Module 7 ENERGY • Unit 18 HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEMS

DOMOTICS AND SMART HOMES

Domotics, or home automation, defines techniques or technology
to drill: trapanare capable of automating private homes providing a series of services for
straightforward:
immediato, comprensibile the comfort and security of the residents. Although many techniques
are also used in building automation, such as
light and climate, automatic closing of doors and
windows, control or surveillance systems, domotics
also refers to additional functions such as multi-
media home entertainment systems, automatic plant
Domotics watering and pet feeding, and automatic scenes for
standards dinners and parties.
Some specific domotics The expression smart home, or intelligent home, Automatic pet feeder
standards include: relates to the integration of different devices for
Universal powerline the automatic control of household appliances, with sensors and telecommunication
bus (UPB), System Box, systems for remote control or assistance. An integrated home is therefore controlled
LonWorks and KNX and by using appropriate interfaces, e.g. buttons, remote controls, touch screens,
others. Bridges are used to keyboards and voice recognition, which communicate with a central computer unit
translate one standard to or a distributed intelligence system.
another. We can distinguish five levels of home automation, but we can only talk of ‘smart
homes’ from the third level onwards. The levels are the following:
1. homes which contain intelligent objects – homes contain single, stand-alone
applications and objects which function in an intelligent manner, i.e. a kitchen
Home robots robot with a database of recipes.
2. homes which contain intelligent, communicating objects – homes contain
Butler robots are finally appliances and objects which function intelligently in their own right and which
becoming a reality, with AI also exchange information between one another to increase functionality, i.e.
machines to run the house, when it is dark, a sensor sends a signal to the computer to switch on the lights.
raise the children and do 3. connected homes – homes have internal and external networks, allowing
many other things. 2017 interactive and remote control of systems, as well as access to services and
was the year when robots
information, both within and beyond the home, i.e. a central computer controls
began their march into
all the devices in the house.
our homes. A whole set of
4. learning homes – patterns of activity in the homes are recorded and the
smart home robots was
accumulated data are used to anticipate users’ needs and to control the
produced to help users’
technology accordingly, i.e. the central system has a database and knows how to
run homes better, and they
are not just toys. Some
behave, for example, in case of snow, intense cold, etc.
examples are Alexa, a smart 5. attentive homes – the activity and location of people and objects within
assistant that lets users the homes are constantly registered, and this information is used to control
control their home with technology in anticipation of the occupants’ needs, i.e. lights are automatically
their own voice, and Kuri, switched on or off as you move from one room to another.
an AI assistant. Another important distinction concerns the location of the domotic system. The
architecture of the system can be:
• centralised – a centralised controller receives information of multiple sensors
and, once processed, generates the appropriate orders for the actuators
• distributed – the intelligence of the system is distributed among all the modules
that are sensors or actuators, through a system of wires
• mixed – systems with decentralised architecture with several small devices able
to acquire and process the information of multiple sensors and to transmit them
to the rest of the devices distributed by the house.

D. Ardu, M.G. Bellino, G. Di Giorgio - Domotics and smart homes

Copyright © EDISCO Editrice - Vietata la vendita e la diffusione

1
 1 Listen to the extract and complete the table.
Home automation applications

1 Energy saving • C ........................... • L ...........................

• N ........................... L ........................... • E ........................... M ...........................
2 C ........................... • A ........................... L ........................... • Audio S ........................... and D ...........................
L ........................... • V ....................... S ....................... and D • I ........................... S ...........................
....................... • Internet control
• I ....................... of all devices • Generation of P...........................
• M ....................... of all multimedia
devices
3 Home P ....................... • D ........................... of I ....................... • S ........................... of P...........................
and S ....................... • Detection of D ....................... • M ........................... A ...........................
4 Communications • Ubiquitous C ........................... • R ........................... C ...........................
• A ........................... transmission • I ...........................
• Robotics
5 Other systems • G ........................... doors • P....................... feeders

2 Read the text and discuss these questions in pairs.

DoorBird, an alternative to Ring Video Doorbell

We are sure at some point of time, you may have come across the Ring Video Doorbell or
even the Pro version. Ring is one of the most popular wireless doorbells available on the
market. It is reasonably priced, easy to self-install and is feature-packed. However, the

ACTIVITIES
one great drawback is that you have to keep charging your doorbell, but the Pro version
provides automatic recharging at a higher cost. Remember, the main reason you want a
video doorbell is so that you can view the visitor and open the door! So, you need a video
doorbell with the following features:
1. Doesn’t require constant recharging
2. A
 ble to unlock any smartlock or connect to any magnetic doorlocks, after viewing the
visitor
3. Able to use the inbuilt sensor in any existing home automation system
4. Able to use a camera and stream the video to existing systems.
DoorBird is designed and available in a variety of configurations. It is made of reinforced
polycarbonate with a stainless steel faceplate and button. It has an HD camera with
an infrared sensor, below which is a microphone/speaker grille and the stainless steel
button. Since the DoorBird reuses the existing wires for your doorbell, the installation may
not be so straightforward. Setting it up would require some wiring, waterproofing at the
backplate, and drilling, before you even turn it on. The DoorBird can be linked to your
home network via ethernet cable or wifi.
Adapted from: http://www.domotics.sg/review-doorbird-an-alternative-to-ring-video-doorbell/

1. What type of product is Doorbird?

2. What are its characteristics?
3. Would you like to install such a
device in your house? Why/why
not?
4. What do you think are the
advantages of installing such a
product?

D. Ardu, M.G. Bellino, G. Di Giorgio - Domotics and smart homes

Copyright © EDISCO Editrice - Vietata la vendita e la diffusione