Alexandre Boero May 09, 2019 at 09:536 This article is sponsored by Fnac-Darty. Consult our our charter. : Thanks to their development, connected objects have given rise to home automation, a term that is still not very sacred but which is synonymous with the connected home, a comfort to which the public has not yet really prepared nor adapted. But the truth of yesterday or today is not the truth of tomorrow, especially when energy (and money) savings are at stake. Popularized with Apple's first iPhone, released in 2007, the Internet of Things (IoT) , or Internet of Things for Anglicists, was truly beginning its march forward. At the time, it was the symbolic object of user emancipation through the Internet, accessible at home, in the office, in a restaurant or on the street. Then the madness of the connected object began to s seize everything and anything: connected watch, connected glasses, connected shoes, connected pen... Then, technology specialists were able to tell themselves that rather than being satisfied with "gadgets", the phenomenon of 'IoT could give rise to new uses, such as social networks, e-sport or e-commerce in their field. And that's where home automation came into play.

“Connected objects: functional added value”

Home automation could almost be seen as a philosophy, a new way of living. It brings together various technologies inspired by digital, telecommunications and IoT to provide superior living comfort, if one is sensitive to it. Let's get to the heart of the matter. Two experts contacted by Clubic accompany us in this presentation of what the connected home represents:

Dimitri Carbonnelle , CEO of Livosphere, specialist in the Internet of Things, innovative technologies and international speaker; and Flavien Hersant , expert in the home automation sector and mainly active in technology serving people.

But what is a connected object?

Also called smart objects, connected objects now have a full place in our lives, like a very intimate being in our surroundings. Connected to the Internet via an IP address, the connected object can be linked to terminals that are themselves connected to the Internet. To qualify as a connected object, the tool in question must offer functional added value , such as measuring heart rate of its host for a connected watch, or voice control to control its objects without moving, a pillar of smart home technologies today.

What is home automation and how is it different from the connected object?

Home automation aims to improve the comfort of life and simplify the existence of those who decide to adopt its uses , by centralizing all the technical installations of the house, such as closures, heating and lighting, controllable from at home or remotely. It allows you to create real scenarios using connected objects to build a "connected house." »

“Respond to certain daily constraints automatically or at least in a simplified way”

What is the major advantage of the connected home? Dimitri Carbonnelle : What changes with home automation or Smart Home: it's the interface and the objects, which cost much less. It's easier to use, especially when you have an object like a connected thermostat: the interface is simpler. Then, the objects become more and more interoperable: either they are connected to the Internet directly via APIs, or a brand, Somfy for example, which will integrate its protocol into the Freebox, which makes it possible, for example, to control its roller shutters directly with Freebox. Flavien Hersant : The main advantage of technology is to be able to respond to certain daily constraints automatically or at least in a simplified way, and to meet the needs of users. Operating shutters without having to go outside to close or open the leaves or use a crank in the home seems benign but it is a real constraint for many people. Home automation takes on an even more general meaning when it comes to controlling a thermostat, which in addition can make it possible to really gain in thermal comfort, and also allows users to find their way financially while having an interesting ecological impact. since it will avoid certain unnecessary consumption.

Spread the word: your connected home will... save you money

Before going into more detail on the equipment and uses resulting from home automation, it should be borne in mind that the latter has an undeniable economic advantage: it saves money . Whether through the management of your lighting, your heating, the watch of your devices, you have to be aware that home automation adapts to your needs, your habits and your lifestyle. A simple example, that of a connected bulb. A 6 W LED bulb is as powerful as a traditional 60 W bulb , but above all, it consumes 10 times less energy than incandescent bulbs and would have a lifespan of up to several decades , compared to a few years for incandescent bulbs. In general, depending on the sources (organizations, companies, manufacturers, associations) we find rather positive figures regarding the energy savings achieved by adopting home automation solutions, which can range from 5 to 15% reduction in your overall electricity bill. And if you fear that the investment in equipment will be too large, be aware of two things: the prices are much less extravagant and much more accessible than in the past, and your purchases will be largely amortized over time.

Current home automation equipment

Home automation equipment is grouped into several major categories such as security, energy, and multimedia. As with certain operators such as Orange (Connected Home, Protected Home) and Free (with the security pack of the Freebox Delta ), security is becoming an oh-so-important issue in home automation . It reassures the user, whether during his sleep or when he leaves his home to go to work. Today, new connected objects participate in the life of a smart home. We find in particular Wi-Fi cameras for video surveillance, motion detectors, anti-intrusion alarms, connected locks, opening detectors, smoke detectors or other sensors. How do you convince a reluctant person to turn their home into a smart home in less than a minute? Dimitri Carbonnelle : Every day, are there things that tire you or that you can no longer bear to do? We start from a problem. Then, I give an example: a person who consumes a lot of energy because he forgets to turn off his lights; I'm going to ask him if he wouldn't be interested in having a solution that alerts him. If the person accepts, then I tell him that there is a solution that is not particularly expensive that allows him to receive this alert, and for that, you need to have a small sensor or device that the 'we will connect to your home, which will allow you to receive an alert on your smartphone, to solve the initial problem. Flavien Hersant : For people who are unaware of the existence of solutions, it is simply a matter of presenting, explaining and understanding the usefulness of the product and its meaning in the person's life. Pedagogy... Once you understand what a solution can bring, you are better able to adopt it. If the person has knowledge of home automation but is reluctant, it is also necessary to show pedagogy, but more generally, it will be a question of reassuring the person about the solution. One of the main home automation aspects within of the domicile is that of energy . Here, the solutions are not lacking and can range from the regulation of heating and air conditioning according to the outside temperature to connected thermostats or radiators, including the famous connected bulbs and the motorization of shutters, intended to set up automations. within your smart home to reduce the electricity bill. Shutting off electrical appliances placed on standby and real-time monitoring of consumption are also other significant uses of home automation.

“Home automation can give back a little purchasing power to consumers”

Finally, the last main category of use of home automation is living comfort , driven by multimedia. We find there in particular the home automation of the garden for those who are lucky enough to have one with programmable watering and lighting or, for the interior, all the multimedia part which concerns music, images and video with the possibility of controlling a hi-fi system, a computer, an alarm clock, a radio or a television remotely, without forgetting the robots (connected vacuum cleaners, personal home assistants, refrigerators) which can carry out various tasks. this equipment can be controlled by smart speakers or personal assistants, whose capacities really exploded in 2017. The three recommended priority home automation devices: Dimitri Carbonnelle : The first is at the security level, typically a connected alarm, or for example presence sensors or a camera. The second would be the thermostat, to reduce its energy consumption. The third is more exploratory: it would be the voice assistant. Because it is potentially an object that can cause you to get fed up quickly, but it is not very expensive and allows you, little by little for a low cost, to start creating scenarios to familiarize yourself with connected objects. . Flavien Hersant : For the average person, I think it would be the basic trio, namely: thermostat / shutter / lights. Afterwards, if we want to go further, it can quickly become interesting to couple these tools with an alarm, door entry or connected lock, etc. in order to create real life scenarios.

The home automation uses of today and tomorrow

As we told you above, the association (or not for that matter) of home automation equipment has made it possible in recent years to create new uses intended to improve our daily lives within our own homes. Energy, comfort, safety, health... uses are multiplying as equipment develops. Exclusive Harris Interactive study for Reworld Media - March 2018 The formula can make you jump: but home automation solutions can restore a little purchasing power . Once the cost of the equipment - sometimes expensive - passed, the hunt for energy waste can be launched. Clearly, home automation makes it possible to reduce energy expenditure , as long as the equipment is controlled intelligently. A connected air conditioner that detects the opening of a window can shut down and save you precious pennies, as can turning off the lights in an empty room. The ideal here is to benefit from several pieces of equipment which will be able to “discuss” with each other and follow your rhythm of life and your movements within your home. All this is all the more practical as you can monitor your consumption in real time from your smartphone, tablet or computer. The energy-saving aspect of home automation speaks more to families.

"Home automation, real personal assistance for the elderly and independent"

Home automation also means living more peacefully. Safety is a priority for manufacturers , but also a guarantee of peace of mind for single or elderly people. Alarm systems naturally prevent the risk of home intrusions such as burglary. In the event that someone enters the home, an automatic call can be made to a security company, to quickly dispatch someone there. We have already mentioned equipment such as video surveillance cameras or the detection of anomalies such as smoke. Is it the right time to equip your home with home automation? Dimitri Carbonnelle : It's worth taking an interest in it, looking at the elements. If there is a daily problem that you want to solve, yes it's worth looking at, because the prices are low enough to test solutions. If you have no particular problem, then there is no rush to buy, you have to be honest. Flavien Hersant : I think it's a good time to equip yourself. Indeed there is currently a lot of equipment, the costs are much more affordable than 20 years, 10 years or even 5 years ago. In addition, the whole point of home automation as we understand it now is to be as much as possible "interoperable" and therefore to allow the user to gradually update his installation according to his finances certainly, but also according to their needs which will inevitably evolve over time. Another use of home automation which can hit the mark with seniors: health . No more rushing a doctor or nurse to check blood pressure, heart rate or blood sugar for people with diabetes. From now on, a simple device can play the role of intelligent personal nurse which, if it does not replace human contact, has the merit of being available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Home automation tends to reinforce autonomy of a person who would have been in difficulty without the contribution of technology , because let's not forget that the home is the first place at risk for the elderly person. Geolocation systems such as light sensors, which let you know if an elderly person has been sitting all day or in the dark without turning on the light, could end up convincing the most skeptical. Finally, and in general, home automation creates a fundamental use that suits everyone: improving the comfort of life. This can go through connected speakers that allow you to call without having to retrieve your smartphone or broadcast your news flash when you wake up at the desired time.

The state of the home automation market

The smart home market is probably far from its highest potential level of exploitation. It tends to gradually gain momentum, so much so that it weighed 1.6 billion euros in France in 2017 , according to the French Federation of Home Automation and if we associate the connected house with traditional home automation. .In October 2018, the very well-informed firm IDC published a market study of the home automation sector and its section reserved for connected home equipment. According to the company, connected home objects (and not the Internet of Things in general) should show an annual increase of 20.8% in the next five years, to reach 1.3 billion home automation devices in worldwide , up from 644 million in 2018, for a smart home market that is expected to reach $151.4 million by 2024, according to Markets and Markets. Figures forecast for connected home equipment for 2022 - Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Smart Home Device Tracker, October 1, 2018. Table translated by Selectra. A striking example of the predicted growth of home automation is that of thermostats. If they represent only 2.1% market share in the connected home equipment sector in 2018, they will peak at 3% in 2022. But sales will explode, since they should go from 13, 6 million thermostats in 2018 to 37.5 million in 2022, i.e. almost triple.

"The French are more and more tempted by connected objects and home automation"

Everything related to surveillance and security should also show a remarkable growth curve (from 97.7 million devices sold in 2018 to 245 million in 2022, with a market share that would increase from 15.2 to 19.4 %), as well as connected speakers, which should increase from 100 million in 2018 to 230 million sold in 2022. Read also: Sales of smart speakers almost doubled in the last quarterSeveral manufacturers hold the home automation market in the world . There are several French companies such as Somfy; Legrand, who bought Netatmo; Schneider Electric and Delta Dore. Operators Orange, SFR, Bouygues and Free now offer their home automation solutions, as do digital giants Amazon, Google, Apple and Microsoft. Many companies from various sectors also have a foot in home automation such as EDF, Ikea or Leroy Merlin.

What future for home automation objects

Connected objects today suffer from a completely...paradoxical paradox. If 6 out of 10 French people plan to equip themselves with a connected object in the long term according to a Harris Interactive study of March 2018, several studies attest to a low number of French people who own a connected object: only 22%, according to a survey OpinionWay for ISOC France in June 2018. OpinionWay survey for ISOC France - June 2018 What future for connected objects and home automation? Is the phenomenon only at its beginnings? Dimitri Carbonnelle : Some connected objects will quickly expire. But the arrival of artificial intelligence has an important interest since today, to create a scenario, it will learn from your habits, your behavior. AI will further simplify the use of home automation. I think it will explode for some objects, like for cameras. In terms of use, it will not explode in all areas. Flavien Hersant : I think the 3 main axes of development are: the natural evolution of standards; technology enthusiasts and people with more specific needs to which home automation can provide a concrete solution. Yes, for me the home automation market will continue to grow as new products arrive frequently as well as new associated services. However, it is still necessary to remain cautious in this booming market, to offer solutions that respect users while providing reassuring answers, in particular on issues of data security, hacking, etc.

Fnac Darty makes an appointment to visit the Apartment of the Future

Speaking of the future, the Fnac Darty group has imagined what the Apartment of the Future would be like, and it will even be possible to visit it. Not the apartment of the future like Korben Dallas in The Fifth Element, but the house of the future designed with already existing products. From May 10 to 24, 2019 , the Fnac Darty group is organizing unique and educational free tours of the apartment for this purpose, offered to the general public and conducted in collaboration with the Wild Buzz Agency. You will have the opportunity to discover a large family living space of 500 m² , and to live a scripted experience by crossing the 15 rooms (living room, kitchen, dining room, private cinema, laundry room, office, bathroom, bedrooms. ..) that make up the apartment, which is also located in Paris, in the 3rd arrondissement. It is possible to register for one of the visits via the site: www.l appartementdufutur.com. From the connected sofa Miliboo , presented for the first time in France, to the scooter Mi Electric Scooter Pro from Xiaomi via the Aibo robot dog from Sony, the French connected mirrors from CareOs which will give some beauty advice or the smart screen Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant, visitors will follow a real participatory journey which will allow them to trigger what is called, in the field of home automation, "scenarios" articulated around the crowd of connected objects scattered throughout the apartment. Google, Huawei, Microsoft, Samsung, Philips, Sony, Lenovo, Oculus, Electrolux and Siemens are the partner companies of the experience. And if you are not in Paris, don't panic, Fnac Darty will offer a virtual visit accessible via the address: www.l appartementdufutur.com/visite-virtuelle.