Smart homes and their gadgets make our lives much easier and convenient where we tend to get attracted to newer gadgets for our smart homes. But the primary aspect that keeps our smart devices going is the internet connection, and more importantly, it’s speed and bandwidth. Installing too many smart gadgets without considering the bandwidth they consume might result in a slow connection. Is the slow connection really appropriate for rendering all of those smart devices?
Hence, having sufficient internet speed is absolutely essential to manage everything on your network to keep your smart home alive.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through the role of internet connection and the importance of fast internet for a smart home; but before we dive in, let’s first get a better understanding of the basics.
What is a Smart Home?
A smart home is a term for a residence that is largely run by automated, internet-connected equipment or devices. These smart devices are typically associated with security, energy saving, convenience, and many of these devices may be managed by software that include digital assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa. These devices are largely meant to provide convenience to the users, for example, you can easily turn on the lights in your house and set a suitable temperature before you return home.
Hence, these devices largely work only when connected to the internet, it’s essential to have a fast connection with a good bandwidth.
Smart Home Devices Commonly Uses
There are several smart devices that can be installed in your house to make it a smart home without making any substantial changes to the existing setting. The following are some of the most common types of smart gadgets to have in your home: Video doorbells, Cameras, Door locks, Lightbulbs, Smart speakers and digital assistants, Smoke detectors, etc.
Lightbulbs are easy to replace, and smart speakers are as simple as plug-and-play.
Internet Speed Needed for Smart Homes
A smart home can be kept alive by ensuring the right internet speed that can handle everything on the network. Let’s learn about data consumption and bandwidth needed for your smart devices so that you can enjoy the benefits of smart technology.
– Data Consumption by Smart Devices
Technically, smart homes do not consume a lot of bandwidth and data. This is because it is as good as transmitting tiny bits of data to and fro from the servers, similar to how you would browse the internet or use your phone.
Hence, data is only delivered and received in the form of a command, such as through your Smart Voice assistants (like Google Home or Amazon Alexa).
– Bandwidth Needed for Your Smart Home
A single smart device may not consume a lot of bandwidth, however cumulative consumption of multiple devices with insufficient bandwidth may lead to slowdowns or in some cases complete shutdowns. Hence, make sure that your internet subscription provides fast internet speed to handle your usual online activities, as well as your smart home devices.
For example, if your smart home includes video, such as a security video or doorbell cam, you need to add 10 Mbps but without these video recording devices, 5mbps would be sufficient for your other multiple devices.
Furthermore, it’s crucial to check whether your router can handle the speed; if your smart home is glitchy, that means you’re probably utilizing a router that’s outdated, and that router is most likely the source of the problem.
Impact of Fast Internet on Smart Homes
Not all smart devices require fast internet speed and more bandwidth, however, smooth functioning of multiple devices together with general usage of the internet would need high-speed and sufficient bandwidth. There are several benefits to having a fast internet service not just for your smart devices, but to enjoy the new tech in your daily lifestyle:
● Quick Access
Smart devices with storage can be viewed or accessed regularly especially if they have the video recording feature and thus increased internet speed and bandwidth capabilities means easy and quick accessing of these devices. SInce most smart devices can be accessed remotely, fast internet eliminates the lagging or glitches for accessing the devices and thus enables a smoother experience.
● Multiple Devices
As mentioned earlier, an ideal smart home usually comprises more than a single smart device, which needs internet connection.Moreover, internet is used by all the residents for their regular work or entertainment needs. Thus, having high-speed internet makes using multiple smart devices easier and enables residents to continue using the internet for their other activities too.
● Improved Security
Home security is now a priority more than ever, and thanks to smart security devices that enable us to keep our homes safe and secure even when we’re not at home. However, smooth functioning of these devices can be achieved through fast internet as devices like security cameras have video recording, which needs fast internet. And this can in turn enable us to keep an eye on our premises and remotely handle home security systems.
● Decreased Stress
Almost everyone has experienced the frustration of working with a slow connection, and this can get worse if you have smart devices connected to your internet that don’t have sufficient bandwidth and high-speed connection. Thus having fast internet ensures smooth functioning of all devices and also enables uninterrupted usage of internet for other daily activities, being stress free!
Summary
With affordable prices of smart devices, creating a smart home can be easy, if you choose the right internet service provider to ensure you have fast internet and great bandwidth to make the most of your technologically-enabled home.
FAQs
- What internet speed do I need for my smart home?
Most of the smart home devices work well on average internet speed, however, as a general rule of thumb, every 10 to 12 smart devices need around 5 Mbps and another 5 Mbps for smart devices with cameras.
- Does a smart home slow down wifi?
The short answer to this is no, unless you have somehow built a smart home with more than dozens of smart plugs, all working at exactly the same time with an internet connection that cannot support burdening by multiple devices. In that case, yes, your Wi-Fi network might momentarily slow down, click here to know more.
- What should I do if my internet goes down?
You can try multiple options to get your internet connection back. Try to restart your router or move closer to it, use an ethernet cable to connect your device, or you can even contact your internet service provider to get immediate assistance.
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