A more comfortable home with smart sensors

When talking about a smart home, it is easy to start imagining a house with robots that help clean or pick up, machines connected to the phone capable of working alone, or automation in doors and windows that make them open with a click. But the reality is that this smart home, which has been in the news for years and few people feel that it has arrived in their homes, is closer and simpler than you might think.

Sensors, small devices capable of capturing a stimulus from their environment and translating that information they receive, are becoming the best way to make the home smarter, even safer. And most importantly, at a very low cost.

Companies like Ikea have recently decided to enter this segment, ensuring that these types of devices fit perfectly with their philosophy of making people's daily lives better through designs at democratic prices. The Swedish company thus expands its commitment to home automation with three smart products that allow users to manage and monitor their homes from anywhere, thanks to the Dirigera system and the Ikea Home application. These sensors send real-time notifications whenever activity is detected, allowing users to stay informed and connected to their home, whether they are there or not, and take action when necessary.

Specifically, the Parasoll door and window sensor (€9.99) is designed for discreet mounting and serves to provide an extra layer of protection to the home, as it notifies users when these access points open or close, informing them from any unexpected entry. For its part, the Vallhorn wireless motion sensor (€9.99) can be placed both indoors and outdoors and, synchronized with smart bulbs, is capable of activating the lights when detecting movement. The Badring Water Leak Sensor (€9.99) is placed near water use areas and notifies users of leaks by sending mobile notifications or activating its built-in alarm.

Like Ikea, there are many other technology companies that offer sensorization systems for the home. An example is Google, which among its family of smart speakers also offers the Nest Protect device (€129), a smoke and carbon monoxide detector. This device has a spread spectrum sensor to detect smoke, checks its own operation automatically and lasts up to 10 years. If it is detected, it sends notifications to the phone or activates the built-in alarm.

Similar is the SPC Eluvio (€24.90), a sensor designed to prevent water leaks that also sends notifications to the mobile phone in the event of detecting a problem and being able to anticipate major misfortunes.

If home security is your concern, other companies such as the French company Konyks focus on sensors for doors and windows. Its Senso Charge 2 (€19.90) is designed to be installed very easily and boasts a lithium battery that lasts a year before having to be recharged, avoiding the use of batteries. And in the event that a door or window opens, the company's application sends an instant notification to the user.

For motion detection, other companies such as Philips propose their solutions along with intelligent lighting. The Hue Motion (€44.99) sensor works outdoors or indoors and activates smart lights with motion. In this case it is battery powered and can be easily installed anywhere in the house.

Another type of very common sensors in homes are those that control temperature and humidity. TP-Link offers Tapo (€20.99), a device that is responsible for very precisely measuring the humidity and temperature of the room in real time, both at home and at a distance thanks to the use of its mobile application. Its strong point is precision and it also allows intelligent actions such as automatically turning on or off appliances when reaching a certain temperature or humidity. It is also capable of creating reports with summaries and graphs and sending notifications to the phone when the sensor is activated to know what is happening inside our home.