By Allan Lagasca, Global leader of Smart Industrials Segment organisation at STMicroelectronics
The idea of a “smart home” is already familiar to most people. Nearly every household now uses connected technology to oversee and control energy, entertainment, heating, lighting, cleaning, security, and other aspects of daily life. From video doorbells that let you speak to visitors remotely, to robotic vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers, these connected “smart” technologies are now part of everyday life.
Yet as long as these individual systems operate in isolation, the full potential of smart home technology remains untapped. The next phase will focus on seamless integration between connected technologies and solutions within the home, creating a higher level of “self-awareness” and, as a result, greater efficiency and improved security for connected homes.
Intelligent energy consumption powers up
The home energy landscape is growing more complex. Traditional energy uses — heating and household appliances in particular — are still there. Layer on top of that the rise of electric vehicles, advanced entertainment and security systems, robotic appliances, and the fact that for many people the home is now also a workplace, and it becomes clear that the home must function as an energy “hub.”
Whether driven by cost savings, a desire to reduce environmental impact, or both, smart technologies are becoming essential to tracking and managing household energy use. At the same time, many homeowners are adopting domestic electricity generation through renewable energy solutions, most typically by installing solar photovoltaic panels.
In many cases, though, domestic renewable energy systems cannot fully meet all of the household’s energy demands. Striking the right balance between using home-generated energy and drawing from the electricity grid is therefore critical. This dynamic management and optimisation of home energy consumption requires visibility into energy use across the entire domestic environment, which is only possible through integrated systems.
From individual devices to a smart home ecosystem
The smart home of the future will bring together numerous individual connected devices and appliances into a single, unified smart home ecosystem. While this integration will improve every aspect of domestic life, more effective energy management and optimisation will be at its core.
Integrating devices from multiple manufacturers is always a challenge, but meaningful progress has been made in the smart home space. The Matter protocol is a technical standard for smart home and Internet of Things (IoT) devices that enables interoperability between products from a wide range of manufacturers.
Built on the standard Internet Protocol (IP), Matter is designed to allow smart home technologies of all kinds to work together seamlessly and securely. Similarly, KNX is the global standard for home and building automation — in fact, it is the only worldwide standard for home and building automation that supports complete building control, covering lighting, HVAC, security, audio/visual, and energy management.
The standardisation and interoperability provided by protocols like Matter and KNX are essential to realising the vision of a truly connected home. The foundation of that vision is, of course, delivering value to the people living in the smart home through added convenience, control, and efficiency. The scenarios highlighted in recent years — such as the home detecting the homeowner’s imminent arrival and automatically activating heating, lighting, and appropriate security settings — can only become reality through truly connected systems and devices.
Interconnected devices and appliances are also crucial to more efficient energy management within the home. When individual energy consumption data is shared and aggregated, it enables energy optimisation across the entire household.
This optimisation will include the intelligent use of domestically generated renewable energy alongside electricity drawn from the grid. For example, it makes sense to rely on photovoltaic energy during daylight hours, while drawing power from the grid during lower-cost periods in the evening or at night.
It’s not hard to imagine a domestic “sleep mode” in which, upon detecting that the house is unoccupied, the smart home systems switch the entire home to a low-power setting. Such a setting would direct power from the most efficient sources to essential systems — such as security — and away from those less needed when the home is empty, like lighting and heating or cooling.
Robotic vacuums and lawnmowers could also be scheduled to run at this time, minimising disruption to family life, while domestically generated energy is used to charge batteries for devices likely to be needed when the residents return.
Semiconductors as enablers
Semiconductors form the foundation of the intelligent home. Ultra-low-power and wireless microcontrollers, along with Thread network chips, enable connected devices and appliances to communicate and manage energy usage more efficiently. By sharing real-time data on energy consumption, they help optimise usage across the entire home.
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and other sensors provide a more accurate picture of the home’s condition, including occupancy, temperature, humidity, air quality, and more. This data enables the effective and efficient management of smart home systems and, in turn, the energy they consume.
Microcontrollers deliver the “intelligence” within the smart home, processing data from various sensors — such as thermostats, light switches, and doorbells — and using that data to control smart home appliances and systems. When paired with communication modules like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, microcontrollers allow smart home devices to communicate with one another and be controlled remotely.
As the number of connected homes grows, secure microcontrollers serve as the first line of defence against cyberattacks targeting smart home appliances. Secure boot, encrypted storage, memory protection units, and digital signatures for device software updates all help keep smart home systems protected.
Edge AI — where AI processing happens within the devices themselves — will enhance the capabilities of domestic devices, optimising their own behaviour and providing more useful data to the home management hub. For example, smart doorbells and security cameras now feature improved object recognition, enabling them to distinguish between people, vehicles, and packages. Thermostats and lighting systems can more accurately detect occupancy and motion, making local adjustments to conserve energy.
With a growing share of smart home appliances and domestic energy systems relying on batteries, battery management systems — and the battery management integrated circuits (ICs) that power them — have become indispensable. These ICs leverage precise current, voltage, and temperature data to extend battery runtime, lifespan, and safety.
Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductors deliver superior efficiency and lower losses for power supply units and inverters, making them essential for integrating solar photovoltaic systems, battery storage, and EV chargers into the home’s energy network with minimal energy waste. Power Management Integrated Circuits (PMICs) will also play a key role in managing bidirectional energy flow, handling the complexity of feeding domestically generated electricity back to the grid.
The self-aware home arrives
We are entering the next stage of smart home automation. With deeper integration between smart home devices and systems made possible by standardisation and interconnection, the self-aware home will become an active and intelligent participant in energy efficiency and optimisation.
Smarter energy use — whether sourced from the national grid or generated at home — will deliver the dual benefits of reduced environmental impact and greater efficiency for homeowners.
It’s the definition of a win-win.
Author biography:
Allan Lagasca is Global leader of Smart Industrials Segment organization and drives the strategy of the Robotics Segment Strategic Program at STMicroelectronics. He joined STMicroelectronics in 2003 and began his career at Astec/Emerson, bringing more than 25 years of experience in the electronics and semiconductor industry. He has held various roles ranging from FAE manager to Application Director of System Engineering and Strategic Programs, expanding his presence in industrial automation and robotics, smart home and building automation, and extending into medical and healthcare systems.
