While ocean homes have always delivered on the promise of the good life, today’s dramatic advances in home automation are upping the ante, allowing coastal homeowners to incorporate the latest technology trends into their breezy coastal lifestyles.
“The real issue is how technology can make living the life you want easier,” says Dennis Erskine, president of the Erskine Group and a board member at CEDIA, the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association. “An intelligent system that understands behaviors and lifestyle choices is the predominant home technology touchstone for 2015 and beyond.”
Leading home technology experts point to four key emerging trends in the coming year: Integration of weather in home automation. As climates change, more coastal homes are employing sophisticated weather stations tied into their major systems, says Carley Knobloch, smart home expert for HGTV and eponymous founder of the digital lifestyle blog carleyk.com.
“Weather stations such as WeatherHawk make homes even smarter by responding to storms, extreme weather, barometric pressure, solar radiation, precipitation and wind,” says Knobloch.
“Data driven decisions control internal features such as HVAC, humidity, air cleaning systems and window coverings, and external systems like irrigation, awnings, heaters, storm shutters, pools and vents,” she adds. weatherhawk.com
Improving indoor air quality. Fresh indoor air has ocean homeowners breathing easier and sleeping better by reducing coastal dust, mold, mildew and bacteria. Whole house air purification systems, using bi-polar ionization technology treating all circulated air, will see increased demand in 2015.
“Allergy or asthma sufferers often notice immediate improvement with air purification, and systems can reduce energy costs,” says Tony Abate, vice president of operations at AtmosAir Solutions and a Certified Indoor Environmentalist. atmosair.com
Programmable keyless access. Integrating existing technology with advanced monitoring software is also on the rise, according to former U.S. Marshal and security expert Spencer Coursen.
“Coastal homes are designed with privacy in mind, and this often means obstructed views from the street which can make them vulnerable to burglary,” he says. “Keyless home access managed by security software, such as Lenel, can provide personalized codes for every user.
“Each access attempt is verified, and homeowners can establish predetermined access times for users and even designate allowable/off-limit areas of the home, and access attempts outside parameters are immediately reported via email.” lenel.com
Solar power sourcing. Efficient power management will gain momentum in 2015 as coastal homeowners reap the benefits of clean solar energy.
Genevieve Gorder, home design expert and HGTV star of “Dear Genevieve,” says solar services, such as Sunrun, deliver power without the upfront costs and hassles of solar panel ownership. Gorder says it’s cheaper than standard utilities and green to boot. sunrun.com
Image Credits: Photo by Daniel Collopy / Courtesy of HGTV.