It’s been a long day at work. As you pull up to your villa, the hallway lights turn on and the front door opens for you. The house is cool because the AC started up half an hour before you pulled into the driveway. Kicking off your shoes, you walk into the den just as the television clicks on with a new episode of your favorite show. Tap an app, and you can change the routine any way you wish. There are no servants to command, apart from your phone. You are the proud owner of a smart house, powered by a platoon of invisible staff in the form of motion sensors, computer programs and wireless communications. 

Home automation is nothing new in places like the United States, long the world capital of finding new ways to burn as few calories as possible. In the 1970s, homeowners could purchase lights that turned themselves on and off via a timer. It wasn’t enough to have coffee at the push of a button; we developed machines you set to start brewing minutes before your alarm went off. Automated security systems didn’t just scare off burglars; they called the police. By the turn of the 21st century, universal remotes were the size of paperbacks. Today, it’s all on your homescreen. Tech companies have put a lot of hype into the so-called Internet of Things, which does everything from dim the lights to report a gas leak via an app. “For example, now we have the technology to run random security scenarios that make it look like someone is in the house when there isn’t,” says Marco Gaballah, founder and CEO of Cairo-based MegaTECH Home Automation. 

After suffering from a series of stalls over the last five years due to Egypt’s political climate and economic malaise, the local smart home industry is once again growing modestly. There are a handful of small, young companies in the high-end automation sector, selling and installing automation systems that purveyors advertise as reliable, hack-proof and fully customizable. “We don’t just sell products; we sell an experience,” says Wael Refaat, founder and chairman of Sphere Smart Solutions. 

Home automated systems range from basic home security systems to fully integrated home entertainment systems controlling everything from music to the home cinema. Among his customers, Refaat says, women are usually more interested in security, while men are more interested in entertainment systems. About 50 percent of Refaat’s customers are the  owners of single-family homes in upscale suburban areas like New Cairo and 6 October City, and the other half are residents of more established neighborhoods in town. There is also a small clientele wishing to outfit their North Coast summer homes with things like surround-sound systems in the garden. Gaballa had a customer who was unhappy with the acoustics in his garden, so MegaTech ran fiber optic cables under the lawn that enabled the owners to adjust both the light and sound levels. 

Another homeowner in New Cairo decided he didn’t like light switches, so he outfitted his 370-square-meter villa with 11 wall-mounted iPads to the lights, temperature, curtains and so on. “We convinced him with some difficulty to keep the switches in the bathrooms,” says Refaat.  

Gaballah once automated an El Gouna yacht, putting in a home theater and self-opening doors, curtains and windows, among other features. He and his technicians devised a system whereby the hardware was mounted on springs and rails to keep the technology from rocking with the sea, which “would have caused the automation to freeze due to loss of signal,” says Gaballah. 

On the other hand, automated systems aren’t only for the wealthy. You can put together a basic automated security system simply with out-of-the-box devices from RadioShack or websites like Air Gadgets (www.air-gadgets.com). “We have a surveillance camera that can stream video on the internet for less than LE 1,000,” says Waleed el Sayed of Sayed Electronics in 6 October City, who will send out a technician to install the camera and make sure it works. “It doesn’t take more than an hour,” he says. On the other hand, fully integrated home automation systems can cost close to LE 1 million. Either way, given rapidly changing lifestyles and technologies, Refaat stresses the importance of installing a system that is upgradable. 

Sophisticated smart home systems can be installed in one-bedroom urban apartments as well as multi-story villas with spacious gardens. “Naturally, the bigger the property, the more automation can be done,” says Refaat, adding that he’s never turned down a client because his home was too small. Even a studio can be outfitted with motion sensors and automated lighting. “Automatically switching on and off lights as you move from room to room is a smart solution that saves electricity,” adds Refaat. 

Gaballah advises prospective smart home system buyers to do their homework and make sure they hire a firm that carries reputable hardware brands. “Counterfeit and uncertified low-quality products are our biggest problem right now,” says Gaballah, cautioning that cutting corners by purchasing cheap, substandard devices is not a good idea. A solid automation firm should be able to work up a customized plan and include after-sales support services. Refaat notes: “Our clients want assurances that we can maintain the entire system quickly with minimum down time.”

In more developed markets, smart home technology can now do everything from control air humidity levels to make ice for cocktails. In Egypt, automated home technology is still limited to a relatively small market and a limited number of services. Effective automation relies primarily on a fast, reliable internet connection, and the country’s smart home pioneers are hoping that their business will get a boost from the advent of faster 4G, or fourth generation, mobile online service, which will enable real-time control via handheld gadgets. 

Around the world, real estate developers are now outfitting new residences and commercial buildings with smart technology from the get go, including details like automated sprinklers and green energy systems. Egyptian developers are now starting to catch on to this trend. Raya Smart Buildings, for example, is constructing “innovative, energy-efficient and resource-saving office buildings” featuring “integrated IT infrastructure” in Cairo’s satellite cities. 

Still, you may want to pause before throwing away your old-school remote. While some analysts expect the market for smart devices to more than double by 2020, recent research has indicated that such forecasts may be too ambitious—sales for smart home gadgets are flatlining in certain key markets, with people complaining that the devices are too expensive for what they do. Others remain nervous about the whole idea. After all, it’s one thing to turn over your credit card number to the Internet and quite another to surrender the code to your front door.

© Business Monthly 2016