Home automation and centralized control
Introduction
Home automation is called systems capable of automating a home[1] or building of any type, providing energy management, security, well-being and communication services, and which can be integrated through indoor and outdoor communication networks, wired or wireless, and whose control enjoys a certain ubiquity, from inside and outside the home. It could be defined as the integration of technology in the intelligent design of an enclosed area.
The word "domotic" comes from the union of the words domus (which means "house", in Latin) and automatic* (from the Greek: αὐτόνομος, autonomous; "that governs itself").[2].
General characteristics
Applications
The services offered by home automation can be grouped according to five main aspects or areas:
Energy savings is not something tangible, but rather legible with a concept that can be achieved in many ways. In many cases it is not necessary to replace home appliances or systems with others that consume less energy but rather efficient management of them.
Comfort entails all the actions that can be carried out that improve comfort in a home. These actions can be of a passive, active or mixed nature.
It consists of a security network responsible for protecting both property assets, personal safety and life.
As an example, a smoke detector placed on an electric stove could turn it off, cutting off the electricity going to it, when a fire is detected.
They are the communications systems or infrastructure that the home has.
This mechanism includes remote control applications or installations of the environment that promote the personal autonomy of people with functional limitations or disabilities.
The concept of design for all is a movement that aims to create the necessary sensitivity so that when designing a product or service, the needs of all possible users are taken into account, including people with different abilities or disabilities, that is, to favor an accessible design for human diversity. Social inclusion and equality are more general and philosophical terms or concepts. Home automation applied to promoting accessibility is an ethical and creative challenge but above all it is the application of technology in the most necessary field, to overcome functional limitations of people, including disabled or elderly people. The objective is not that people with disabilities can access these technologies, because the technologies themselves are not an objective, but a means. The objective of these technologies is to promote personal autonomy. The recipients of these technologies are all people, regardless of their illness, disability or aging condition.