Please note: the JRF no longer conducts any research into this area of work. The information provided in this section is kept here for historical purposes.
Introducing smart homes
This guide is intended to give an overview of a smart home, based on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation demonstration sites in York and replications of that model. Two smart homes were developed through the conversion of an existing bungalow at Hartrigg Oaks and a house at New Earswick. This guide draws mainly on the most recent experience with the second home. The techniques could equally be applied to any size of house, bungalow or flat.
Every effort has been made in the design of the house to ensure that it works in the same or a similar manner to other houses. So pushing a door will still open it and clicking a light switch will still turn the light on or off. However the house can also be operated in a variety of other ways that may be more useful or appropriate for the person living there. This site shows what the house does, why it does it, and suggests ways that the features of the smart house can give the most benefit.
What is smart about this home?
Where the smart house really differs from other houses is that a communications infrastructure is installed that allows the various systems and devices in the home to communicate with each other. The modern home contains a variety of systems, such as central heating, fire and security alarms, and devices, such as televisions and lights, that usually exist in total isolation from each other. In the smart house, these systems and devices are able to pass information and commands between them so that, for example, the security alarm can turn the lights on or off.
In developing the smart home, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation looked at how people currently use their homes and worked out how different technologies could make everyday tasks simpler or easier. Existing equipment in the home can be adapted to provide more functions; for example detectors normally used for security alarms can be used to identify if someone is in a room. New equipment can also be installed to automate tasks such as opening doors or windows.
How it works
Over the last 15 years, computerised controls have become more and more common in our homes. Computers control our washing machines and microwaves, they turn our heating on and off, and they have provided new ways to monitor the safety and security of our homes. The smart home looks at expanding the use of these computers into other parts of the home, creating a single network that can be easily and conveniently controlled. The use of computer controls removes the need to actually flick a switch or turn a knob to make something work and allows elements of the home to be controlled remotely by, or to respond automatically to, the people living in it.
The smart home relies on a number of small computers distributed around the house that are either used to turn devices and appliances on and off or to send and receive information. These computers are linked together using either a dedicated cable or by sending a special signal through the mains electricity cables. Find out more...
More about smart homes on this website
- Introducing smart homes
- What the house can do
- How does it work?
- Devices used in a smart home
- Things to consider when specifying smart homes equipment
- Frequently asked questions
Other smart homes publications
Digital
futures: Making homes smarter (REPORT)
David Gann, James Barlow and Tim Venables
Price: £12.95
Digital
futures: Making homes smarter (CD-ROM)
David Gann, James Barlow and Tim Venables
Price: £13.95
The
market potential for smart homes
Mark Pragnell, Lorna Spence and Roger Moore
Price: £10.95
The JRF Smart Homes Project aims to encourage housing and equipment suppliers to provide the home technology that will support future lifestyles and aspirations, by demonstrating what is realistically possible to achieve now. The methods used in this project are by way of examples and are not intended to be prescriptive.
