Domotics represents a technological science which studies all the things employed in the houses or the buildings facilitating the work of peoples and increasing the comfort in their environment.
The term DOMOTICS is a contraction of the words:
DOMUS (lat.= home or house) and
INFORMATICS (=the science concerned with the collection, transmission, storage, processing and display of information).
Domotics will become of importance to any application in the domestic environment where electricity and electronics are involved and also on recent developments such as: tele-shopping, tele-banking, tele-working, remote control of household and utilities in house, and tele-metering.
All these new evolutions will also have influence on social live improving the "quality of life" for all the peoples, including peoples with disabilities or sick peoples too.
Elements of a domotic system
Domotics come to reach three targets:
- More comfort
- Higher convenience
- Better peace of mind.
Often the researchers and engineers from this domain, try to define an ideal solution for all the requirements that contribute at the target above mentioned. They use the term “Dream House” for an ideal domotic system, which could present features, presented bellow:
- Would be an integrator system of all the component systems existing in house, such as: Lighting system, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), Security and Access System, Audio-Video and entertainment systems, and the Motorized systems.
- The lighting system would offer an optimal illumination of rooms adequate with their destination. Must be a system, which will feel the presence of the people in the rooms and will order automatically commutation on/off of bulbs.
- Lighting control systems can be controlled without having to reach or push small toggle switches on the wall.
- The security of seeing and talking to the person at the door or gate before opening it.
- Electronic door locks can provide security as well as the ability to lock the building or allow emergency access with one command.
- The HVAC system will save energy by controlling automatically the inside air parameters by knowing when you are home adjusting it accordingly.
- The media room where the family can spend time together in a less formal entertainment setting. The primary difference between dedicated home theaters, and media rooms/entertainment centers is our ability to control the environment
- Voice recognition will provide the ability to control systems without having to press buttons or touch screens.
- Motorized door and windows and blind windows openers allow ventilation and access.
- Motorized window treatments can automatically open and close to allow sunlight and privacy as needed.
- Driveway ice melting systems can be automated to provide ice-free driveways and walks without shoveling.
- Remote vehicle starters provide a warm vehicle in the colder climates, and can open doors and ramps if the vehicle is so equipped.