The number of smart homes, that is, homes that have systems to control all the technologies present in our homes, is growing every year. It is estimated that as early as 2024, 31 million Europeans will be using apps to help manage responsibilities at home. One of them is Home Connect, which is evolving to adapt even better to the needs of consumers. What will be the homes of the future and what solutions does the market offer?
A May 2022 survey commissioned by BSH Home Appliances Sp. z o.o., manufacturer of the Bosch and Siemens brands, found that 74% of respondents recognize the usefulness of remote control of household appliances offered by the Home Connect app. This is especially true for families with children and residents of large metropolitan areas. What exactly is Home Connect and what does it allow you to do?
The app is a center for managing our home, but also the time we spend on household chores. Dedicated to Bosch and Siemens appliances, the software has a number of constantly updated features such as Easy Start or Flex Start, which learns habits and adapts the functions of household appliances to the needs and lifestyle of the owner. In this way, they are able to reduce, for example, electricity expenses or save time previously used for appliance maintenance. Easy Start is a function that allows even novices to cope with any type of laundry. It adjusts the washing and drying program to a specific load. All you have to do is select the color or species of fabric from the app's menu. Based on this, the Home Connect algorithm will select the most suitable program to wash or dry our clothes efficiently and safely. Flex Start helps take care of our finances by giving us the option to start the appliance when it uses the cheapest energy. You need to enter the latest time you want the appliance to stop working and activate the energy manager. This program calculates the optimal start-up time necessary to make the best use of the most economical energy source, such as power from a photovoltaic system.
Home Connect
© Siemens
Home Connect is available in almost all product categories - from washers and dryers to hoods and induction hobs to dishwashers and even refrigerators. It can also be combined with a coffee maker, creating the possibility of preparing your favorite coffee without leaving your bed. The app also has a coffeeWorld solution, which allows us to brew an additional 17 specialty coffees from around the world with a single click. Additional features of coffee makers with Home Connect include information such as bean roasting, digital operating instructions and remote diagnostics. In the case of dishwashers, we can get push notifications that tell us when the wash is finished or enable Silence on Demand. This is the ability to silence the dishwasher, which continues to run in minimum mode and delays noisy components such as the drain pump or high water pressure. These are just a few of the many features that the Home Connect app offers.
And what does the future of the app look like? Already today, the development department is conducting advanced work that will make it possible to update the firmware regardless of the date of purchase. Thanks to the introduction of this innovation, even after 5 years, the dishwasher will be able to implement new features created by specialists, and purchased appliances will always be updated to the latest version. Why does the market leader opt for such solutions?
Digitalization touches more and more spheres of our lives. Just a few years ago, we would not have thought that our homes, where household appliances are no longer able to not only help, but to completely take care of our household chores. In response to the rapid pace of change and the needs of our consumers, we created an application that allows you to manage Bosch and Siemens appliances from anywhere in the world," says Krzysztof Nagodzinski, Member of the Board of BSH Home Appliances.
Home Connect is an application that cooperates with global partners, thus guaranteeing us a holistic management of technologies. A smart home? Why not! This solution gives us the opportunity to connect our home appliances with other networks and create a smart home. Home Connect partners include apps such as IFTTT, FITBIT and SMA, as well as voice assistants: Alexa and Google, which enable us to manage energy, connect a large number of devices and take care of our health. To date, Home Connect is compatible with more than 40 partners.
The survey shows that one in two Poles declare interest in buying home appliances with Home Connect solutions. Readiness to buy is more often declared by young people aged 29-39 who live with children.
About Home Connect
Home Connect is an application that can be used to remotely control household appliances from the Bosch and Siemens brands. The system itself, on the other hand, is designed as an open platform, constantly evolving with the growth of digital services and the involvement of new cooperation partners. Home Connect GmbH is a subsidiary of BSH Hausgeräte GmbH. Home Connect household appliances and the associated app have been available since December 2014 - currently in 40 countries, in 25 languages and with more than 40 partners.
For more information, visit the company's SIEMENS AG - Grupa BSH page on the A&B portal.
