “Learning” Home serves not only as an excellent illustration of the state of innovation in the hardware and software space, but it also highlights the central contribution of the owner who conceives and architects the system. It is not just a parlor trick, but really enables us to make things easier, better, faster, and makes us feel more…at home. So, thermostat-connected, I wasted no time expanding the system with smart-WiFi power outlets, which instantly transformed static lamps. Now I could utter, “Hey Google, turn off the lights,” and we could dash off to bed. But that was just the beginning…In the next Tech Journey entry I discuss the introduction of a smart, led-based, lighting system into the mix. And, more broadly, the challenge involved in developing creative solutions that promise to put credence to the smart home moniker.