Smart Home

The term smart home refers to a place of residence where amenities such as electricity, computers, security systems, and entertainment systems can interact with each other through an online application or a device. The concept has been praised for its attention to convenience and efficiency and continues to add more features to existing technologies each year. However, smart homes have received much criticism as well in the areas of privacy and ethics.

History

Between 1900 to 1920, the introduction of several machines to domestic life caused housework to become easier than before. These products benefited the middle class, which was dealing with a short supply of human cooks, maids, launderers, and others. From the first vacuum cleaner in 1901 to technology such as the electric toaster, dishwasher, and garbage disposal that followed suit, the need to spend time on manual work declined. Products were being marketed as "spring cleaning with electricity" and "automatically gives you time to do those things you want to do."

More home appliances continued to appear in the years following. The washing machine and dryer both appeared in the mid 1930s, while the automatic coffeepot was invented in 1952.