SMART HOME AUTOMATION

ABSTRACT
Through the last decades the advance of telecommunication via the use of Internet has led to
IP network integration. Remote control has been developed throughout technological innovation
making an environment consisting of human interaction base on telecommunication and control
systems ever more tangible. Technological development has led to an infinitive range of everyday
devices being remotely controlled via Internet, the human voice, even a cellphone or laptop. Now
the word domotic refers to integrating several areas of knowledge such as telecommunications,
electronics, informatics and electricity to improve human being quality of life. The denomination
of "Intelligent Home", "Intelligent House" or "Intelligent Building" encompasses a whole range of
applications and possibilities within automation as a quality of life and current functionality towards
the future. Ensuring that this degree of automation should serve as an end of utility and comfort,
for these reasons, offers and devices provide "Intelligence" to the home is increasingly abundant.
This indicates that it is almost impossible to analyze all the innovations that the domotics world offers
us. Therefore, while this technology was and is currently growing day by day, so does the amount
of information about it; such as several heterogeneous home automation frameworks protocols,
available architectures, current equipment and devices. Also research on smart homes and their users
is growing exponentially, yet a clear understanding of who these users are, and how might use
smart home technologies. This paper provides an overview of the present situation regarding these
aspects and their foreseen evolution; it gives the main key factors about designing and implementing
a domotic system. And finally emphasize that the major aim of this paper is to provide enough and
cohesive information about this new trend.

Keywords Technology ·Domotic Home · Automation System Technology · Smart Homes · Households Domotic
·
System ·Internet of things (IoT) ·Automation: X-10 ·Domotic: European Installation Bus (EIB) Progress of Smart
Homes ·

1 EVOLUTION AND CURRENT STATE

Considering the current trends in smart home research, we can define the smart home as an application of ubiquitous
computing that is able to provide user context-aware automated or assistive services in the form of ambient intelligence,
remote home control or home automation.

1.1 Home Automation in the past

Home automation really started in a physical sense with the formation of mechanization elements, starting domestic
appliances. The centralization and automation of households dates back to the end of the nineteenth century. The ability
to light the room with a solitary switch radically changed the way we live making it simple.
1901-1920: The invention of household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, irons, toasters
and clothes dryers.
1966-1967: The invention of ECHO IV and Kitchen Computer- the ECHO IV was the first brilliant device. Device
capable of recording purchasing records, controlling the temperature of the house and turning the appliances on and off.
The "Kitchen computer" was made for the current year. The cutting edge came as the Internet, which became a general
PC system in the decade of 1990. Before long, remote Internet as Wi-Fi turned into a typical apparatus in homes.
2000’s: The early 2000’s saw a further ascent in brilliant home innovation, including local tech, home systems
administration, and different devices showing up available. A combination of short-range technologies created by
Zen-Sys in 2005, this wireless technology creates a mesh network at the user’s home and sends signals at the 900 MHz
spectrum. The Z-Wave technology is capable of connecting a variety of devices to control appliances, door locks and
even flood monitors.

1.2 Home Automation in the present

The current smart homes are more about security and living greener. Current patterns in home mechanization
incorporate remote versatile control, computerized lights, robotized indoor regulator modification, booking machines,
portable/email/content warnings, and remote video observation. Sensors are the eyes and ears of the home system.
There are sensors for an extensive variety of uses, for example, measuring temperature, dampness, light, fluid, and
gas and recognizing development or commotion. The various technologies used in home automation.
The Internet of Things (IOT) have enabled shrewd innovation to end up plainly a vital piece of our day by day lives, by
observing and remotely controlling home devices over the Internet, are an essential constituent of the Internet of Things.

1.2.1 Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a remote standard that has a place with the PAN (Personal Area Network) convention family. It works in the 2.4
GHz band partitioned into 79 sub channels with 1MHz separating, utilizing FHSS. GFSK and additionally PSK
regulations are utilized, contingent upon the Bluetooth variant utilized. Full duplex exchanges are acknowledged by
means of TDD.

1.2.2 Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is probably the most exploited wireless technology nowadays. It belongs to the family of (W) LAN networks, but
with latest amendments it could also be belonging to the (W) MAN family). In distinction to Bluetooth, the Wi-Fi
range is partitioned into just 13 halfway overlaying sub channels (fourteenth accessible in Japan just), each involving
the band of 22MHz.

1.2.3 X10
X10 has for some time been the standard by which other home computerization innovations are measured. X10 works
by means of home’s electrical cable wiring and may encounter issues identified with wiring separations, stage contrasts,
and line commotion. Numerous lovers trust X10 innovation has turned out to be old, supplanted by the more up to date
and more adaptable remote advancements. In case you’re new to home computerization it’s most likely a smart thought
to begin with some other innovation, on the grounds that X10 gadgets can be harder to design and execution is here
and there whimsical.

1.2.4 Z-Wave
The first remote home mechanization innovation, Z-Wave set models for remote home computerization. Z-Wave
broadened the usable scope of home mechanization by influencing all gadgets to twofold as repeaters. Its expanded
system unwavering quality additionally empowered business applications. Z-Wave gadgets are intended for simplicity of
setup and utilize, and happen as near turnkey as the home mechanization industry permits, particularly accommodating
for starting devotees.

1.3 Home Automation in the future

Future homes will be able to offer almost all required services, e.g., communication, medical, energy, utility,
entertainment, and security. As we move into the next generation, more and more devices will begin to connect to one
another. The dream is a future in which data is communicated between devices and humans without relying on manual
input of individual bytes. Computers that can automatically mine data and then use that data to change aspects of the
home environment are the future. For example, Pert is the next generation home automation innovation that lets you
control, monitor and secure your home with your smartphone. As technologies continue to advance, you can expect
the house of tomorrow to be even more automated than that of today.
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2 USERS’ PERSPECTIVE ON HOME AUTOMATION: ANALYSIS AND KEY
FACTORS
2.1 Views of smart home

These views provide the context and underlying rationale for industry activity and scientific research, offering different
and at times competing visions or interpretations of what smart homes are and what they are for.

2.1.1 Functional
The functional view sees smart homes as a way of better managing the demands of daily living through technology.
Much of the technologically oriented literature on smart homes presents their benefits for end-users as both obvious and
manifold: comfort, security, scheduling tasks, convenience through automation, energy management and efficiency;
and for specific end-users, health and assisted living.

The functional view points to a wide variety of tasks and activities that smart homes could help people achieve:
remotely controlling specific appliances, improving memory and recall through automated reminders, enhancing
security through simulated occupancy when homes are empty, and so on.

The most clearly resolved functional view of “better living” is articulated by researchers in the health and social care
domain. Here, smart homes can contribute to the support of the elderly, people with chronic illness and disabled
people living alone at home by improving the quality and variety of information transmitted to the clinician. This
decision support functionality is centered on monitoring through wearable, implantable and sensing devices to
facilitate preventative care and detect adverse health incidents.

2.1.2 Instrumental
The instrumental view emphasizes smart homes’ potential for managing and reducing energy demand in households
as part of a wider transition to a low-carbon future. A more clearly instrumental or goal-oriented view of smart
homes emphasizes their potential to help achieve energy demand reduction goals, with associated benefits for
households, utilities and policymakers. The aims of households trying to save money and energy align with the
efforts of utilities improving energy system management and the objectives of policymakers pursuing greenhouse
gas emission reduction and a secure and reliable energy supply. The instrumental view thus sees the smart home as
an important technological solution in delivering an affordable low-carbon energy transition or sustainability more
generally.

2.1.3 Socio-Technical
The socio-technical view sees the smart home as the next wave of development in the ongoing electrification and
digitalization of everyday life. Rather than focusing on the specific functions smart homes can offer or seeing smart
homes as useful tools to realize broader energy objectives, the socio-technical view sees smart homes as simply the
latest or perhaps the next episode in the co-evolving relationship between technology and society.

The socio-technical views of smart homes is distinctive in arguing that such technological developments always,
and necessarily, co-evolve with broader and longer-term societal changes that may include indirect and unintended
consequences. Smart homes are important and interesting precisely because of these potentially transformative but as
yet unknown effects. Social practices within everyday life at home may be combined or scheduled in new ways.

Differentiated identities, and particularly gender roles, associated with key household practices such as housework and
leisure may be reinforced or destabilized. Smart home technologies may also change how householders’ understand,
experience and construct meaning around their homes and domestic life more generally.

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 2.2 Users and the use of smart home

This part is related specifically to the users and use of smart homes. They begin with basic questions about who smart
home users are and what specific characteristics they have. They then extend to different views of the form, frequency
and function of user interactions with smart technologies in the home.

2.2.1 Prospective users

The major exception is in smart homes for assisted living which emphasize active ageing and independence, self-
determination and freedom of choice, and changing and inter-dependent needs of an ageing population. Specific
needs of elderly smart home users include easily accessible contact with emergency help, assistance with hearing or
visual impairments and automatic systems to detect and prevent falls. Vulnerable users in assisted living smart homes
comprise more than just the elderly.

2.2.2 Interactions and decisions

Users must interact or interface with smart home technologies in some way, but these interactions can be more or less
frequent and more or less passive or active. Users are interpreted as having fixed and stable needs and preferences in
homes, rather than the users themselves, can manage optimally. Smart homes as intelligent and context-aware learning
systems remove the need for any active user involvement at all by automating functions according to users’ revealed
habits.
Indeed, alongside automation, another important role of the smart home in most current visions is to provide useful
information to users about various aspects of household functioning (e.g. room temperatures or occupancy, appliance
conditions, energy usage) in an effort to help them make more informed choices and decisions.

2.3 Challenges for realizing the smart home

The final set of themes turns to the principal challenges for realizing the smart home in the near-term future,
distinguishing hardware and software development issues from design and usability challenges.

2.3.1 Hardware and software

Numerous research, development, testing and trialing challenges need to be overcome before the widespread
commercialization of smart homes becomes a realistic prospect. Key technical issues include:
• Monitors and sensors that can reliably detect and sense what is going in the home, and algorithms that can
accurately infer activities and patterns from the resulting abundance of data.

• Interoperability and retrospective compatibility of smart home technologies, supported by well-designed and
flexible standards.
• Functional reliability and manageability.

Reliability is most important in smart homes for assisted living in which failures to sense or make inaccurate inferences
about the nature of occupant behavior could have life-threatening consequences.

2.3.2 Design
The acceptability of smart homes to users is closely linked to issues of security, privacy and trust as well as practical and
ergonomic concerns with user-friendliness. These issues present critical design challenges that relate to the interactions
between users and smart home technologies. How smart homes are designed will condition their acceptability to
prospective users. Although different groups of users are likely to require different design solutions, not only just
between households but also between cultures.

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3 ARCHITECTURES ORIENTED FOR SMART HOMES

In smart homes, also known as "Internet Houses", there are two types of architectures that are basic when it comes to
the location of the various devices within the smart home.

3.1 Centralized architecture

Usually in this type of architecture, a star-type interconnection topology is used. In this way the whole smart house has
a central control element, which is in charge of managing and controlling all the signals of the various devices inside
the house. A great disadvantage of this type of architecture is the vulnerability of the central element, since if this
fails or simply stops working, the whole system collapses in its entirety. Usually in this type of architecture the central
element has no redundancy.

3.2 Distributed architecture

In this type of architecture, the control system is always close to the element to be controlled, giving the home
automation system great flexibility, because if one of the devices cannot be controlled, it does not mean that the others
do not either. There are several factors that characterize this type of architecture, such as: means of transmission,
communications’ speed, type of protocol, etc.

4 PROTOCOLS ORIENTED FOR SMART HOMES

Already taking into account the basic architectures oriented to a domotic system, there are also a number of different
communication protocols, which are nothing more than the "language" or format of the messages that the different
control elements of the system must use, for the synchronization and exchange of information with each other in a
consistent manner. Some of the most important protocols oriented towards smart homes are described below.

4.1 X-10

It is the most extended domotics system used in homes around the world due to its simplicity of installation and easy
handling that adapts to all current home automation control needs. X-10 is the communication "language" used by
compatible products X-10 to talk to each other and that allow you to control the lights and appliances of your house,
taking advantage of the existing 220V electrical installation of your home, and avoiding having to install extra
cabling.
Main features of X-10:

• It is standard due to the characteristics of the domestic current (120/220 V. and 50/60 Hz)
• It is flexible and easy to use thanks to how the network is constituted in a house.
• You do not have to configure anything to make it work (Plug and Play)
• It is a technology that takes advantage of the electrical network that is already installed in a house.
• Modularity and growth capacity, with components that are easy to install and do not require special wiring.
• Inter-working capacity between products.

It should be noted that the X-10 protocol is not proprietary, in other words, any manufacturer can produce X-10
devices and sell them, but is mandatory to use the control circuits that have been designed by the manufacturer of this
technology.

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 4.2 EIB (European Installation Bus)
It is a European standard that defines an end-to-end relationship between devices, allowing the distribution of
intelligence between the sensors and actuators installed in the home.

EIB architecture can have 11520 components in total connected to the same bus; to work properly it is divided into
areas or zones, and within these zones they are subdivided into lines. In an EIB model, there may be 15 areas or
zones, in each of which a maximum of 12 lines can be housed. And each line can contain up to 64 components.
There is the possibility of installing some amplifiers or repeaters, to optimize the system up to 256 devices per line.

Being a Bus-type topology, to avoid collisions between sent telegrams, the CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access)
technique is used, guaranteeing collision-free access without any loss of data.

4.3 LonWorks
It is a system for domotic control presented by the firm Echelon in 1992. LonWorks is an American system, which is
more established in the United States than in Europe. Also due to the high cost, it has not had a massive implementation
in the homes.

LonWorks devices have a special microcontroller called "neuron chip". One advantage of LonWorks, compared to
other technologies, is that it implements the OSI reference model. In this way, services such as automatic re-sending
after a frame loss or authentication of the frame sender are fully implemented in the LonWorks solution.

4.4 JINI

It is a technology owned by Sun Microsystems, which allows discovering new devices that are incorporated into a home
network, by any means. It also allows you to use network services and devices in a simple way. The main objective of
JINI is to simplify the interaction in the network.

JINI makes use of JAVA technology, and consists of a small amount of code in the form of libraries and classes, with
the aim of creating a set of virtual JAVA machines in the network. Everything that navigates the network, such as users,
devices, data and applications, are connected dynamically to share information and perform tasks, becoming a logical
unit of network information. The devices of this network must have at least two types of connections, the electric outlet
to the electrical network, and a connection card of type RJ-45, for the IP network.

4.5 TCP/IP

Most home automation protocols have been created to be implemented in distributed control networks (LonWorks,
EIB, X-10), the frames were designed in such way that the useful space for application data would have been the
maximum. For example, to turn a light on and off it is enough with an order coded in a pair of octets. Therefore, it is
about minimizing the control fields that the protocol needs to transfer these two octets to the target devices.

As TCP/IP is being used by infinity of computers and applications, therefore this protocol would be the ideal tool to
ensure total interconnectivity between machines anywhere in the world based in control networks.

5 TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS WITHIN THE HOME AUTOMATION

5.1 Internal networks of home automation

The internal networks of home automation are responsible for linking the devices allowing communication between
them. The networks are characterized by a certain means of transmission (the physical support of the Communication)

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and protocol (the language used for the communication). There are different types of networks depending on the devices
to interconnect:

5.1.1 Control network or domotic network

Connect the walkway to sensors, actuators and appliances. It is used by the footbridge to govern the domotic systems.
This type of network usually has a low bandwidth. Among the technologies used, it is worth mentioning: X-10, EIB,
LonWorks, etc.

5.1.2 Data network

Connect the different computers with each other and with their peripherals. It is used to share computer resources:
Internet access, files, programs, printers, scanners, etc. Usually requires a medium-high bandwidth. Among other
technologies, we find: USB, FireWire, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.

5.1.3 Multimedia network or entertainment network

Connect the consumer electronics to each other. It is used for distribution of high-fidelity audio content and high-quality
video throughout the home. It requires a very high bandwidth. The main technologies are: HAVi, UPnP and JINI.

6 DEVICES WITHIN THE HOME AUTOMATION

The different types of devices that we can find in a domotic home are: the walkway; the centralized control system;
sensors, actuators, and switches; and electronic devices and appliances equipped with digital technology and
intercommunication capability.

6.1 Residential walkway

The residential walkway is the boundary device between the various external access networks and the intelligent
building’s internal networks. The residential walkways come to meet the current convergence needs that are occurring
with the emergence of new communication technologies in households: the proliferation of broadband Internet
connections; And the increase in the number of PCs in households and the emergence of new devices and appliances
that need to be networked to implement new and useful benefits. Since there are now several equipment in the house
that can connect to the Internet or other networks, it is logical to think about the installation of a network of internal
domestic area in the house and that a single device, such as the residential walkway, is responsible for managing a point
Unique access to all of these networks.

6.2 Centralized control system

The centralized control system is an electronic brain in charge of collecting all the information provided by the sensors
distributed in the different control points of the house, processing it, and generating the orders that the actuators will
execute.

Nowadays, the manufacturers of domotic systems commercialize solutions that consist of a centralized control system
and a wide range of sensors and actuators, which can be acquired gradually by the users as they are needed. This
ensures the total compatibility between the central control system and the sensors and actuators distributed throughout
the house. It is important to also make sure that the centralized control system and the gateway are compatible. From
the centralized control system, the user can program and control all sensors and actuators in your home. Until a few
years ago, there were few alternatives to interact with domotic systems.

6.2.1 Sensors

The sensors are the elements in charge of collecting the information of the different parameters that control (the
ambient temperature, the existence of a water leak, the presence of sufficient solar light in a room, etc.) and sending it
to the control system centralized to act accordingly. Sensors are not usually connected to the mains but have a built-in
battery, lasting two to five years. This implies greater flexibility with respect to other devices such as actuators when they
are introduced in the domotic home, since they can be installed in any place, even if it is far from an outlet.

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 6.2.2 Actuators

The actuators are the devices used by the centralized control system, to modify the state of certain equipment or
installations (the increase or the decrease of the heating or the air conditioning, the cut of the supply of gas or water,
the dispatch of an alarm to a safety control unit, etc.). These devices are usually distributed throughout the house and,
depending on the model, can support batteries. In some cases, the sensor and actuator are integrated into the same
device.

6.3 Smart appliances

The new generation of household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, ovens,
microwaves, dryers, which will soon be part of the furniture of households (especially kitchens), have nothing to do
with those who are usually available in the shops. These appliances, known by smart appliances or domotic appliances
will be interconnected through the control network and the residential gateway, and they can exchange information
and communicate with each other, or be programmed and controlled by telephone or Internet. These appliances,
characterized by high efficiency, low noise, low consumption and the incorporation of energy saving systems,
therefore due to their power needs, these appliances must be connected to the network electric.

6.4 Intelligent electronic devices

They are devices that integrate more and more functions, having a greater scope than the one for which they were
conceived. The digital contents also created from these devices can be also easily retouched, modified and
transferred from one to another. Thus, these devices, traditionally isolated from each other, are incorporating
communication functions between them, enabling the transfer of information (videos, photos, music, etc.) in a quick
and simple way. The handling of these new digital devices is also becoming more and more simple, thanks to the
improvement of the interfaces with the user and the continuous advances in the automatic configuration protocols.

7 HOME AUTOMATION: INSTALLATION PHASES

7.1 Pre-installation phase

The elements and characteristics of the recommended pre-installation are as follows:

• Channeling from user access point (PAU) to telecommunication facilities to distribution box.
• Distribution box: The node together with its power supply and protections can be installed in the general
distribution table intended for the general devices of control and protection of the electrical system or in a
distribution box independent. It is recommended that a box of 24 DIN modules be installed for every 100 m2
or per plant, in the case of dwellings of more than one plant.
• Registration boxes: One will be installed next to each junction box and shunt of the electrical installation or,
the junction box and shunt will be expanded in surface at least 50 percent, in order to locate the devices of the
S System domotic.
• Canalizations: An independent canalization shall be installed(of a section equivalent to that of a 20 mm
diameter tube)between the specific registration boxes for the domotic installation or, if the electrical
junction and shunt boxes are used For the domotic installation, the section of the canalization will be
increased, at least in 200 mm2.
• Boxes of domotic Mechanisms: boxes will be installed to accommodate the domotic components of the
installation (drives, detectors, alarms, etc.), along with their corresponding pipes, to the register box.

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 7.2 Installation phase

7.2.1 General requirements

The complete domotic installation must comply with general requirements in such a way as to guarantee the safe
operation, protection against electric shocks and electromagnetic disturbances during their neither operation nor
wrong and must work without any fault in its safety features or priority functions, to avoid any damage to the user.

Security
To ensure safe operation, it is recommended to:
• Adequate protection against electrical surges in the installation control panel.
• Adequate protection against electric shock.
• When the safety of the installation depends on both electrical safety and electromagnetic compatibility,
carry out a risk analysis in order to establish the necessary actions to ensure global security.

Electromagnetic compatibility (CEM)

Domotic systems may be a source of electromagnetic disturbances or may be affected by disturbances caused by other
sources. The installation of the devices, the connections and the registers must be carried out in such a way as to
avoid the effect of electromagnetic interferences from other sources among which it is possible to cite: motors, power
supply network, fluorescent lamps, radio transmission equipment (radio, TV, cordless telephones, etc.), industrial
machinery, office equipment (copiers, printers, PCs, etc.), lightning effects, downloads Electrostatic.
To minimize the problems of CEM in the Domotics installation, it is recommended:

• Perform installation of the devices and cabling in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and the
requirements of the installation standard.
• Verify that the installation elements meet the CEM requirements of the product and system standards.
Compliance with each device can be verified with the evidence of the corresponding test report issued by the
manufacturer and/or an accredited laboratory.

7.2.2 Particular requirements

In addition to the general requirements, domotic systems must meet a number of particular requirements resulting
from the particular characteristics of each system depending on the transmission medium used. These installation
recommendations are provided below.
Particular Requirements for transmission by means of carrying currents
The installation of communication devices for transmission of data by current carriers can be carried out in a centralized,
decentralized or distributed way, of a in accordance with the necessities to cover and according to the state of the
electrical installation of the house.
We recommend:

• Take into account the effects on the structure of the electrical installation, which must be adapted to the
transmission system through carrying currents, according to the specifications of the manufacturer of domotic
devices, by means of the wiring alignment, Cable conduction systems, frames, register boxes, mechanism
boxes, relays and other electrical material required to achieve an installation of the necessary impedance and
configuration.
• Include the appropriate low voltage decoupling filters in accordance with the requirements of the application
rules or, where applicable, the one indicated by the domotic device supplier.
• To include the necessary elements for the protection of the transmission of data through carrier currents in the
face of noise problems and/or inadaptability of impedances.
• Meet the requirements concerning the load impedance of the power supply, according to the values specified
by the manufacturer.

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 • Dimension the system according to the input and output impedances of the system elements specified by the
manufacturer, so that the equivalent impedance of the electrical installation, to the system’s working frequency,
allows the signal levels Suitable for the reception of data according to the manufacturer’s specifications
concerning the sensitivity of the installed elements.

Special Requirements for transmission by means of twisted pair

The Twisted pair cable allows the transmission of data to all nodes in the system, as well as providing the power to the
devices integrated into the twisted pair network.
To install a twisted pair domotic system, it is recommended to:

• Twisted pair cables comply with the applicable standards.

• Install the domotic installation cables in such a way that they do not suffer interferences or disturbances
coming from the wiring of the electrical network of the house.
• It must be verified that the values given by the manufacturer of the domotic devices are not exceeded as
regards:
– Distance between power supply and furthest module
– Distance between modules
– Total Length of connection

Particular Requirements for transmission by radiated signals

For radio-frequency transmission there must be an emitter and a receiver without the presence of a physical
communication medium between them.
To install a domotic system by radiated signals, it is recommended:

• Find a location for the nodes so that the reception and transmission of the radiated signals is not reduced by
physical elements or interference.
• Check the correct reception and transmission of the radiated signals on all nodes.

7.3 Installation Execution phase

To confirm that the installation is correct, the following checks will be carried out:

• That the installation coincides with the plane and the approved specifications.
• Correct wiring identification and installation terminations.
• Continuity, non-existence of short circuits to other nets or ground and insulation resistance of wiring and
installation devices.
• Compliance with the installation requirements of the device manufacturer.
• The requirements of the electrical and multimedia connectivity system. The conformity Shall Be presumed
if each device has evidence of the corresponding test report issued by a recognized laboratory and that the
installation has been carried out in compliance with the manufacturer’s installation conditions.

8 FACTORS RELEVANT TO THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

A DOMOTIC SYSTEM

8.1 The user must identify what he really wants to control

The enthusiasm generated by domotics can encourage the user to want to control everything without much sense. By
definition, domotics seeks to be intelligent in a global way, so it must function as a system that facilitates processes,
without complexity the user’s life needlessly. Automating the operation of an iron or coffee maker, for example, may
not make a real difference in the user’s quality of life; programming lighting, alarms and/or heating at certain times of
the day, yes.

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 8.2 It is more effective to apply domotics to ‘Generate integrated solutions’, than to use it to fulfill
individual functions
Once the needs of the user have been identified, it is advisable to plan integrated solutions that allow to program and
control environments. For example, when you select a preset night environment, the system will run, in a single process,
dimming and turning off lights, closing curtains, and activating the alarm. This does not impede the handling of each
option separately, but it is easier and more effective to consider them, from the outset, as responses as a whole.

8.3 There are no differences between a traditional electrical plane and a home automation plane
To bring the domotics project to the built work, the architect should simply define the locations of the switches and other
devices, and the specific functions of each one of them. With this plan, the company responsible for the installation
of the automated systems is responsible for intervening the electrical installation on site, giving the specialist the
instruction to incorporate the wiring required by domotics. This UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cabling is much simpler
than traditionally used, and occupies a single duct.
It is important to note that domotics must be included in the construction plan before starting the thick work, since in
more advanced phases the complexity is increased the whole process.

8.4 The domotic system greatly reduces energy expenditure in a building or home
In the case of hotels, domotics allows the spaces and rooms that are not in use are kept completely off, carrying a
detailed control of the use that each guest gives to each enclosure. For example, if a guest has the heater turned on in
his room and opens a window, the thermal system will turn off to avoid that energy expense. Even during the night,
while the guest sleeps, the system can be programmed to reduce the temperature slightly, saving a lot of energy without
the user noticing it.
In addition, in buildings that use three-phase systems, it is possible to determine maximum monthly energy
consumption, avoiding that the expenditure exceeds the default limit at the end of the month. The Control Panel gives
the user a complete detail of this consumption; Daily, weekly, monthly or yearly.

8.5 The integration of alarms in the domotic system allows to control intrusions or dangers at a distance
Including the alarm in a domotic system avoids the need to connect to a power station, notifying the user directly on
your mobile phone and showing in detail which door or window has been tampered with. If you have included
surveillance cameras, it is possible to see in real time what is going on in the building.
In the case of other hazards, such as a gas or water leak, the system alerts the user to close the way of these elements,
while a definitive solution to the problem is found.

References
Sharda R. Katre and Dinesh V. Rojatkar. Home automation: past, present and future. In International Research Journal
of Engineering and Technology (IRJET), 2017.

Alfonso Recuero Dr. Road Engineer. Current state and Domotics perspectives. In Institute of Construction Sciences
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