Ongoing development of smart solutions are bringing more technologies and devices from home to smart businesses, helpfully removing the obstacles for an upgraded living experience and management. In the following five examples, we can find smart energy solutions in hotel, wireless air monitoring in museum, and home deliveries in America and northern Europe.
Costa Rica Olas Verdes Resort became first LEED Platinum hotel in the country with Haiku Fans
When it comes to saving energy, people has air conditioner and lights first in mind. How do we apply and enjoy the functions of these products without paying expensive bills? The US-based fan and lighting expert Big Ass Fan Company has a solution.
Olas Verdes Resort in Costa Rica wanted a LEED Platinum certification. The LEED Platinum certification is designed for hospitality industry and buildings to lessen their carbon footprint and make a positive impact on environment. Hotels can be certified only with their eco-friendly practices, which often refer to energy and water efficiency. And Olas Verdes Resort worked with Haiku Fans by Big Ass Fan Company to achieve this certification.
With the need to take advantage of the frequent winds and to minimize the heat generated by sun, Olas Verdes Resort installed 70 Haiku Fans to create the most energy efficient space. Every suite features two Haiku Fans, one in the bedroom and one in the living room. According to Olas Verdes Resort, the fans made it possible to eliminate air conditioning in the living room entirely. Fans are also installed in the resort’s offices, entertainment venue and restaurant. Also, the Haiku Fans comes with built-in LED lights, meaning a total of less lights needed in each suite.
Photo credit: www.bigassfans.com
According to Olas Verdes Resort, the tourists have positive reviews on Haiku Fans, as it can create comfortable airflow in the room, keep mosquitoes away, and stay silent while operation.
Smart home technologies are also greatly assisting business services nowadays, bringing value for service providers and retail consumers. According to international service provider Accenture, US$343 billion growth is predicted in parcel delivery service by 2020. Advanced delivery is now already available with smart homes.
Recently, smart security lock leaders ASSA ABLOY and August Home have respectively cooperate with logistic expert PostNord and retail giant Walmart to bring package orders right into your home. And e-commerce specialist Amazon has also introduced its new “Amazon Key In-Home Kit” to allow delivering packages inside of frontdoors instead of leaving them outside.
All these considerate services target busy homeowners, who barely have time shopping in malls and staying home waiting for deliverymen. With technologies like one-time access code, or gadgets like smart home camera, homeowners are still able to monitor all the in-home delivery process, and get instant notifications remotely without much worries.
Yale Locks release one-time code for PostNord deliveries into homes
PostNord, leading supplier of logistics solutions within the Nordic region, has worked with ASSA ABLOY smart lock to develop in-home delivery project in Gothenburg, Sweden. Pilot project is tested with 100 households, in conjunction with some of Scandinavia’s major e-retailers.
PostNord customers can choose to have packages delivered inside their front door, if it is equipped with a Yale smart lock from ASSA ABLOY. The Yale lock works via a PIN code issued automatically to an authorized PostNord delivery driver, only for unlocking once. The code becomes invalid instantly after delivery with a further notification sent to the homeowners’ phone confirms the parcel is delivered and the door has been re-locked.
Seeing the added benefits for boosting convenience but remain the home security at the same time, Head of eCommerce at PostNord Johan Hellman said “We’ll now be able to deliver items inside the front door in a secure way. The recipient doesn’t need to be at home or be available at a particular time, which makes it both simple and convenient.”
August Home partners with Walmart and Deliv to deliver packages straight into homes
Smart home brand August Home, retailer Walmart and delivery firm Deliv have been cooperating to test new grocery shopping concepts with selected August Home customers in the Silicon Valley area.
Customers place an order on Walmart for items or groceries first, and when the order is ready to go, the Deliv specialist retrieves packages and brings them to customers’ homes. If no one answers the door, the specialist will have a one-time passcode to enter the homes using August Smart Lock.
Homeowners, at the same time, are still in control of the experience the entire time. The moment the delivery arrives, they receive a notification on smartphone that the delivery is occurring. When connected to a home camera, they can even choose to watch the delivery take place in real-time video through the August app or view a recording of it any time through the August app.
After the package is correctly placed, homeowners can watch the Deliv specialist exit and the door automatically locks behind them – securely with August’s DoorSense technology. Later, a final alert confirms the door is locked and delivery completed.
“This may not be for everyone – and certainly not right away – but we want to offer customers the opportunity to help us shape what commerce will look like in the future,” said Sloan Eddleston, vice president of eCommerce Strategy & Business Operations at Walmart, in a statement.
New Amazon Key In-Home Kit lets the packages in
Lately, customers can also enjoy convenient home deliveries with Amazon service. To get started, users need to equip with the Amazon Key In-Home Kit, starting at $249.99. The kit includes: the Amazon Cloud Cam Key Edition indoor security camera and a compatible smart lock from Kwikset or Yale. Users’ selection “FREE in-home delivery” is also a key step.
On delivery day, users will first receive a notification for when the delivery driver will arrive, and get another real-time alert right before the driver arrives to optionally watch the delivery happening. The driver will knock first and then request to unlock the door with Amazon handheld scanner, and Amazon will verify that the package belongs to the coordinate address, triggers Amazon Cloud Cam, and unlocks the door. No special codes or keys are given to the driver. One last notifications will be sent to users after the door is relocked.
The service will be launched in just 37 metro areas in the US, starting early November 2017. Amazon expects to add more professional services such as home cleaning experts Merry Maids and pet sitters from Rover.com, as well as over 1,200 services into the comprehensive Amazon Home Services.
Strict art protection meets FilesThruTheAir environmental Wi-Fi sensors
Rubens House (Rubenshuis) in Antwerp, Belgium.
Plenty of smart homes include an environmental sensor in the appliance series, either for precisely monitoring the indoor air status or connecting with smart thermostats to complete personal environment adjustments. In larger occasions such as business and public areas, remote monitoring become even more important.
FilesThruTheAir, a brand of UK-based Corintech, manufactures its Wi-Fi connected environmental monitoring and data logging products with Telit Wi-Fi modules. The full range of FilesThruTheAir Wi-Fi data logging sensors measure temperature and humidity as part of a low cost environmental monitoring system used to observe, manage and record data. These Wi-Fi data loggers connect directly to an existing Wi-Fi network, transferring data wirelessly to either a PC on the same network, or straight to the FilesThruTheAir cloud platform for management. The platform can also analyze remote monitoring data of multiple devices from multiple locations.
The monitoring technology is applied in many historic heritages in Antwerp, Belgium. The Museums and Heritage Association of Antwerp manages over 800,000 artifacts, 1.46 million books and around 9,500 archives in multiple sites across the city, including Rubens House (Rubenshuis), the former home and studio of the brilliant and versatile artist Peter Paul Rubens.
50 FilesThruTheAir Environmental Wi-Fi Sensors and cloud platform replaced the original sensors and loggers, cautiously taking care of the air conditions around all precious art pieces. FilesThruTheAir sensors not only remain stable temperature and humidity status but also report the data timely into the cloud platform for overview and comprehensive analysis.
Museums and Heritage Association of Antwerp enjoys FilesThruTheAir Environmental Wi-Fi Sensors with a constant monitoring of temperature and humidity from multiple sites. This enables the staffs to work and deal with artifact preserve in a more-efficient way. Also, the cost of implementing the system is relatively lower than the maintenance for the old ones, allowing more sensor installations in every important corner.
Another key is that FilesThruTheAir remote monitoring system provides automated alerts whenever it detects the temperature is going out of range. These alerts can be sent to multiple people so that they can be responded to within seconds – making the maintenance of temperature ranges within display units far more effective.