Where Tomorrow Lives: 5 Reasons Why Smart Home Technology Matters

I’m here in Las Vegas for Design & Construction Week, to attend both KBIS (Kitchen & Bath Industry Show) and the NAHB International Builders Show (IBS).

Today I had the opportunity to tour a unique and stunning home in nearby Henderson, NV. It is KB Home ProjeKt, a concept house that delivers technology of the future (#wheretomorrowlives) to create a home that nurtures health, wellness, well-being, and comfort. It’s also a home that adapts to the changing needs of families through all of life’s stages.

Why does this matter?

I’m sharing below the 5 key takeaways from the Learning Lab presentations we heard today, and why we need technology like this smart house to improve our wellness and well-being.

1. We are made for connection

Our lives today are becoming faster-paced, and technology gives us the freedom to be productive in ways we never thought possible. Yet it also creates challenges to our wellness and well-being we may never have imagined. The very same technology that keeps us virtually connected is also physically isolating us. The KB ProjeKt home includes conceptual communal spaces that bring people together, such as gardens, fire pits and barbecue areas.

The home also includes beautiful and open gathering spaces that encourage community and quality time within the home.

There is an office/ den/ guest room with a wall that actually moves to expand the gathering space in the great room when needed, and converts from an office to a guest room using a Murphy bed.

The master bedroom and en suite master bath is downstairs, which allows for “ageless” living.

And the upstairs space includes its own recreation space, kitchenette and laundry area, which allows it to serve as a large kid-friendly space for families, or to be converted to an apartment for in-laws, renters or even boomerang adult children.

It can also become home to a live-in caregiver, should the need ever arise. The beauty of this flexibility is that the home adapts to the family without the need for significant renovations or a move.

2. Green space extends our lives

This CNN report shows that not only does nature improve our mental health and well-being, but it actually helps us live longer. Parents with young children often find that fresh air and a calm outdoor environment will soothe both a fussy baby and the frazzled parent (in addition to several other benefits of going outside).

The smart home creates outdoor living spaces that supplement the indoor spaces, and brings the outdoors in with plenty of windows and with plants inside the home as well.

3. Our health and wellness depend on healthy spaces

We now spend roughly 90% of our time on this planet inside of man-made spaces: homes, offices, vehicles, schools, retail shops, restaurants and other establishments. 90 percent!

While heredity and lifestyle are significant in their effects on our health, our environment is the single most influential factor. Our air and water quality are critical to maintaining a healthy environment.

What if our homes could monitor the quality of the air we are breathing, and automatically activate filtration systems as needed in response to the VOC’s, particulates, pollens and dust that we create and that come in? Likewise, what if our home could monitor and filter the water we are using without our even having to remember to check?

KB Home ProjeKt features Darwin, a home wellness intelligence network that monitors and adjusts our environment for health and wellness and provides at-a-glance reporting.

4. Our productivity depends on adequate and appropriate lighting and temperatures

Our bodies naturally respond to daylight and darkness by creating hormones that either make us productive or initiate rest. When our lighting does not match our natural circadian rhythm, our bodies become confused. When we have too much light at night, we don’t create the sleep hormones we need to become well rested. To add to the issue, when it’s bright and light outside and our homes are dark inside, we don’t make the hormones that signal it’s time to be productive. We feel unmotivated and fatigued in our spaces.

A smart home can provide adequate and appropriate lighting that supports optimal sleep and productivity, whether or not we work from home. Likewise, it can be programmed to adjust to the right temperature for active times and for restorative sleep.

5. Our well being depends on our safety and security in our home

Our home is our refuge and haven. It is the place that nurtures us, protects us, gives us privacy and a place to rest and rejuvenate.

A smart home gives us a true feeling of safety when there is enough technology to be useful when we need it, but not to be intrusive or invasive when we don’t. And it needs to be convenient and easy to use.

The KB Home ProjeKt team incorporates HomeView, a Google smart home ecosystem that allows homeowners to automate tasks such as turning on lights or music, and raising or lowering window coverings. It allows the user to define intuitive groupings or zones for lighting, temperature control, smart locks and even music. It will also allow the user to view and control their security cameras and any other smart connected appliances.