In today’s world, it can be accepted that people are more dependent on electricity and electronics than on sustenance.
You can control the entire world with the tip of your fingers, which is both an asset and a liability.
Electronic devices have a place in even the most mundane aspects of our daily lives.
Today, not a switch but a clap can control the light in your house, and not the remote, but your hand gesture can switch on and off the television.
Smart Home Automation is the current trend of houses with 175 million already-existing estimates.
What is a Smart Home?
A smart home means a simple home setting where electrical appliances and devices can be automatically remotely controlled from anywhere via an internet connection using a mobile phone or another network device.
Smart home devices are connected to the Internet, allowing the user to control tasks such as home security, temperature, lighting, and remote home theater.
A smart home allows homeowners to control electrical appliances, thermostats, lights, and other devices remotely using a smartphone or tablet over an internet connection.
It is possible to set up a smart home using wireless or telephone networks. Smart home technology provides homeowners with comfort and costs savings.
Safety hazards and bugs continue to plague makers and users of smart home technology.
Dependency on Power
The Smart Home innovation was aimed at the comfort of the operation of daily-need appliances alongside the safety ensured.
The only holdback here is that these are dependent on electricity and internet connectivity to function.
Hence, during a power outage, the work is affected and at risk if there is load shedding.
The use of the internet is also essential as some have Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP), cloud computing, and many more to communicate with each other.
Certain functions at risk are the digital door locks, the smart garage, the thermostat, and other safety measures like gas leak detectors, smoke detectors, etc.
Reserve methods for power
Since maximum dependency is on these devices, the most efficient method to ensure they work even in difficult situations is to keep a power backup all the time.
It is advisable to use such options as the safety of the residents is at stake. Certain methods are listed below.
1. Use secondary power sources
Always have a backup power source ready in case of an unexpected power loss.
The other sources that can be used are portable power stations, which are the invertors solar power chargers, and car batteries for smaller devices.
2. Add external battery packs to routers
Wi-Fi is an essential factor here because it should be routed to external battery packs to not depend on the main supply. The system can be replaced, and it will continue to function normally until the restoration process is completed.
3. Using mobile for Wi-Fi tethering
If the options mentioned above are not available, then your mobile phone can be used as a router through the process of tethering.
This will connect the smart home devices to your mobile phone, provided that the smart home devices are still running on backup power.
4. Mobile Data
Cellular data can be used as a temporary solution if Wi-Fi connectivity cannot be established, provided that the connection is strong and stable.
Conclusion
Most of the devices connected are smart enough to store power and divert it to needed places to ensure work is not affected.
Some of the devices, like the central air-conditioning, disconnect from the Wi-Fi and divert the power from there to other needed areas.
However convenient these devices make the working of a household, it goes back to the same old methods if electricity is not in the picture.
To have a backup for that and to have a more technically sound system is the current requirement, which, considering the amount of research in this area, will be attained soon.
References –
- Ways to Stay Connected Online During a Power Outage, Source: https://energized.edison.com/stories/ways-to-stay-connected-online-during-a-power-outage
- What Happens to your Smarthome When the Power Goes Out, Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/403888/what-happens-to-your-smarthome-when-the-power-goes-out
Read More: The Amazing Smart Home Gadgets That Make Your Life Easier
