Living in the future: How much does it costs to make your home smart?

In 1957, Walt Disney released a video that seemed like a utopian science fiction: Disney showcased a futuristic home in a typical American suburb with central control over household appliances. For example, climate control could be activated at the push of a button, and kitchen and living room appliances could be controlled by voice command. The film inspired many technological advancements, including the smart home.

Until a few years ago, smart homes were the domain of the wealthy: Lifestyle programs featured luxurious villas equipped with the latest technology and controlled by touch screens. But soon, the cost of smart home equipment fell, along with improvements in voice assistants in mobile devices, making it possible for more people, including in Israel, to turn their homes—or at least some of their devices—into smart ones.

So what exactly is a smart home? It’s a system that allows you to control electrical devices in the house, mainly lighting, electricity, blinds, and other devices connected to the internet. A smart home not only lets you operate devices conveniently according to your lifestyle at any time of day but also saves money and allows remote control of the home.

Want some examples? With a smart home, you can create countless pre-set algorithms, such as a morning wake-up scene. For instance, at any time you choose each day, the smart home will gradually open the bedroom blinds, adjust the air conditioning temperature, turn on the water heater a few minutes beforehand for a hot shower, and activate the water bar to boil. You can program the smart home to turn on the air conditioning as you approach the parking space so you arrive to a comfortable home, or to close the blinds at a certain time and open them at sunset.

How do you get started? It depends on where you live: If you’ve purchased a new home or apartment, it’s best to prepare the infrastructure in advance before finalizing the electrical plan so it’s suited for a smart home. If you already live in an apartment and want to upgrade it, you’ll need to work with electricians who specialize in this to connect the electrical points to the internet. If you just want a small taste of a smart home and try out some devices, you can purchase smart home accessories in stores or online, making sure they are compatible with the electrical network in Israel.

A smart home can be an expensive project, so it’s crucial to set a budget beforehand. In Israel, several companies offer full smart home solutions where all lighting, blinds, and the water heater are connected to the internet and an app, allowing maximum control of the home from inside and outside. This kind of smart home will cost around NIS 50,000.

This cost includes engineering planning for the apartment, touch panels replacing light switches, blinds, and the water heater, and installing a hub – a central controller that communicates with all the smart devices in the home and controls them via an app. If you want to connect this smart home to a voice assistant—Siri or Alexa—you’ll need to pay for an additional component that allows you to control every smart device in the house via voice command, even when you’re at work, in the car, or abroad.

If your budget is limited and you want to approach the smart home idea in small steps, you can buy individual smart home products that connect to the internet and to Apple and Android systems. The first product to try is a smart water heater. You can find smart heaters online or in stores that replace the existing water heater switch in your apartment. They connect to the internet and allow you to pre-program the times for turning on the heater each day or turn it on remotely before you get home.

You can also find smart lighting that can be controlled via your smartphone. Popular smart lighting systems include Philips, the Dutch company that offers a wide range of smart home lighting. The downside is that they require operation via a separate app and do not automatically connect to smart home systems like Apple’s HomeKit. On Chinese websites and Amazon, you can find smart lighting that does connect, often at much lower prices than Philips. Among other things, you can find single bulbs, desk lamps, LED strips, garden lighting, and even electrical outlets that turn your old socket into a smart one.

You can also easily upgrade your air conditioning to smart: The popular company in Israel is Sensibo, which sells a small electronic box that connects to the internet. With a simple installation, including a few presses on the air conditioner’s remote control, the system connects and fully controls it. Sensibo’s app allows you to control the air conditioner with voice commands to Siri and Alexa, displays the temperature in each room, and lets you adjust the climate control to suit each room’s required temperature.

Whether you’re moving to a new apartment or just want to try out individual smart devices, the futuristic smart home is here and is no longer a privilege of the wealthy. Advanced technology allows you to control every corner of your home with the push of a button or a voice command, making living more efficient, convenient, and even cost-effective.