Apartment living and managing goes hand and hand with smart home devices and systems. From convenience, operational efficiencies and increased asset value, smart home devices create another level of digital amenities that residents and properties thrive on. In this blog, we’ll discuss the 2 best smart home devices for apartments, and how they can enhance living and operating experiences.
Types of Smart Home Technology
Before we dive into specifics, let’s talk about the different types of smart home technology available. Smart home devices can be broken down into three categories: security, comfort, and convenience.
Security devices include hardware like smart locks. Comfort devices include smart thermostats and smart lighting. Convenience devices include smart products like digital human chat bots. In this blog, we will focus on the two most prominent: thermostats and locks.
Beyond smart devices, it’s also important to prioritize the type of full system smart home devices are connected to and the type of network these devices communicate with. At Quext, we’ve found the best option is our patented LoRaWAN based network and thermostat with a built-in smart hub.
Smart Locks for Apartments
One of the most important smart home devices for apartments is a smart lock. Smart locks provide an extra layer of convenience and flexibility for residents to access their apartments from beyond a key in hand. Special features of smart locks and access around a property also create additional opportunities for apartment communities to manage community access and guest access.
The key component when talking through smart home devices is how they are connected and used in a broader system. Specifically, all smart locks built for apartment communities should have access through an app that grants these special features for residents and property managers to use.
Smart Thermostats for Apartments
The next most important smart home device for apartments is a smart thermostat. Smart thermostats provide several varieties of efficiencies for both residents and property staff.
For residents, smart thermostats allow residents to control their thermostat from anywhere with functions like directly changing the temperature or even setting up schedules to fit your lifestyle. For property staff, having the ability to control vacant unit thermostats from their desk provides immediate time savings to their daily workload.
Similar to smart locks, the most important thing to consider about IoT Smart Home solutions is how these devices work together. When introducing new smart home devices to an apartment community, you are also introducing things that can take up space in someone’s home, so the number of devices is an important consideration. In addition, the more the devices needed to install, the higher the capital cost will be.
At Quext, our patented thermostat has an integrated smart hub connected to the thermostat. With an integrated smart hub, we can install our smart home solution with ⅔ the amount of hardware than a traditional WiFi based solution.
The Value Smart Home Devices Brings to Residents
The value smart home devices bring to residents is broken down into the similar features labeling the types of smart home devices: security, comfort and convenience.
Nowadays, smart home solutions are digital based amenities that residents want as a part of their living experience in an apartment community. They are an additional benefit that provides a higher end feel.
For operators, these comfort and convenience features that smart home devices also provide additional asset value and revenue opportunities for property owners.
Overall, there are many smart home devices for apartments that can enhance a residents living experience. Whichever kind, these devices are providing additional comfort and convenience through the digital amenities that the modern renters demand in their home.
Remember, when evaluating an apartment smart home solution, it’s important to consider the full solution type and network type to ensure the best possible experience and operation at your apartment community.
