The smart devices we use to control our lighting, alarms, and other systems can have a significant impact on our energy usage. Learn how to use your smart devices efficiently and keep them safe at the same time.
Smart devices are electrical items that connect to the internet — or to your home network — typically via wifi. They include ‘hi-tech’ devices (like smart speakers, fitness trackers and security cameras), but also standard household items such as fridges, kettles, thermostats and washing machines.
Smart devices often have a combination of different technologies and capabilities. To qualify as a smart device, an item must meet three key criteria: network connectivity, context awareness and autonomous computing. For example, a smart surveillance camera meets these requirements by having network connectivity, and its computer vision features allow it to recognize certain objects and report this information back to the server.
Smart devices use various protocols to communicate with each other and with the cloud, which allows for remote access and data processing. One of the most popular smart device communication protocols is MQTT, a lightweight messaging technology that uses web sockets for push and pull communications. WebSockets provide a bidirectional, full-duplex communication channel that allows for efficient operation and reduces the complexity of the protocol implementation (Fette, 2011). Another common smart device communication protocol is MQR, which offers a simple, secure, extensible interface for IoT devices. Other options for smart device communication include ZigBee, Thread and Z-Wave.