Project Description
What makes this extraordinarily well located flat in downtown Bethesda, MD (just a few miles north of Washington, DC), is that it is a model for user-friendly, smart home, full of Internet of Things (IoT) practical elements.
For the guest, a smart home presents itself as a simple-to-use compliment to the stay, with useful features such as Google Home spoken requests. For example, a guest may be in bed and verbally ask Google to turn off the lights, which may have been left on outside the bedroom. Similarly, the guest may ask Google to turn up the heater temperature, or play music, or search for a movie or close the blinds. There are a plethora of options. All instructions may be found either on a printed or online house guide, complete with video instructions.
Having a guide, specially an mobile-friendly online guide, will provide many answers to otherwise frequently asked questions, minimizing the need to repeat unnecessary answers, thereby freeing up time to interact with guests on truly important topics, such as the state of booking, or needed emergency information.
For hosts, a smart home presents many advantages. Chief among them is the ability to remotely control most features of the place, such as providing a unique door access code, control the thermostat and its energy use, turn on/off blinds, lights, humidifier on demand, or based on previously set of criteria, such as time of day, inside or outside temperature or humidity levels. Hosts can get notified if the door is unlocked or left open, if the Air Conditioning usage has exceeded a certain wattage, or if there is a water leak under any of the sinks that may require immediate attention. The possibilities are numerous and surprisingly accommodating to the host’s needs.
In addition, having a smart home makes the property eco-friendly. All appliances and lights are energy efficient, with constant energy monitoring. Automatic notifications can be set, such as when energy usage has exceeded a certain threshold, indicating guests may have left the place without turning the AC off or lowering the temperature. In such cases, actions may be taken, such as remotely adjusting the thermostat as needed, or allowing an automatic action, such as triggering a previously temperature schedule.
All of this has been achieved without breaching standard privacy practices or including unethical and illegal devices, such as video cameras. Instead, movement, temperature, humidity, and/or noise sensors trigger notifications and/or actions. For example, without imposing a burden on guests, a water leak sensor may detect water under the dish washing machine, triggering a notification to host (who may be living abroad) and automatically closing the main or local water valve, thereby preventing further water damage to the property and neighbors. Guests are spared from a huge inconvenience, and the host will save potentially thousands of dollars in damages.
If guests reach a certain noise level (measured in decibels), then hosts and/or other participants selected by the hosts can be notified of such breach, giving the hosts the opportunity to contact guest to either mind their noise or take other appropriate actions. Again, this is done without interfering with guests privacy rights.
In conclusion, while my Bijou Place may be as beautifully decorated and comfortable as any traditional Airbnb property, the intelligent use of IoT devices throughout the place, makes this a model and standard bearer of real life and practical use of a smart home today.
