Smart Home Security Project

Running head: SMART HOME TECHNOLOGY & DATABASE 1

Smart Home Technology and Database

Peter Nikolauson

Nicholas Mendrin

Stephan Pacheco

Amee Moua

DeVry University, Fresno

LAS432

Professor Steve Starcher

June 21, 2015

SMART HOME TECHNOLOGY & DATABASE 2

Introduction

The idea of smart home technology began roughly 1901. The home vacuum

cleaner and the refrigerator began at this point and they were in a way smart home

technology of the time, though at this point in history we might feel differently. As we

progressed the official first smart home device was called the ECHO IV in 1966 and

also the kitchen computer in 1967. Regarding the ECHO IV, Hendricks (2014) states,

“This clever device could compute shopping lists, control the home’s temperature and

turn appliances on and off” (para. 3). Starting around 1998, the idea of smart home

technology changed to the idea that devices would be controlled remotely by another

device either locally or remotely. The cost to achieve a smarter home became cheaper

as the years progressed. Now the idea of a smart home has become a focus of a

smarter home leading to efficiency and security. Smart home technology has adopted

automation and has become a common need to help us when we forget to set the

temperature or turn of a light. Thus smart home technology enables us to make

ourselves more efficient with or without our own input.

The key to a smart home is that it needs to use smart devices as a means to help

control devices throughout the home. The literal definition of a smart device is, “An

electronic device generally connected to other devices or networks via different

protocols such as Bluetooth-NFC-WiFi-3G-etc. that can operate to some extent

interactively and autonomously” (Smart Device, n.d, para. 1). This means any devices

that use any of these protocols and future protocols to interact with a device qualifies

both as a smart device and a potential controller. Currently the cell phone, pc

computers, tablets, and specialized controller units can facilitate control of the smart


home through a program of some kind to give instructions. Each device you wish to

control must have a chip or controller of some type to receive your commands and act

on them.

Modern Smart Home Trends

In the emerging specialty industry of the smart home technology, various

systems are being created. The Consumer Electronics Show 2015 revealed that there

are many companies getting into the motion of smart home technology. The biggest

names of these are nest, Iris by Lowe’s, and Zipato developing systems. While

companies like Samsung and LG are making devices that work with your current

wireless network allowing you to control them and receive alerts. Then following the big

names were many small startup companies who are making single devices that do not

need a main controller such as a thermostat or automated sensors. As the industry

begins to develop and eventually mature it can be assumed that several type of

systems will emerge before the regulations catch up.

Mohammed Yasseen’s (2009) paper On the Era of Smart Devices stated:

“Regulators around the world are now facing many important convergence-related

issues and urgently looking for solutions to the questions convergence raises. Given the

rapidly growing use of converged equipment by the general population, governments

are starting to implement standards and regulations that encourage green computing

and encourage environmentally sustainable device usage. The consumer, though, is

more concerned with the issues of reliability, power consumption, security, privacy and

safety associated with smart devices (para. n/a).

How it Works


Yasseen’s paper discusses the growing complexity of smart devices like cell

phones and the convergence of other services like television are rapidly changing. They

are quickly breaking the boundaries that standards such as F.C.C and other

organizations monitor. The smart home technology is taking on a new historic role in

combining home wireless technology with other communication technology to converge

device access to a touch of a button. This also blurs the line of how the smart home

technology works on a scientific scale as it is a product of many technologies. The other

complication to developing a smart home is the different ways to achieve this. A smart

home technology system has several things in common.

Connects via wired or wireless standard: Bluetooth, 802.11, or other protocol.

Devices connect to each other or at the least to a controller device.

Is locally or remotely controllable and possibly capable of automation.

In all cases a remote device must connect to an interface whether it be a central

controller or to independent controller such as a thermostat. Then the interface device

connects to the appliance, device, or object. All in one smart device are capable of their

own communication to the network connection source.

(Figure 1)


The communication points are how devices such as a cell phone or a computer can

interact with the smart home technology of the home. The outside connection to the

home is also facilitated through the homes network commonly found today. The central

controllers such as the Zig Bee or the Zipato systems introduce two different types of

home set ups. The Zipato would be hard wired and installed near the central wiring

source of the home very similar to the circuit breaker panel homes currently use. While

the Zig Bee systems is a purely wireless home set up for more flexibility. Though the

concept of smart home technology is simple it has its complications involving how it is

set up. As the industry grows it can be expected to see business specializing in this

soon to be desired field of work.

Smart Technology Example

A greater understanding of how the technology will work is best understood from

existing systems that also measure, monitor, and record data from sensor type

technologies. First the need for smart home technology is best seen from companies

that essentially sell water, gas, and electricity to homes and businesses. The company

that is best known to California is Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) which has used analog

meters since around 1910. PG&E states, “In fact, our accuracy record is measured and

found to be correct more than 99 percent of the time” (Analog Meters, n.d., para. 1).

Every meter for the home or business that PG&E provides gas or electricity is manually

read by a person monthly and then logged to the owners account. It is tough to say just

how this data is cataloged for statistical use aside from monthly numbers being

available for the respective zones. These zones add up to a city then eventually as total


energy and gas resources used on a state level. Do we really need to make a move to

smarter devices to better track data?

The more data that can be collected the better this data can be used to find

areas of interest to improve them. When looking for energy usage data the word

“estimate” is labeled across the article titles. When looking at information on how much

power home appliances use you may see an Energy Star sticker with a yearly operation

cost. US Department of Energy states this about energy guide stickers, “Estimated

yearly operating cost (based on the national average cost of electricity), and the range

of operating costs for similar models.” (Tips: Shopping for Appliances, 2014, para. 6)

Even this standard does not have specific and accurate data and assumes the device

will be running 8 hours per day and is based on 5 year sets of data. If a home owner

wanted to they could guess at the average run time of a refrigerator and use (Device

Kilowatt-Hours/ 60 Minutes) * (Cost Per Kilowatt-Hour/ 60) to get the true cost per

minute to run the device. Keep in mind that a refrigerator turns on and off throughout the

day and does not run the whole time. What can hourly data from PG&E look like to the

home owner and others needing the statistical data?

A new device being used by PG&E is being called the Smart Meter. This device

does the same job as the current analog meters perform now. PG&E states, “How can

we modernize our current electric grid into a Smart Grid that is safe, more reliable and

more efficient?” (See Your Power, n.d., para. 1) The answer for PG&E is the Smart

Meter which has the following features:

Track energy usage by the month, day, or by the hour.


Receive text message or email alerts based on real time data from the Smart

Meter.

View near real time data as low as five to fifteen second intervals.

Two way communication on secure wireless network for PG&E.

PG&E gets usage updates every fifteen minutes.

This data then is transmitted every fifteen minutes will help provide an up to date

projection on where the system needs the most support. As of August 2011 there were

twenty seven million plus Smart Meters nationwide also there were seventy-six billion

plus Smart Meters worldwide as of April 2010. Imagine how the energy resources grids

for water, electricity, and gas will change to meet unknown demand and issues.

The benefits of smart home technology are basically identical to what the Smart

Meter can do for you. Instead now you can see data per wall plug, light fixture,

appliances, and other devices. New benefits are smart shut off valves for water in

emergencies, gas leak detection shut off valves, and even total power cut off in case of

localized flooding in areas of the home are just a few. This is only the beginning since

this industry is just starting to grow and new smart devices will solve problems unknown

to us now through mass data collection. The drive for smart home technology will only

make us more aware and problem solvers are benefited with detailed and accurate data

collected.


(Figure 2)

Concept of a Smart Home Driven Database

The data industry can be a confusing one with all of the different ways it is

handled. Some worry who gets to see what about them or to what extent this data

details a person’s actions. In the case of improving the environment and how we use

the precious resources we have should we not do what we can to help. Block 1 in the

above example is a simulation of the PG&E Smart Meter and block 3 as the theorized

smart home set up. Just image every outlet being monitored and labeled according to

what room and device is running on it. This is pretty personal details for someone to

know you have computers or other fairly expensive equipment. If PG&E were to sell its

data it should be anonymous in the matter that the purchaser cannot look at record ten

and know it is you. Block number 2 illustrates if all resource companies and your smart

home data were to be sent to a central data center and it should also be anonymous

and one way. Let us look past who and how people can see the data but the matter of

how you can see your own resources use.

Imagine you have a family of four with two kids, a husband, and a wife. The wife

looks at her phone to check on the home locks and current resources used. Suddenly


she sees that one room in particular is using lots of power. Nobody is supposed to be

there and it dawns on her to check the cameras. It is just her child skipping school. So

to solve the power usage she cuts power to the room. Though this is a sample scenario

it shows how the smart home technology can help catch misuse of resources at a

moment’s notice. What about when you see an expensive bill from PG&E. You pull up

the Smart Meter data and see it is happening during the week that excessive power is

used. This is great except you have no idea where it is being used, or do you? So the

wife looks up the power usage that PG&E showed as being high and locates that the

A/C units and the refrigerator is running constantly. Now the home owner can look into

what may be wrong with the devices or simply make a rule to not run the A/C past a

certain temperature and that the refrigerator door needs to be open for only a moment.

With smart home technology, the collection of data can help the home owner find and

fix the matters causing the most resource usage.

Smart Home Technology can help achieve a new era of innovation outside of the

home owners benefits. It is no secret that the subject of data security is a big one that

many either accept or resist the idea of. The idea of an anonymous collective database

of all energy company data on their customers plus the very sophisticated tracking of a

smart home data in one place seems farfetched. Let us gain an established start on the

position of personal digital data. Firstly we all have social security number to which

everything about us is attached to. Carolyn Puckett (2009) introduces, “The SSN's very

universality has led to its adoption throughout government and the private sector as a

chief means of identifying and gathering information about an individual” (para. 1).

Puckett’s article explains that around 1937 creditors could not efficiently track based on


name and address. Even went to the extreme of using fingerprints which had the stigma

of criminal activity. A number system was the only way creating the employee

identification number (EIN) and the social security number (SSN) systems. This is

important to the database identification concept in the idea of an anonymous database.

Can an anonymous data base work and be secure data?

(Figure 3)

The idea of how a database works can be either complicated or simple

depending on who you talk to. The simple explanation is a database holds the data in

an organized method. The complicated version is each table containing the data has a

primary key to allow for unique records. The way the Social Security Number works is

first three digits mark the area number, the next two are group numbers, and the last

four are the serial number of that person. We can pin down where that person was

when they were given the SSN, what group of people they belong to, and which point

they were assigned in a batch of 9,999 people. Much to the same idea a unique home

identification number (HIN) would be created to a given address. The big difference is

no names are attached to the HIN and this number only represents zip code zones, city,

then state by this order. When energy companies transmit their customer data to the


HIN it will contain no personal information about the customer. This is the platform that

future innovators can use true data to find new ideas to fix currently unknown problems.

Smart home data and its concerns for data security are both technically feasible

and will have its weak points. The transmission of data from one source to another will

always have a chance of interception. A system like this will require every Smart Home

Device Controller to use encrypted data standards that would be used with Internet

systems and also existing data base encryption techniques. It will be done automatically

by the device and will not be transmitting constantly, but in bursts similar to the PG&E

Smart Meter systems. The ADC will never contain any personal data aside from the

homes specific labels of each controlled device. The problem will not be with the ADC

itself, but most likely with the energy companies in case a hack takes place and the

hacker gets the right data showing customer id data going to the ADC with the HID in

tow. This is a third party problem and out of the control of the ADC system. Then the

second and even more likely case is where a home network is broken into and the raw

data is simply pulled from the Smart Home Device Controller. Only if the home network

password is weak and if they manage to get the Smart Home Device Controller

password can this data be decrypted. Otherwise it will be encrypted data transmitting

through the home network to the ADC. The weakness to the system is the either the

home owner or the energy company and how well they make the passwords.

No database is useful if the data is not standardized in some fashion to be

accurate and interpretable. A standard naming convention will need to be used that is

both generic, to the point, and not a proper name. This standard will be using names

such as wall socket one, Samsung refrigerator, Mitsubishi A/C, Hunter Ceiling fan, and


similar structure. No model numbers will be used in just in case somebody manages

figure out what HID belongs where. Every wall that has a typical device plugged into it

should and will have a device name following the standard. It is very obvious we all do

not use every outlet and as such these outlets will already be numbered in case no label

is applied. Currently the home electrical system can be used as a form of a network

transfer method instead of a cable such as the Cat-5e network cable. This is how a

smart home can adapt to help forma better future in monitoring resources.

If you were asked what the future would look like 5 years from now if this system

were in place, could you take an educated guess? The answer to this question is more

efficient devices would be made to solve a problem already inherent to the system. How

many people do you know that label their wall plugs with what it plugged into them?

Personally not a single name comes to mind. Smart devices are already being built but

not many of the devices are planned to be working with a SHDC. Devices would start to

be built to plug into the wall but also transmit what they are to the SHDC. A washer

machine would send out its standard id as Samsung washer machine if it were built by

them or a Dell computer would say Dell desktop. This would make the data more

accurate right of the start. Any devices not built to support such an idea would simply

send their wall socket number they currently occupy. This would be generic data and

not very useful. This is the whole idea behind smart home technology and the ADC. To

give future innovators the data to find areas to improve for the better of society and its

use of resources and also give the home owner data to make themselves more efficient

at home.

Psychological Impacts


Smart home technology is a technology which has many psychological impacts.

The monitoring and recording of information causes privacy concerns for smart home

technology owners. Smart home technology can fulfill the basic psychological need of

protection of resources. Rising energy prices may be enough of a reason to convert to

smart home technology. Households will need to accept the many behavioral changes

which are associated with smart home technology. Different companies use different

marketing techniques to sell their products and services as well as spreading the ideas

of smart home technology.

Privacy concerns are an issue when it comes to smart home technology.

According to Bouchard and others (2014), “In the context of smart home assistance,

however, many researchers believe invasiveness should be limited for the technology to

be accepted” (p. 246). In other words, researchers of smart home technology are

concerned the public will reject the technology until they feel their information is secure.

People are not comfortable knowing that there may be people with malicious intentions

and the proper skills to access the recordings. This invasiveness may be a concern for

the database as the information is wirelessly transmitted. The key to having people

accept smart home technology and the database will be making sure that all potential

users are aware that the information is secure and that if the information was stolen that

the thieves are only receiving information about resource usage.

One key to convincing people that smart home technology and the database are

good for themselves and for society is to reinforce the benefit to the environment.

People may, despite some privacy concerns, accept smart home technology when it

involves saving resources. According to Koskela and Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila (2004),


“The focus groups revealed that the smart home solutions that were easiest to accept

contribute to security and saving energy” (p. 237-238). In other words, these focus

groups were more willing to accept and adapt to smart home technology as long as it

related to security or saving electricity. This further implies that smart home technology

can and possibly will be accepted by people as long as they assist the homeowner in

saving energy. Smart home technology and the database will likely be more accepted

because the purpose of them is to save resources for society as opposed to gathering

information for profit. The more people that accept the technology, the more

participation the database will have creating more accuracy to the data that is being

processed.

Another way to convince people that smart home technology and an accurate

database will benefit society may come whether we like it or not; energy prices become

too high for consumers to not make changes in their life. According to The University of

Michigan Institute for Social Research (2013), “Consumers, on average, believe home

energy bills would have to nearly double before forcing them to make lifestyle changes

to save on costs…” (para.1). Put another way, people will not begin to try conserving

energy until their prices double and they get hit where it hurts, their wallet. The

University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (2013) also informs us that the

average household paid roughly $2,000 on energy in the year 2012 (para. 3). This

means that people would have to be paying $4,000 a year before they would consider

other alternatives such as smart home technology. Households will find it cheaper to

purchase smart home technology that would last many years rather than continuing to

pay the energy companies.


Smart home technology is capable of fulfilling a psychological need: the need to

protect resources. Koskela and Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila (2004) found in their research

that the volunteers in the study expected the smart home technology to give them

freedom from doing certain house chores (p. 238). Put another way, they wanted the

house to be able to take care of certain things that would need their normal everyday

attention. For example, if the homeowners were leaving town for a few days they would

be able to have a worry-free trip knowing their plants were being watered. Smart home

technology can help eliminate other potential chores such as puppies being fed, or

prevent the house from burning down. Smart home technology also reflects security of

resources because people have the peace of mind knowing that they are saving

precious energy and water for the future. The database can give more accurate

information as to how much energy and water is being used across the nation and

compare it to how much we can produce or collect. With this increase in accuracy,

society will have a better understanding of how to maintain our resources for the future.

Security of resources can be found on the second level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs,

showing that smart home technology can fulfill a basic psychological need.

We will admit that there may be a drawback that comes with smart home

technology. While smart home technology has the potential to help homeowners who

are away feel less nervous about their plants, there is still a chance that people will still

feel nervous even if the technology works. Koskela and Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila (2004)

also found in their research that “The couple’s trust in the devices and interfaces in their

apartment was not complete, but varied from day-to-day” (p. 239). In other words, they

did not always trust that the settings they made while away from home were actually


working. They always wanted to see it before believing that it worked. This type of worry

would be similar to being nervous if an important e-mail or text went through because

they do not always reach the other person. This attitude towards smart home

technology can vary by person. Someone who was immersed in technology while

growing up is more likely to trust technology as a whole and be able to trust their

wireless connections. Also, as the technology progresses and becomes more accurate

and mainstream people will likely start trusting it more.

Owners of smart home technology will have to accept the inanimate changes that

come with it. According to Koskela and Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila (2004), “Another

aspect they did not get used to during the six month test period was that their home

could ‘live a life of its own” (p. 239). The subjects of the experiment were not used to

leaving the house in one condition and returning to find it in another condition. For

example, the couple would leave the house without any lights on but would find them

illuminating their yard upon their arrival. Smart home technology users will have to

adapt to their house “living a life of its own” because the technology is made to change

household conditions while homeowners are away.

Smart home technology is designed to create behavioral changes in households

by creating awareness of energy use and these changes must become habits for the

technology to be effective. According to Darby (2010), “There are elements in this

‘smart home’ that could reduce environmental impact; but reduction is not guaranteed,

especially if consumption is normally low” (p. 445). Put another way, smart home

technology tells a household how much power they are using but this does not reduce

energy use; rather, it is the change in daily habits, such as turning lights off, that saves


energy. When a household purchases smart home technology, they need to be willing

to commit to the changes that come with it. This implies that the psychological changes

that come with smart home technology must start to occur before the technology is

installed in the home and will continue as long as the system is in place.

The reason smart home technology works is because of the constant feedback

the households receive about their energy usage. According to Darby (2006), “The first

studies, in the 1970s, established that feedback (mostly via display monitors) has

measurable effects and was worth pursuing, on its own or in combination with other

processes” (p. 3). Put another way, smart home technology works because of the

constant updates about energy usage that monitors provide. With modern smart home

technology, households can see their energy usage through many different monitors

including personal computer, television, and smart phones. This constant feedback

makes households more aware of the energy that they are using at the current time

which motivates them to perform energy saving practices. These changes in action are

the result of smart home technology and its ability to give households awareness of

their energy usage.

Smart home technology may lead to people being on their cell phones more.

Koskela and Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila (2004) found in their research that participants

chose to use their cell phones to connect to the smart home technology rather than the

personal computer or television set (p. 239). One reason was because the cell phones

allowed the homeowners to control their home while away from home. Another reason

was because of the cell phone’s mobility even while inside the house. Smart home

technology owners will be able to control the house from room to room while using a


device that they often carry around. This method provides much more convenience then

non-mobile methods. Smart home technology can change people’s habits by having

them use cell phones more often.

The way smart home technology companies market their products and services

have an impact on how people view smart home technology. Their advertisements can

show smart home technology for their positive benefits or potentially have people view

the technology with a negative connotation. They Red Wave Security is a local smart

home technology business which markets their products and services as a way to save

money without having to change their lifestyle too much. Their website (2015) states,

“With Red Wave automation, it’s easy to save energy and money without compromising

comfort” (para. 20). Red Wave Security focuses on marketing the direct benefit to the

user, being able to save money. It is interesting that there is no mention on their website

about the environmental benefits that’s come with it as well. This shows that Red Wave

Security is interested in customer’s personal interests rather than the overall good for

society.

Hi-Tech Home is another smart home technology service which has a different

outlook on marketing. Hi-Tech Home (2015) states on their website, “Our core energy

management services are solar power, climate control, lighting control and shade

control. These services protect the environment, enhance convenience and can

dramatically reduce your utility costs” (para. 6). Hi-Tech Home’s outlook puts the

environmental impacts first while mentioning the personal benefits afterwards.

Environmental Impacts


The entire reason for our research is to determine if smart home technology will

be beneficial for the environment and smart home technology has developed in a way

which can have a large effect on the environment. The less energy a household uses,

the less impact on the environment they have. Smart home technology can monitor

water usage in households which is important in areas that water has become scarcer,

such as California due to the drought. Smart home technology plays an important part in

the theoretical goal of having the environmentally sustainable zero-house. Modern

breakthroughs in smart home technology have increased to improve the energy

efficiency of the smart home technology itself. There are minimal risks of unforeseen

environmental impacts and the known negative environmental impacts are small.

Smart home technology helps users become aware of their energy usage and

allows them to make energy-saving choices. According to Darby (2006), Senior

Researcher at University of Oxford, “The norm is for savings from direct feedback

(immediate, from the meter or an associated display monitor) to range from 5-15%” (p.

3). In other words, because energy users were provided with a device to monitor their

immediate energy usage, they often saved five to fifteen percent of their normal energy

usage. This can have a large impact on a households energy use over time, reducing

the amount of energy used and their carbon footprint. If every household in the United

States adopted this technology, we would see an estimated ten percent energy use

decrease across the country. A decrease of this size would reduce the carbon and

pollutant outputs of current energy producing methods. The database will be capable of

showing what the carbon footprint as a nation is almost instantly. Thus, because people


respond better to instant feedback, society as a whole is more likely to change to

environmentally friendly habits.

Smart home technology can help save water as well as energy. The California

drought is an example of a time when conserving water is extremely important. Smart

home technology can monitor the water usage down to the faucet that is turned on

giving the household exact details of how they are using water. Households can use this

information to begin saving water by discovering where it is being wasted the most. This

is beneficial for those that pay for government water to save money but is also

beneficial to well-water users to help their wells from running dry. When the drought lifts

in California, it will still be important to conserve water because the groundwater levels

are low making it harder for farmers and rural houses to obtain water. The

environmental implications are on a large scale with smart home technology. Water can

be conserved at a personal level while helping the underground flows. The database

would give more accurate information as to how water is being used in homes

throughout the country.

Another positive benefit smart home technology has on the environment is that it

can perform beneficial functions in a “zero-house”, a home which is self-reliant on

resources after its construction. Junyon (2014) lists that a zero-house generates its own

power, stores that power in batteries, collects its own water, processes generated

waste, and is automatic (p. 358-359). One beneficial function that smart home

technology performs in a zero-house is the ability to monitor how the power is being

used. This monitoring makes the homeowner aware of how much power is being used

and where there are possibilities to save energy. There are options for the owner to


allow the computer to make energy-saving decisions. Smart home technology is a

useful tool to have because the amount of power it generates is limited. A second

benefit smart home technology provides to the zero-house is the ability to control

energy and water usage from anywhere. For example, if a leak is sprung in a pipe while

the homeowner is away, the homeowner can shut the water supply off to that pipe

through their mobile application. This is useful for the zero-house because it is limited in

the amount of water it collects.

An argument against smart home technology is that is uses up the very energy it

is trying to save, however, with new technologies the devices use relatively little energy

compared to the potential amount it saves. Tao and Xuemei (2014) state, “ZigBee

technology is a kind of wireless technology with short distance, low complexity, low

power consumption, low data rate, low cost and wireless network technology, mainly

suitable for carrying less data traffic service, can be embedded in a variety of devices,

and supports for the geographical location” (para. 4). In other words, ZigBee technology

can perform all the functions required by smart home technology with lower energy

consumption. This technology will maximize the amount of potential savings a

household can have without a drop in performance. The database will collect data on

how much energy the smart home technology is using and compare it to how much it is

saving.

Smart home technology and the database will have an unlikely chance of

causing any unforeseen environmental impacts. Unforeseen environmental impacts are

those which no one had predicted before their plans were implemented. A common

example of an unforeseen environmental impact was when the government paid


hunters to kill wolves. They were seen as pests but whenever the hunters were

successful the deer population grew rapidly and most starve due to a shortage of food

supply. No one could ever be completely accurate but smart home technology uses

small sensors and relatively little electronic components compared to the average

household computer. They take up little space and would not take up any animal habitat

that the house does not already use. The data is sent to the database through routers

that already exist in the home. Due to the nature of smart home technology being small

and the database using existing technology, the chances of them impacting the

environment in a negative way is minimal.

The predictable negative environmental impacts of smart home technology and

the database are small. Most of the negative environmental impact comes from the

manufacturing stage where energy and water are being used to convert raw material

into the technology. Smart home technology can also have an environmental impact if

disposed of improperly, however, there are electronic recyclers that old or non-

functioning smart home devices can be discarded. The database will be using large

amounts of energy for it to function. We propose that that server “practices what it

preaches” and uses solar power and batteries to have as little environmental effect as

possible. With the technology itself having few environmental impacts, smart home

technology and the database will be a benefit rather than a hindrance.

Cultural Considerations

Technology is a really interesting topic especially looking at its history and how

fast it has developed into what it is today. Technology now has simplified our lives more

than it originally intended. In the beginning there were computers but they were not


utilized for half the things we do on them currently. Technology was not made for a

specific culture group or demographic and was intended for the use of the everyday

person. When computers first originated they were not inexpensive due to the cost of

the material and the production. Presently we find that different forms of technology are

made at different price points making it affordable for everyone.

What we have noticed over the last couple of years many people using different

devices for the convenience and simplicity it adds to their lives. For example, a smart

phone can help the average person do many things a normal computer can but at the

convenience of being mobile without carrying a laptop and a hotspot for its data service.

Since the use of technology does not target a specific demographic, there is a diverse

culture that has formed. Technology’s convenience and reliability has generated a

culture of people who believe that technology is enhancing the way we live. “Six in ten

Americans (59%) feel that technological advancements will lead to a future in which

people’s lives are mostly better, while 30% believe that life will be mostly worse” (Smith,

2014). The study that was conducted was out of 1,001 people from different

demographics such as age, education, salary and ethnicity. This shows how diversity

plays a big role in the culture that has formed around the use of technology.

Technology and smart home technology do not differ, in fact they are identical in which

smart home technology is also aimed to enhance the way we live and use our devices

or equipment at home. Many of the home technology is leisure or utility equipment such

as washer, dryer, refrigerator, smart TV or lighting control. The industry as a whole is

driven by the types of people that envision technology in helping them improve the way

they go through their day. For example, AT&T and all the company discusses is how


they focus on projecting forward with connected devices. AT&Ts slogan is “Mobilize

your world” which to AT&T it means keeping you as connected as possible with all your

devices. As a sales representative the goal is to own the home help you become

connected to your home with our automation services as well as your car which also is

made now with smart technology.

Currently Samsung offers a wearable smart watch that you can also manage

your home automated equipment with. When you take a look at a lot of the smart home

technology that is designed to help the user become aware of everything that is going

on within the home from water and energy usage it gets interesting. Newer smart home

innovation has opened the doors and reshaped the way we think of smart home

technology. These newer devices have come to show us that it is possible to monitor

and track the usage of different energy and water usage and even show us ways to

conserve them.

This is all possible by the data that is stored while these devices are installed and

being used. This type of technology can not only make the home smart by leisure of

turning off and on lights without a physical switch but by also showing the user how to

conserve this energy as well. This makes it easier for the user to learn how to save on

energy costs. The different types of recent innovation have been driving the smart home

craze and have cause the industry to grow. Zipato happens to be one of the companies

that is setting the tone for all newer innovative smart home technology. It happens to be

the first of its kind to not only fully automate the home and secure it but at the same time

it also is one of the interactive systems that helps conserve the energy.


This also produces a unique angle on smart home technology in which most new

technologies are created because of ingenuity rather than actual daily uses in our

culture. According to Haines and others (2007), “Smart Home technology looks set to

become an increasingly common feature of domestic life. However commercial desire

for technical innovation rather than explicit user needs are often the driving force behind

the development of Smart Home products and services” (p. 349). This gives us

reasoning why the majority of the innovation comes from ideas trying to solve problems

or needs that we have in order to simplify our lives.

If we take a look back, how long did it take to complete some of the things you

currently do? It may have taken a good period of time and energy or maybe even gas in

your car to get you to do something. Whereas now we can easily do many things from

the convenience of our own home.

Economic Impacts

Smart home technology has come a long way since it originated and still has

many great things to enhance the lives of individual households. The newer technology

that we are primarily focusing on helps the household keep monitor its usage of different

utilities such as light and water. Although it has many great benefits for single

households, the implications overall if everyone had the technology would make a

difference. The market itself is growing and will continue because each piece of

equipment is designed for a specific type of customer ranging from a variety of different

other than light and water usage such as light control, door control and leisure devices

from trash cans to robotic sweepers.


In 2012 when the industry was growing, the market hit $25 Billion in total and in

2013 it pushed over $33 Billion (Weber, 2014). Juniper Research has conducted a

study that projected the smart home market to reach $71 Billion by 2018 up from its

numbers in 2012 and 2013 (Weber, 2014). The smart home technology industry itself

has a few key ingredients that will make the market reach its full potential and that are

the entertainment side of it all. Juniper Research also stated that 80% of total smart

home service revenue was made up of entertainment equipment. This equipment does

not refer to devices as toys but things such as refrigerators, smoke alarms, vacuums,

TVs, light bulbs. If you were to walk into Best Buy you would be able to see they offer so

many smart products for the home. Their store is simply the hallmark of all smart home

technology which can give or open the window for newer consumers. Many of this

equipment is considered smart home technology due to being able to control it from an

application on your smartphone or simply because the devices allow you to connect to it

and control it.

A perfect example of this equipment is a LIFX light bulb. These smart bulbs allow

you to connect them to your home Wi-Fi network and control the color, dim, and set

timing when using them. They make everything more convenient and have a lifetime

guarantee. The selling point for these light bulbs is the guarantee and also the

comparison they give you on how much you will spend on replacing multiple bulbs over

a period of a few years. The bulbs allow you to turn them on and off straight from your

smart device once it is connected by simply logging into your account. Most phones will

always be logged into the bulb making it convenient for the user. LIFX is a prime

example of the different types of innovation as well as the perfect culture built around


smart home technology. Most people who are interested in devices and having the

ability to connect to it are very open to any and every idea of modern technology.

In Allan Mchale’s article he states “The US home automation market is now up

for grabs and the winners will be the ones that can offer the seamless end to end

experience across all services in the home and deliver to the consumers what they have

come to expect from the likes of Apple” (Mchale, 2013). He later goes on and shares a

little bit about how ADT a home security system has invested in a partnership with

iControl a company based in California. iControl at the time was a startup home

automation company. The partnership went on to raise $100 million with huge investors

such as Cisco, Comcast, Rogers Communications and Tyco International, the parent

company of ADT to name a few. This shows that these companies have faith in the

market growing if they are willing to invest into the startup company. Most of the

companies that invested are large well rounded companies. Since the market has not

hit the pinnacle of what it is soon to be, the bulk of the companies that have the capital

are venturing out and want to dominate the rather mild market.

The expansion of this market also leads to another key factor that impacts the

economy in a great way which would be creating jobs for the production of equipment

and the expansion of emerging companies. Each and every company has to produce

the equipment for different devices from deadbolt smart locks, light control technology

you name it. Most companies also in the smart home industry are still emerging

companies like iControl was. Since a lot of these Large and small companies are

entering the market of smart home technology it opens different departments within

these companies from marketing, design, engineering and project management.


The development of newer technology for the home has also revolutionized the

way we currently use our water as well. This newer technology has the ability to provide

reports of water usage throughout the day in real time allowing users to manage and

understand what they are using. This can help households conserve water. This

technology or devices can eliminate how households overuse the water for different

activities or chores such as washing clothes or dishes. For watering plants and washing

cars it can also help. With different types of innovation we can even implement timers

on such devices allowing us to use it for a certain period of time in order to conserve by

system recommendations. This is primarily important right now in California because of

the drought that the state is in. Many smaller cities are currently out of water due to the

drought. In my hometown of Porterville, CA there is a huge water outage on the Eastern

side of the town which is effecting many residents. Currently all homes including mine in

Fresno have specific watering days that they have to abide by. All odd numbered

homes can water, wash cars or whatever they may need to use water with is on

Tuesdays or Saturdays. Even number homes are on Wednesdays or Saturdays. This

technology if implemented by every household can help conserve water in order to give

us more time until the state comes up with a solution. Once a lot of the technology

begins to be implemented it there should be a feature that lets the household know by a

green light that allows you to use that water schedule to ensure it is the proper day.

“In response to California's drought, Governor Brown's Executive Order B-29-15

outlines bold steps to save water, increase enforcement of water use standards,

streamline the states drought response, and invest in new water energy


technologies. To accelerate the deployment of innovative water and energy

saving technologies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the California

Energy Commission, jointly with the Department of Water Resources, and the

State Water Resources Control Board, will implement a Water Energy

Technology (WET) program to provide funding for innovative technologies.”

(Technologies, 2015)

Starting this summer California is starting to invest in these technologies to help

save water and energy. This can make a relative difference if the state gets these types

of technology funded and implemented immediately. As we can see they are in a hurry

to help the drought situation the state is currently in. What this can do for the average

household is big as well. If we can implement these systems as soon as they get funded

it can give these current water projects more time to develop.

Some ideas for households that already have this type of technology the county

should have a care program giving some sort of benefit to the people who have taken

the initiative to help conserve in advance. This would help expand the idea of smart

home technology and show how efficient it can be. Having government programs

available can help the smart home industry grow even further than the numbers it is

currently on track to hit.

Another big role is the energy usage. Many people are choosing to go the solar

route because they want to begin to conserve on energy costs which have an impact on

households. With smart technology there are currently a variety of energy efficient

products. Lighting and electricity usage are most popular with devices that turn off when


you are not inside the rooms. In many households that is always a concern when a light

or multiple lights have been left on for long periods of time. Doing this on a regular basis

can cause an increase on utilities. PG&E currently has smart meters that are installed in

many of the houses now which allow customers to be in control of their energy usage.

They want to begin to provide customers with benefits to stay electric and not got the

solar option. This is a smart move on behalf of PG&E because a lot of solar companies

tell customers that they can cut rates down and save them on more than half of what

they are currently spending.

Other than PG&Es smart meters the newer and most recent innovation is Zipatos

next generation system. This system happens to do a lot of the same things however it

is state of the art modular technology. The modules allow the user to change in and out

different energy efficient modules to better enhance the energy saving as well as

different lighting or electrical output options throughout the home. This makes it

convenient for the user because they are all DIY (do it yourself) establish equipment.

What also makes this unique for the consumer and the economy is that this system

generates these reports for you allow the user to know at all times when they can

manage or save on different activities in real time. This type of system should be

considered by the state for the WET program because they are looking for not only

water but energy efficient technology or newer innovative ideas as well. This can help

conserve the energy households are using as well as save consumers a good

percentage.

Political Considerations


According to energy efficiency organization called Energy Upgrade California

(2014), California passed a law to reduce total electricity usage by 10% in the next 10

years. California has also adopted a long term energy efficiency strategic plan to do the

following:

So what does saving energy and smart home technology have in common?

They both need effective data for future innovation. Smart home technology not only

means easier access to lighting, security etc., but it also means contributing to going

green for our environment as well as saving water and gas. Many technologies that

utilizes gasses etc. contributes to our Ozone layer which can cause global warming.

Utilizing smart home technology to turn of devices automatically will help reduce waste.

Electronic devices that are not in use but are still plugged in to the outlet still takes up

electricity, smart home automation can correct that and actually shuts off the whole

electrical usage when it knows the machine is off. Water faucets can drip and toilet

bowls can run wasting tons of water on a daily basis if it’s not fixed. And in today’s time,

since California is on a drought it is very important to conserve water. Now imagine

smart home technology in a larger scale. If one house hold saves x amount of gas,


water and energy imagine how much CA can save if every house is updated to home

automation.

There is an estimate that by next year revenue from smart home automation

would be 71 billion (Smith, 2014). This means good news for all the business who is

investing in this type of market. It will be competitive and stakeholders will have trouble

dominating it but people are buying in to the smart home market. So is there any

government policy/programs involved that people can use to make their home a smart

home?

There is currently no government policies/programs involved in Smart Home

Technology; however, the government does play a big role in home renovation, first

time home buyer programs, and home energy saving programs which all can include

smart home automation if they consider it. If the government considers adding smart

home technology into these programs it will help future innovations because of the

efficiency of the data.

The data can be retrieved from any house hold device or appliances that utilized

energy, water, and gas. Meaning they could have precise data instead of estimated

data on a household usage to better analyze for the future. However, in order to get the

data people would need the finances to renovate the existing house, the government

should allow existing home owners programs to include funding for smart home

technology upgrades/installations. Let’s review a couple current programs that we can

add home automation to. This can easily help transfer the older/newer homes into smart

homes.


Under the category of home renovations the government allows home owners to

do a Title 1 Property Improvement loan, authorized by the Title 1 of National Housing

Act, home owners can take out a loan to renovate their home and make it a better living

About Title I Home Improvement Loans, (n.d.). What is a Title 1 Property Improvement

plan? The Title 1 Property Improvement loan guarantees that if banks and lenders to

fund the loan to the homeowners they will help insure the possible loss if the

homeowners cannot pay it back. So if my family and I signed up for a loan and all of a

sudden my husband and I could not afford to pay it back anymore because of job loss,

the government will help cover the loss for the bank so the bank in fact does not lose

anything. However, homeowners do need to qualify for the loan like any other loans.

With this options being open to smart home renovations, homeowners could use the

funding for improving a better living and to make a house to more useful. Especially for

homes that are run down and do need a renovation. Cost for renovation is always high

but this federal loan can assist Homeowners to borrow and renovate. Some examples

of renovations that they allow under this loan is replacing the dishwashers, refrigerators,

freezers, and ovens that are built into the house (2014). That’s perfect for smart

appliances. Under this loan it also states the borrower cannot use them for luxury-type

items such as swimming pool and outdoor fireplaces but that’s not what we are talking

about here, we are talking about becoming a smart home and save water, energy, and

gas. Furthermore, under this loan, the government set certain amount of funds

depending on the renovations. If you are a Single family and would like to borrow

money you can borrow up to $25,000 with a maximum term of 20 years. This loan also

doesn’t benefit homeowners but they have different divisions that they will also provide


loan for. For example with Manufactured Homes like a mobile home one can borrow up

to $25,090 with a 15 year term if it is considered real property. For Mobile home that is

considered a personal property one can borrow up to $7,500 with a 12 year term. Even

for non-residential construction renovations they will allow them to borrow up to $25,000

with a 20 year term.

So if the government allows homeowners to use this Title 1 Property

Improvement, they could already start the process of future innovation to collect data

with these renovated homes. This also helps save money for these homeowners who

are already in need of financial support.

Another government program that Homeowners can use to assist in renovation

for smart home is called CalHFA Energy Efficient Mortgage loan program. According to

the CalHFA Energy Efficient Mortgage (Cal-EEM+Grant), 2014) website, this program

allows (first and non-first time) homeowners’ additional grants up to four percent

towards replacing a furnace/cooling system, fixing or replacing a chimney, insulating an

attic, crawl space and/or pipes and air ducts, replacing doors and window, installing

active and passive solar technologies, and updating a refrigerator and/or dishwasher.

This means if a household purchased a $250,000 home you can borrow up to $10,000

to upgrade your home appliance etc. as mentioned. So if the government adds smart

home technology which is a part of energy efficiency to the list homeowners will be able

to renovate and become a smart home.

The other thing great about this grant is that if the homeowner lives in the house

for 3 years the grant is then forgiven. Homeowners that purchase smaller places may

not have a lot of finances to upgrade the house but a decent house in the market right


now may be $175,000 that will leave about $7,000 for purchasing energy efficient and

smart home devices. It is harder to get this type of loan because you have to qualify

and must have a FICO score of 640 but if homeowners were given this opportunity why

wouldn’t they want to invest in a smart home? Below is a chart of income qualified for

how many people are in the household. This list based on the year 2013.

2013 INCOME LIMITS

CalPLUS FHA, CalHFA FHA, ECTP & CHDAP

FHA Firsts and Subordinates Used Behind FHA Loans

County /

Persons

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

FRESNO $46,600 $53,250 $59,900 $66,600 $71,900 $77,200 $82,600 $87,900

Smart home technology is growing as we said and the government is looking for

better ways to reduce usage of gas, energy, and water so why not allow these programs

to include loans for smart home technology. The government should consider looking

into regulating all new homes to be smart home ready by 2020 as well. What this means

is that setting up houses to already be energy efficient with smart technology so any

homeowner can just decide what type of devices to purchase for monitoring their smart

home. It’ll be as easy as plugging in the program and they are good to go. This would

only benefit the goal of effective data for future innovation.

Sociological Considerations

Imagine not only saving on water, gas, and electricity but also not having to

physically do household inventory and have your refrigerator or bathroom tell you what


you are missing and what you need to purchase. Or when you come home from a hard

day of work, the lighting in your living room and sense your body temperature and

adjust your thermostat to your desired temperature. What if it could turn on your radio

when it senses that you are cooking in the kitchen because you like to cook and listen to

the radio? These are all functions that smart homes can do and society is going to find

out that they cannot live without it.

A creator of the smart thermostat and formed a company called Nestlabs. The

idea got popular with people and showed that a household can save up to $170

annually (Cole, 2015). This new smart thermostat is operated electronically and

wireless. So they main control is on phones. Now just like many other companies that

are jumping on the idea of smart homes it mentions that this is not nearly as new as we

think. Security companies do already have smart technology to monitor buildings etc.

Having a smart thermostat can save energy bills. It can automatically set itself on or off

on peak or off peak hours and create a lower bill for households.

Alexander Aciman explains how smart homes are becoming the next big thing

but do we questions if we really understand what that means for people and their way of

living? He references on a commercial that I’ve seen myself many times on T.V. where

AT&T advertises a family who is on vacation and the children are the last ones to check

on the house to meet up with the parents and the father asks the kids if they

remembered to turn everything off but hesitates to believe them so he takes out his

phone and was able to turn of the water faucet, turn on the lights etc…

I thought this was a great way to make everyone understand that if you have this

system you don’t have to worry about having to drive back to the house to make sure


you have turned everything off. I would think or agree that having smart home

automation could save time, and also money on electric and water bill because you can

control it to be on or off whenever you want to, but where’s all your data going and

who’s going to have rights to those data?

As we review AT&T privacy clause this is what they post for web site data:

Web Site Data Collection: We do not knowingly allow other parties to collect

personally identifiable information about your online activities over time and

across third-party web sites when you use our websites and services. AT&T

provides information about the opt-out choices it makes available, and the opt-

outs choices provided by certain third-party website and mobile application

analytics companies we use here.

"Do Not Track" Notice: Because the providers of "do not track" and similar

signals do not yet operate according to common, industry-accepted standards,

AT&T currently does not respond to those signals. For more information on Do

Not Track, please visit www.allaboutdnt.com.

I can say that AT&T is looking out for customer’s and are informing them as much as

they can about the data and information they are receiving from consumers. Another

finding was indicating that government requests for consumer information are on the

rise and AT&T is a part of it with the cellular surveillance. So if they are participating in

that and are now expanding to smart home automation will your electric bill, water bill,

and utility usage all in one be protected information or will it soon also become

automatic information for the government.

http://www.allaboutdnt.com/

http://www.att.com/gen/privacy-policy?pid=24339


According to the privacy statement of another company called Smart Home

Automation Superstore they have a disclosure clause that states: “Please note: This

Smart Home Privacy & Information Use Policy does not cover information that is

inherent to the operation of the Internet and therefore beyond the control of Smart

home, and is not to be applied in any manner contrary to applicable law or

governmental regulation. This policy is subject to change at any time.” This means that

the company themselves are also following the Internet Privacy Laws for customer

information and will not disclose of it.

A third company called Rain Machine also used data from homeowners and

compares it with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to

control the sprinkling system of the home. If they are utilizing information from the

NOAA are they also sharing homeowner’s information to the NOAA as well? On their

privacy statement they claim to be sole owners but also have a clause indicating that

any third party links that consumers use on their website is under a different privacy

clause and consumers should look into the privacy statements of those third party links.

So looking at all three of these companies that I’ve mentioned they are all similar

in the way they protect customer’s privacy. There are privacy laws that the government

already set in place to protect consumer information as far as location, race, name, etc.

but there are not any laws that govern who have the rights for the data that may come

from these services.

Whenever there is a crime and information from an electronic device is needed,

the law will jump in and retain that information/data. But in this case all the data that are

being monitored from the homeowner even with using a companies are not going to be


disclosed. Yes they are going to rely more on the phones to control their house, but the

data itself will transmit from the controller in the house to an ADC. So to clarify will these

data also be regulated? As a group we suggest that any company that provides home

automation services for any type of data information should use collective information

where all the data goes into one service or memory bank called the ADC and if the

government regulates those companies to give out information for census etc.

companies can give them the information which is not based on actual individual

household usage but an average. For example if the government would like to get an

average amount of water usage in the West side of Fresno for each resident, all the

residents in the west side of Fresno’s combined data would then be divided by the

number of residents who resides in that part of town and it’ll give an average number.

This will allow homeowners to feel like their privacy is being protected as opposed to

feeling like they are being watched.

So how does society feel about Smart home technology? Aciman mentions that

some programs are not as great and the actual device like for example he mentioned

the smoke detector can tell you which room you have a fire in but the original smoke

detector can tell if the smoke is from cooking or if it’s a real threat. That is a good point

one must understand what type of information they are signing up for. If the smoke

detector doesn’t work as well as the original device is are consumers understanding that

they may not get the same outcome or will the risk of knowing where the fire is more

important.

Kashmir Hill a write for Forbes reported on a company called Insteon who

actually was not protecting their customer’s privacy by allowing outside people search


for their IP address etc. and they were able to access all the controls of the consumer’s

home. Smart home technology is used to control many items in a house hold from the

garage to the television and as well as the lighting and thermostat of a house. In this

finding she was able to access control of many peoples home jokingly naming it the

ability to make the home seem haunted. Insteon was not aware that outside people

were able to use a search engine and find domains of security information for

consumers. Hill even went on and even found out information about a family’s address

and their son’s name. Apparently Insteon issued manuals indicating that consumers

should create a password and most people didn’t read the manual, but in fact the

hacking was possible through Insteon’s main portal website itself. I would say this type

of hacking is not what I would like to sign up for if I were to think about doing home

automation. Since the finding of this Insteon had issued automatic passwords for each

consumer and asked for a recall of the old device which was made in early 2013. In

cases like this privacy is a big concern for society.

Now installing a smart home technology does depend if the consumer does a

DIY project or go with a service company. A service company will have access to your

home when you need them to, a DIY project only you will have access to your home

from your PC which is then connected to your other devices such as a smart phone, but

does it really matter? No, the purpose of home automation is not only for luxury but

also for collective effective data. And all data is going to go in to the ADC. This ADC

will be regulated by an anonymous non-profit organization to analyze the data. They

will not know the owners information more of just a code from what zone it came from

but it will be encrypted so no one can understand exactly what house it came from.


Another sociological consideration for smart home technology is job

opportunities. Many homeowners as well as business are turning to home automation

as we said so this means job opportunities for people who are technicians, in marketing,

have data entry skills, data analysis, customer service representatives, technical

support, sales and software innovators. As mentioned this technology is starting to rise

and more and more people are getting involved with smart home technology so with

demand there’s going to be a growth in the job market. There has been a growing case

for smart home automation and senior living, meaning job opportunities for people in the

health industry expanding their knowledge in home automation surveillance.

Conclusion

Smart home technology and an anonymous database can have a large impact

on American societies and the environment. The technology has developed over time to

improve the living standards in households. The data is secured by encryption and is as

secure as the data can get. Smart home technology has a large impact on the

environment through saving resources. The smart home technology industry is large

and still growing, providing revenue and jobs. The government has not been involved in

any smart home technology rules. The database can provide information on how to

better improve the energy consumption rates of households. Smart home technology

and the anonymous database are the way towards a better future.


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