Imagine an apartment that uses motion sensors to turn on the lights on as you enter. Or if you want to come home to a cool space on a hot summer’s evening, you can turn on the air conditioning from your smartphone.
Those are just some of the things smart homes can do. Building on the Internet of Things’ (IoT) concept – where a home’s devices “talk” to each other – pre-wired apartments are springing up also in Dubai as developers begin to recognize the opportunities for new-build properties.
Although it’s an area very much in its infancy, smart apartments have potential. While there’s only a very small number of pre-wired apartments being built at present, it’s a good way for smaller or newer developers to compete. Smart home technology has a big draw in a competitive market. It is s something new and cool.
Targeting the Millennials
Millennials, who tend to be early adopters of new technology, are also the most likely demographic to be interested in pre-wired apartments. With the age of electric cars, it’s cool for young people in particular to be as close to technology and sustainability as possible. If you live in a pre-wired home, talk to your Amazon Echo and you drive an electric car, it’s a bit of a status symbol.
Other markets, such seniors who live alone, could also find uses for smart home technology to improve their lives, such as a smart stove alarm or a medication reminder.
They could also help to manage household bills by allowing the user to control the amount of electricity used as you can regulate water and electricity consumption in advance.
Although the demand is there for smart technology, there’s one big obstacle to developing pre-wired apartments: the cost. However, as more competition enters the market eventually cost will decrease.
Smart products vs. a smart system
Demand for smart home technology is already widespread in the U.S. However, there’s a difference between buying smart technology products to add to an existing home and having a pre-wired apartment.
When you buy products for your home, you’ll have multiple apps to control everything: one each for the windows, the lighting, the temperature, the security camera, and the fire alarm system. And that’s daunting at the end of the day. When you pre-wire, you have a really good system that can be controlled from one or two main applications, so it’s more convenient for the end user.
Indeed, convenience and cost-effectiveness are two key selling points for both the rental and home-buying market. As the concept of smart homes becomes more widespread, rising interest in pre-wired apartments could encourage more mainstream Dubai developers to incorporate smart technology in their new build projects.
