In this podcast 🗣️, we dive deep into the current state of smart home 🏠 technology with Consumer Reports journalist Daniel Wroclawski, who brings 10 years of experience covering the smart home industry 🤖.

Dan shares candid insights 💡 about why our homes aren't as smart as we'd expect in 2024 despite rapid advances in other tech sectors.

What we discussed;

✅ Smart appliances and their questionable "smart" features.

✅ The fragmented state of smart home technology.

✅ Why integration between devices remains a major challenge.

✅ The promise (and delays) of the Matter standard.

✅ Most popular smart home technologies.

✅ Cybersecurity concerns and trade-offs.

✅ Practical advice for consumers considering smart home investments.

Whether you're a smart home enthusiast or just considering your first purchase, this conversation offers valuable insights into the current limitations, future possibilities, and practical considerations of smart home technology.

Follow Dan:

@TheSmartHomeGuy / @DanWC across social platforms

Consumer Reports: consumerreports.org

For Episode 34, we were joined by Warren Houghton for an in-depth discussion on how vulnerabilities in technology affect us all... whether it's your office, hotel or at home.

Warren specializes in covert physical entry and exploiting technology controls, and is an expert in hardware hacking at Pen Test Partners - https://www.pentestpartners.com/

Warren gives some practical advice on how we can all protect ourselves from hacking and social engineering.

For Episode 33, we were joined by Nick Hunn for an in-depth discussion on the UK Government's smart metering project, which began in 2009.

Role forward 15 years, and by some quirk of fate, the same guy from 2009, Ed Miliband, is now back in charge of UK Energy Policy. So, spurred on by Nick's article (linked below), it seemed like the ideal time to look back at the smart metering project, what went wrong, and what it might mean for UK Net Zero goals.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mr-smart-meter-takes-charge-uk-energy-policy-nick-hunn-ilufe/

For Episode 32, we were joined by Mazen Jamal for an in-depth discussion on the business case for indoor air quality (IAQ).

A whole body of scientific research now shows that CO2 levels impact cognitive function. Yet, IAQ often seems like an afterthought for smart building technology projects.

Is it just reality that IAQ is lower in the technology “pecking order” than energy management, occupancy analytics, artificial intelligence, fire detection, etc, and therefore doesn't get the same investment?

Follow Mazen Jamal on LinkedIn Here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mazenjamal/

For Episode 31, we were joined by Tomás Mac Eoin from Master Systems Integrator (MSI) Hereworks to Discuss their Swift HR Concept.

The Swift HR concept envisions a cross-functional team, led by Human Resources (HR), with the agility to quickly respond to, and manage smart building insights. So it becomes a guiding force for integrating human feedback into the data layer of smart buildings systems, thus improving the user experience.

SWIFT HR

S = Safety

W = Workplace

I = IT

F = Facilities

T = Technology

H = Human Resources

R = Real Estate

More on the Hereworks here 👉👉 https://hereworks.io/

For Episode 30, we were joined by Nick Clark and Mike Brooman to discuss Aukett Swanke's recent acquisition of the assets of Vanti.

We discussed the reasons behind the acquisition. It's Aukett Swanke's 4th acquisition within a year and we also discussed their plans to improve the delivery of smart building technology on commercial building projects.

More on the acquisition here 👉👉 https//memoori.com/aukett-swanke-expand-smart-buildings-vanti-acquisition/

For Episode 29, we were joined by Brahm Lategan, Smart Building Consultant @ MiX based in London.

We dived into the world of Commercial Building Data. Why are data integration problems in commercial buildings so persistent? AND how can we fix them?

Brahm introduces Unified Namespace (UNS), an architecture from Industrial Automation, as a possible solution. UNS can create a centralized, non-hierarchical structure for real-time data exchange across IT and OT systems.

For Episode 28, we were joined by Zane Mansha from UK Smart Building Master System Integrator, Vanti (https://vanti.co.uk/).

Zane describes himself as a 'Realist Technophile', having a love for technology but grounded in wanting to deliver real-world outcomes. We dig into the benefits of this perspective in the smart building industry.

Zane shared his thoughts on the current 'state of technology' in commercial buildings and the issues around translating complex user requirements into smart building technical designs.

For Episode 27, we were joined by Cliff Majersik from the Institute for Market Transformation (https://www.imt.org/), where he helps to shape policy around energy efficiency in buildings.

Will standards really drive wide-scale building decarbonization? And what does that mean for smart building technology?

Cliff shared his deep knowledge of energy efficiency standards, building ratings and building codes. We discussed Local Law 97 and its impact as a driver of investment in decarbonizing buildings in the US. And how it compares to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive in the EU.

For Episode 26, we were joined by Stefan Schmidt from Meterz - https://www.meterz.co.uk/ - to Discuss Building Retrofitting and why it's THE Smarter, more Sustainable Choice over New Construction!

Why are older buildings being left behind in the smart tech revolution? And what does this mean for the future of smart buildings? Listen Now!