Building Smart Homes with Electrical Engineering
The growing integration of technology into smart homes is driving demand for people with an electrical engineering background. Smart technologies are becoming commonplace in nearly every home system. With an electrical engineering or electrical engineering technology degree, you can contribute to the design, integration, and smooth operation of smart home systems and components.
What Is a Smart Home?
Smart homes are residences that use connected technologies to automate and control home systems, features, and appliances. The benefits that smart technologies promise are greater comfort and conveniences, enhanced security, and greater energy efficiency.
What makes a home smart? It is composed of smart devices linked to a central hub that have some or all of these elements:
- Sensors to detect movement, sound, light, heat, or cold
- Connectivity through wireless technology
- Control through the central hub or remotely via a phone app
- An actuator that performs the task (for example, locking a door)
Electrical engineers can design individual components and devices or entire systems.
What Smart Technologies Make a Smart Home?
New smart home technologies are being developed all the time, and existing applications are rapidly evolving. Here are some of the most common applications:
Home Security
Smart locks can be opened at specific times, operated by people with a specific and potentially time-limited key, or remotely controlled. Cameras can stream, record, and send alerts. Alarms for intruders, smoke, or carbon monoxide can be integrated into these systems.
Smart Thermostats
A combination of computing capabilities and sensors give these systems the ability to adjust automatically to changes caused by occupancy, sunlight, and weather. They can also be programmed or remotely controlled. These systems can open and close window treatments and turn on fans to optimize comfort and energy use.
Smart Appliances
Devices such as refrigerators, ovens, and washing machines can be remotely controlled, send out notifications, and be programmed to operate in ways that optimize energy use. Lights can be programmed to turn on at specific times or can be remotely controlled via an app.
What Role Does Electrical Engineering Technology Play in Making Smart Homes?
Smart home technologies are opening new opportunities when it comes to what you can do with an EET degree. Some of the areas where this kind of background are valued include:
- Designing the layout of a home’s electrical system and implementing advanced wiring and circuit designs so that they can accommodate smart devices.
- Developing and integrating smart home automation systems that might include entertainment systems, HVAC, home security, and lighting. Part of this work may also include designing the interfaces for programming, managing, monitoring, and controlling these systems.
- Configuring a home network using technologies like Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth, and others that provide the connections and communications across devices.
- Integrating systems for energy monitoring and management, from smart meters to smart thermostats to the smart devices that connect to them.
- Planning advanced home security systems and components, including sensors, locks, cameras, and alarms.
- Developing smart lighting, control components, and smart devices of all kinds.
- Collaborating with architects, designers, engineers, and tradespeople to implement, test, and troubleshoot systems to ensure that everything works together flawlessly.
Earning a BS in Electrical Engineering Technology from Excelsior University prepares you for work in this field, whether implementing, integrating, or designing smart home systems or their various components. Because of rapid innovation, you may find the work to be truly engaging, with the opportunity to make substantive contributions and even breakthroughs.
