Nea and Michael Poole at their renovated "smart" home. (Photo by Jay Paul)
A refrigerator that manages your grocery list. Lightbulbs programmed to turn off and on, and even change color when you receive a text. Electrical outlets you can shut off from afar, just in case you forgot to turn off your curling iron. Capabilities that were once figments of our imagination are now a reality, designed with the intent to make our lives better. But are there times when smart technology can actually decrease your home’s IQ?
The key to staying smart is research and planning. Nea and Michael Poole, of Poole & Poole Architecture in Midlothian, have converted a barn in Rockville into a gracious family home with modern amenities and smart features galore — and the pre-wired capacity to add more in the future if they so desire. Current smart features include solar panels, a security system, garage doors, HVAC, door locks, a sound system and more — all controlled by one master app, accessed through their phones, iPads or touchpads mounted strategically throughout the home.
“What we’ve found is that these things offer convenience and peace of mind,” Nea says. For example, if workers arrive to complete a job at the house, the Pooles can grant them access without having to leave their office. Even the family dog benefits from smart technology; romping on 30 acres, he’s easily located by his smart collar if he wanders too far.
The technology the Pooles have chosen doesn’t rely solely on the internet, however. Manual controls help maintain functionality, should a server or Wi-Fi go down. “We’ll still have old-school access, but this layer of technology makes it easier, especially remotely, to work with all of these components,” Nea says.
As architects, they have had plenty of practice with this type of planning, but they insist that anyone can learn what works for their home. “Just do the research, to make sure it has connectibility to online services,” Michael says, adding that the current generation of technology is user-friendly.
Homeowners starting from scratch or even trying to connect smart gear and gadgets they already own can call on local companies such as Connec. Owner Edward Wood builds custom, in-home networks by configuring and installing the necessary wiring and hardware to make homes smarter. In the Richmond region, Wood sees great demand for alarm systems, home cameras and door locks that can be accessed and controlled via the internet. However, he cautions consumers against adding such smart-home gadgets willy-nilly.
The Pooles use an app to control the smart features in their renovated barn. Seen here, the app is used to set room temperature. (Photo by Jay Paul)
“There’s a flood of ‘DIY’ smart-home products on the market,” he says, citing the home automation page of Amazon as an example of a playground for gadget lovers. Such a wide, easily accessible array can be its own potential point of vulnerability. Wood says consumers should make sure devices are manufactured by a reputable company with staying power. “Consumers should ask themselves, ‘Is the company going to be around to address issues and provide support?’ ”
Another question to ask, according to Wood, is, “Will these things play well together?” With a bevy of different products from different manufacturers, says Wood, you may have to manage a slew of apps, and with that, the attendant learning curves, not to mention an ongoing stream of updates.
The apps that make these things work present another point of vulnerability. Christopher Cotropia, professor of law and director of the Intellectual Property Institute at University of Richmond School of Law, points out that the “free” apps controlling many of these devices actually come with a cost: your privacy. “Rarely are there laws that prohibit collecting information from people over 13, so the way we’re protected here in the U.S. is through disclosure,” he explains. Companies must disclose what information they collect from your devices, and what they are doing with it. When purchasing smart gear, he says, you want service providers to “promise that if they store or use your information, that they disaggregate it from your ‘PII’ — A Personally Identifiable Information.”
While such practices aren’t covered by legislation, the hope is that the market for these products works out the glitches as consumers say “no” with their wallets: “It’s up to consumers and consumer advocacy groups to vote with their dollars if disclosures are violated.”
Cotropia also says that in addition to understanding what promises companies are making about security, you need to know what they’ll do if and when there’s a breach.
Another concern, he points out, is that many smart-home device manufacturers may not be as committed to updates as they should be, which can affect both security and functionality.
