New Smart Home Technology Offers More Options for Homes

The latest in smart home technology beamed at January’s 2018 National Association of Home Builders International Builders Show and Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Orlando. Smart faucets, toilets, showers and refrigerators highlighted new home automated products on display at the show.

IBS is the biggest component of the annual Design & Construction Week, which also includes the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. The show drew more than 85,000 attendees.

Below are some examples of new smart home products on display that property managers may want to consider to enhance any rental home’s amenity list:

Kohler Konnect personalizes the bath and kitchen experiences

Smart home technology continues to dazzle, and Kohler is fast coming to the forefront. The 144-year-old company is bringing new meaning to bathroom crooning in the shower or in front of a mirror.

Kohler unveiled its Kohler Konnect app that combines touch control and voice activation to operate the company’s line of smart showers, faucets, mirrors and toilets. The app will be rolled out this spring and works with Amazon’s Alexa. Kohler plans to integrate it with Apple’s HomeKit and Google Home.

Kohler Konnect enables multiple functions like dimming lights or listening to bass-rich music with the company’s Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror. Alexa will even tell you a joke while you’re getting ready for work. The mirror also has a motion-activated night light.

Alexa and Kohler Konnect can turn the company’s DTV+ shower into a personal cleansing station by accessing preprogrammed showering times and temperature controls. Also, the app pairs with Kohler’s Numi intelligent toilet for a personal cleansing bidet experience.

In the kitchen, the Sensate Faucet can assist by, upon command, dispensing water in ounces, cups, gallons, etc. Kohler Konnect also tracks water usage.

Samsung’s smart refrigerator does it all

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., once again made a splash with its line of smart appliances that include the Samsung Chef Collection.

The company showed off its next generation of the Family Hub line of refrigerators, which have Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capabilities that connect to other smart home features.

The long, vertical display has a meal planner, grocery shopping cart, digital coupons and remote control camera to check on what condiments are running low. The fridge links to other Samsung appliances, offering finger-touch control of on-off functions and other settings for ovens, stoves and others.

A unique feature is a link to doorbell and camera systems. When the doorbell rings, a message and video from the front porch displays on the Family Hub touch screen.

New small home automation system links smart components

TiO, a new, small home automation company based in the Southeast U.S., offers a complete system with a proprietary hub that links common smart home fixtures. TiO pairs with the systems that are in demand by consumers.

Representatives said the system is flexible and covers basic smart home functions like turning on lights, opening shades, activating the HVAC system and lighting a pathway from the bedroom to the kitchen for that first cup of coffee in the morning.

The standard package includes an app, the MasterCoordinator, wall-touch controls and an audio amplifier. The MasterCoordinator provides access to the TiO system from anywhere in the world, according to the company’s website.

Tim Blackwell is a long-time publishing and printing executive in the Dallas/Fort Worth area who writes about the housing and transportation industries. He has contributed numerous articles to Property Management Insider and the Propertyware blog, and worked as a newspaper reporter in the D/FW area. Blackwell is president of Ballpark Impressions, and publishes the Cowcatcher Magazine. He is a member of the Fort Worth Chapter/Society of Professional Journalists.