Smart Home System
A smart gateway, as an essential part of the system, connects the smart home with the outside world. This allows the mobile control of devices in the house from remote places, often through smartphones and microcontrollers. External systems and services can be used for better energy usage regulation. Furthermore, the system can be connected to the smart grid as well as electric charging infrastructure to enable better energy efficiency and billing plans, for example, according to peak-time energy consumption or renewable energy content ( European Commission, 2019 ). Problems to be solved Inefficiency Insecurity Lack of comfort Dependency of elderly people High energy costs Energy inefficiency is a huge problem in residential buildings. In Europe, 26% of the total final energy consumption is consumed in private homes. Smart Home Systems can reduce energy losses and increase the overall security and comfort of occupants while specifically improving the independence of elderly people. There are several solutions in the context of Smart Home Systems to solve these problems ( Eurostat, 2018 ). Some marketable outcomes that Smart Home Systems provide are: Subscription-based services that can generate a constant stream of income Big target groups : It can be sold to hospitals and homes for elderly and disabled people, but also for those willing to increase their comfort in a smart home environment The gateways can anonymise and provide data to data platforms, to implement effective analytics and long-term improvement as well as product design. The data can be charged, and the analytic services and their results can also be seen as marketable outcomes.