It’s no secret that technology has moved on considerably in the last few years. But the extent to which it is now transforming the home environment is simply stunning. In the late 2000s, Apple computers reminded us that there was “an app for that.” In the late 2010s, there’s now “a gadget for that” for all sorts of tasks around the home.
Robot Alarm Clocks
Robot alarm clocks might sound like a misnomer, but if you’re the sort of person who really struggles to get out of bed in the morning, they’re a godsend. Reaching over, slapping the silence button on your alarm clock, and then falling back to sleep is all too easy. Millions of people oversleep every day because of how easy it is to simply tell your alarm clock to shut up. Now imagine that if you want to switch your alarm clock off, you have to get out of bed and chase it around the room first. That’s the concept behind “Clocky,” an alarm clock on wheels that will zoom to your bed and make a series of annoying noises until you wake up.
Smart Faucets
Smart faucets, like so many home gadgets, look just like their dumb peers, but with one crucial difference: the ability to discern whether you want running water or not. These smart faucets work in a variety of ways, but mainly they use infrared sensors to detect whether your hands are present or not. If they are, the water flows; if they’re not, it doesn’t.
Wi-Fi Cameras
Home CCTV has come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years. Modern Wi-Fi connectivity and improvements in batteries now mean that CCTV installers can now deploy home systems without wires, making it much more affordable. Modern Wi-Fi home security cameras come with a host of new technologies, including the ability to detect whether somebody is moving in the vicinity of the camera. This feature helps to cut down on recording time, reducing the required amount of storage.
Ultrasonic Dish Cleaners
The first people to use ultrasonic cleaners at the consumer level were dentists who wanted to provide their customers with a way to sanitize their dentures at night. The idea is to fire high-frequency sound waves at dishes to dislodge dirt and grime, removing it and then turning it into a form that owners can then use as compost. Eco Dish makes an ultrasonic cleaner that cuts down on water use, charges using a solar panel, and uses a system to extract dirt from your plates, making it into the soil.
Thermal Leak Sensors
Like it or not, your home develops leaks as it ages. Windows and doors slowly warp and twist in their frames, leading to gaps that allow air to escape. A thermal leak sensor is a handheld device that allows you to detect the temperature of cold, incoming air compared to the surroundings and calculate the volume of air that you’re losing to the outside world in gallons. Some people claim these devices save them 20 percent of their heating bills.
