If you’re anything like me then since about 2008, you’ve eagerly been awaiting the installation of your very own Jarvis so you can finally fulfil your dream of becoming Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. Not too far removed from the robot butler dreams of the 1960s, Marvel’s AI creation pretty much took care of everything in the superhero’s daily life, leaving him free to go about saving the day and generally being an all-round cool guy. Fast forward to now, and the reality actually isn’t too different. Just ten years down the line there’s now enough tech on the market to make your house a smart home, and what once seemed like an expensive pipe dream is now an affordable (and highly practical) reality.

Leading the charge, perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, are the big, global companies we’ve all come to know. Amazon and Google dominate the market in the Home AI department, with their Echo/Alexa and Google Home hubs becoming rapidly increasing fixtures in homes all over the world. This isn’t just down to the tech inside them either, but the very attractive price points have made the future seem more affordable today than many thought would be possible. Not to be caught napping, Apple is hot on their heels too, with its much anticipated smart hub due to launch in February this year.

Beyond their isolated functions, however, these smart hubs provide a great way to improve the interconnectivity of your home, from the practical to the convenient, and all at attractive price points that will most likely continue to drop in a competitive market. For example, did you know you can now buy smart kits that can control your lights, heating, and electrical items? Pretty handy hey when you’ve jumped into bed and forgotten to turn the light off; no need to muster the courage to leave the warmth of the blankets, just simply tap the app, and the lights are off, all thanks to systems like the Phillips Hue.

Or how about when you’re on your wintery walk home from another long day at the office. You can’t wait to get back, but we all know the house won’t be warm till you’ve had that heating on for at least an hour. Not to worry, integrate a Hive Home kit and you can set the heating to come on right from your phone, or through your smart hub, and be toasty warm the moment you step over the threshold.

As the tech develops, innovators are always finding new ways to make your life easier for you, leaving you to enjoy your own time stress-free. To my mind, one of the best recent developments in this field is wiring wifi plugs into modern homes. Simply put, these integrate your wiring in the house/flat into your home wireless network, meaning you can control it from your phone. No more will you have to spend your night out worrying whether you left the iron on, as even the briefest of doubts can be assuaged with a quick check of your app; if perchance you’ve left it on, simply switch off the plug via the wifi on your phone.

We’ve come a very long way in a very short time, and this tech is only taking us further. There’s a whole range of gadgets and gizmos out there to give you a helping hand around the home, leaving you free to enjoy the finer things in life, stress-free.

As well as improving your own quality of life, improving the technology in your home can add considerable value to your asking price when it comes to selling your property. If you would like to discuss ideas to improve the worth of your home give us a call. For more information about the best estate agents Manchester has to offer, visit our website.