The history of home automation is so fascinating, and despite common belief, the concept of home automation actually isn’t that new.
We might see science fiction movies that give us an imaginary concept of our future home that is completely automated with robots helping us with various tasks.
Although it’s not going to be as insane as what Ray Bradbury, a prolific science fiction writer imagines with a home that continues to work despite no one living in it, the advancement of home automation is still quite an interesting thing to talk about.
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With that being said, over the course of century, the ever growing technology has shaped our perception of home automation into reality, and makes everything seems to be more convenient and affordable than ever.
From the first remote control back in 1869, to the Internet of Things that controls various smart devices in our home today, let’s get deeper into the history of home automation down below!
Table of Contents
(A Brief) History of Home Automation
1. 1868: First Remote Control of Nikola Tesla
Yes, you read it right, the history of home automation can be stretched far back to the first remote control that was created by the great Nikola Tesla.
In 1868. Nikola Tesla created the first remote control to operate a toy boat, he used a radio waves signal to send certain instructions from a handheld device to his boat.
You might think it’s not that great, but remember, it was 1868 and the availability of automation devices at that time was basically none.
2. 1901-1920: The Rise of Home Appliances.
The 20th century marks a great leap of achievement in terms of home appliances, many incredible appliances were invented in that period of time.
Although not smart, they were still a huge step forward into home technology that would revolutionize and ease our daily lives doing certain tasks.
The first really big thing that was invented at that period of time was the first vacuum cleaner that was still powered by an engine back in 1901.
Here’s an incredible thing to consider, the first vacuum cleaner was created back in 1901 as we stated before, and only 6 years later, a more advanced electricity-powered vacuum cleaner was born.
And in addition to that, within the following two decades, many more appliances are dominating many households in developed countries, such as fridge, clothes dryers, washers, irons, toasted, etc…
3. 1933: Home of The Future
The Century of Progress International Exhibition (Chicago World’s Fair) gave visitors a look at the Home of the Future which exhibited the interpretation of what the home in the distant future would look like.
It still looked like a science fiction portrait, considering that the technology back then was not that advanced.
4. 1968 – 1969: The ECHO IV And The Kitchen Computer
ECHO IV, although never being commercially sold, was the first home automation device that was invented by an engineer named Jim Sutherland.
The features of ECHO IV were most likely what you would expect from an automation device even by today’s standard, such as constructing shopping lists, monitoring the home’s temperature and controlling various appliances.
A year later, Kitchen Computer, a smart device that could store recipes was released. And although it was revolutionary at that time, it never took off for its prohibitive price.
5. 1971: The Microcontroller
Microprocessors were invented not long ago at that period of time, this makes the technology became instantly more affordable.
With that being said, the price of electronics and home appliances decreased significantly, thus making it more readily available on store shelves.
6. 1975: X10 Home Automation Project
A significant step forward to more advanced home technology was invented. This device used the pre-installed AC wiring of a house to control small appliances and lighting fixtures.
7. 1986: “Smart Home” Term was Created
American Association of House Builders in 1984 was the first who coined the term “Smart Home”.
8. 1991: Gerontechnology
Gerontechnology is the combination of words “gerontology” and “technology”, which was used to employ technology to make the lives of senior citizens better and easier.
9. 1996: The Clapper
As its name implies, The Clapper was an electrical switch operated through the sound of clapping and was considered the most iconic inventions for smart home technology of 20th century.
Aside from clap sound, The Clapper would also be activated through coughing, dog barking or door slamming.
10. 1998: The Millennium House
The first proof that a house could be automated with a computer-controlled device was first shown with a British show-home called “The Millennium House”.
It showed the visitors how to automate a house with a computer-controlled device for heating, improves security, turning on or off the lights, etc…
11. Late 1990s – Early 2000s: Home Networking
Home automation became more and more popular especially in this period of time when internet connectivity made smart home devices and technology more affordable.
More of the domotics (domestic technology) became commonplace, and more household appliances were able to connect to computers.
12. 2014: Amazon Echo
Around 1.5 million automated home systems were in place as of 2014. More big companies released a lot of smart devices, such as Amazon Echo by you guessed it, Amazon and Alexa.
13. The Present and the Future
And as for now, smart technology is more integrated into our home, offering us a much higher convenience, security and energy efficiency.
More devices are equipped with Internet of Things that enable the said devices to connect to a wireless connection such as Wi-Fi to be then controlled by our smartphones.
Home automation development is not going to stop there, as more and more devices will invented to drive us toward more increased connectivity and interactivity.
Automated lights, thermostat adjustment, security cameras, door locks, even irrigation systems will not only save us time, but also in energy cost and improve security.
So there you have it! The brief history of home automation that we’ve summarized just for you!
