With the business world now nearly fully immersed in technology and digitalization, tech trends seen in the workplace are becoming more popular in the home. As employment and home values synchronously rise, homeowners are encouraged to invest more in their homes, and that means newer and better tech. These five exciting home improvement trends of 2018 offer indication of both what cutting-edge technology homeowners want and what home improvement tech projects will look like in 2019 and beyond.
4K Security Monitoring
The future of security monitoring is 4K surveillance cameras. People are looking forward from the 1080p full HD image resolution that’s the current industry standard toward more advanced imaging: 2k Extreme HD and 4k Ultra HD. An image must have 2,000 horizontal pixels in order to be considered 2K Extreme HD. Similarly, an image must have 4,000 horizontal pixels to be 4K Ultra HD. Ratio-wise, the 2K Extreme HD pixel ratio is 2048 x 1536, nearly double the standard, and the 4K Ultra HD is 4096 x 2160, almost four times the standard. The beauty of these security cameras is that they leave nothing to question. The images are crisp and clear, and the digital zoom capability is incredible, giving you the best chance of capturing the all necessary details, even from a distance.
Tunable White Lighting
Tunable white lighting in a home is exactly what it sounds like. You control, or “tune,” the lighting in your home, only you don’t just control the brightness and dimness, you control the color. Tunable white lighting draws on the science of color that suggests that color and lighting can affect a person’s mood, sleep, productivity and more. For example, a cool color hue like blue can actually increase an individual’s energy, while a warm tone like red can calm a person down. In essence, tunable white lighting, when paired with other external variables like temperature, can can aid in the improvement of human moods, performance and general health. This kind of concept foreshadows more technology “tuned” to understand and influence human behavior.
Wireless Kitchen
A wireless kitchen, created by Michigan company Urbaneer, was designed with small living spaces in mind. The kitchen is a child of the wireless charging furniture trend, but the technology is used with practicality in mind. It’s an island station with a flat top on which compatible appliances can charge and function, then the surfaces can be used as a cooktop or as free prep space, depending on the need. The purpose of the kitchen, aside from compact, functional living, is that it eliminates cords in the kitchen, cutting down on the chance of electricity-meets-water incidents. Conveniently, it is also on wheels. Stations like the wireless kitchen indicate future products free of strings and formerly stationary equipment becoming ambulatory.
Remote Controls
Another interesting apparatus of 2018 is the Nanoleaf Remote, a 12-sided, palm-sized remote that syncs with Apple HomeKit. Each single side of the dodecahedron is programmable to deliver unique commands in the home. It can command the panel lights to create a specific lighting setting, unlock and lock doors, operate cameras or deliver power to fans, outlets and appliances. In the same arena is the Talon remote, which is a piece of wearable tech. This smart ring allows the users to control household features with hand gestures, Curbed reports. These tech tools suggest both a broadening of the wearable tech accessories as well as a more toward truly universal remote. One remote to rule them all.
Smarter Sleep
Our tech is learning to better read us. Biometric data is every day through fitness trackers and automated health assessors, so it stands to reason that all of this information can be used to improve personal health. For example, Sleep Number manufactures a smart bed that collects and processes biometric data points every to create a more comfortable, personal sleep experience. Biometrics running this extensive research suggests that future home tech may be capable of predicting medical issues such as sleep apnea or medical emergencies like a heart attack.
The year 2018 has offered wondrous tools for the home. Advanced security, emotive lighting, wireless food prep, advanced remote control and intelligent mattresses are just the beginning. With home technology advancing as quickly as it is, in the home improvements future, anything is possible.
