The kitchen is a room in which the French spent more and more time in 2020. In fact, with Covid-19, reservation, and telecommuting priority, we spent a lot of time at home (and still do a lot …). Many French took the opportunity (to reposition) themselves in the kitchen, so much so that this room is used much more often today. Suddenly, you naturally want to update it a little, like the rest of the house already. In our field, we can then ask the question: What are home automation equipment in the kitchen?
If manufacturers of fitted kitchens continue to innovate (eg Schmidt Which goes even further to offer a tour of your kitchen in virtual reality thanks to the Oculus Quest headset, it must be recognized that for the kitchen itself, these innovations are still limited to storage, materials used, connected things and home automation is still a very limited place in the kitchen. However, there are several things that need to be put into place. Let’s review some of the capabilities of home automation equipment in the kitchen.
Kitchen: a room like any other
Although it specializes in cooking, this room remains like any other. So the home automation equipment in the kitchen is broadly identical to the other rooms:
- Lighting management: As in all other rooms, it is possible to set up automatic lighting management, which automatically turns the lights on or off. A small subtlety: the kitchen generally has main lighting and countertop lighting, and sometimes even some kitchen windows. So it is possible to create scenarios to create mood lighting that makes cooking more enjoyable.
- Heating management: Like all other rooms, the kitchen needs heating in winter. Since the room is not used throughout the day, heating can be started according to the family’s schedule, especially during meal times. Of course, the method of heating this room will also depend on the type of kitchen: if the room is autonomous, then we can switch the heating to the economy mode when it is not in use. If you have a kitchen that is open to the living room, then the heating in the kitchen is generally organized in the same way as the living room.
- Safety: If the kitchen has a window, it will have to be protected like others by using an open detector for example. The lighting will also be able to enter into programming simulations of existence, at times when we are used to being there, so that the simulations through the house are as safe as possible. Likewise, if the window is equipped with an electric shutter, then it will be integrated into the openings and automatic closing of the house.
- Energy Management: By installing an outlet capable of monitoring the energy consumption of the most demanding appliances (oven, refrigerator, stove, dishwasher), you will be able to monitor the electrical consumption of these devices. With a scenario in the home automation box it will be possible, for example, to define the different stages of operation of the dishwasher, and send an audible notification to the children telling them that it is time to empty it 😉
With these four areas, we already cover a large portion of kitchen uses. But there are also some equipment for this room.
Home automation equipment in the kitchen
The kitchen is a room in the house with some dangerous equipment: you can store dangerous products there, but there are also devices that can make a fire (stove), or water leakage (dishwasher, sink). So we can add some important sensors:
- Fire detector, to be immediately warned of the slightest danger
- A flood detector near the dishwasher and sink, to quickly alert you to the slightest leak
- An open detector on a cupboard or drawer door that contains dangerous products or devices. Some alarms allow certain sensors to be identified as being permanently active, whatever the alarm setting, in order to receive an alert instantly when, say, a certain cabinet door is opened. You can also do this very simply with the open sensor and home automation system.
Another device that’s very practical in the kitchen: a voice assistant, especially models with a screen, like Google’s Nest Hub or Amazon’s Echo Show. Thanks to this wizard, you will be able to do several things:
- Listen to your music / podcast, or watch your favorite series while cooking, then the screen works as a mini TV
- Order a recipe and follow all the steps one by one without having to touch the screen
- Instantly add ingredients to your shopping list when using the last item
- Send a message around the house to other assistants stating that it’s time to sit down
Feel free to choose the larger screen (with a minimum of 8, 10 ″ if possible), it is more comfortable to use in the kitchen!
Other objects connected to the kitchen
L ‘household appliance He tends more and more to contact. The most famous item today is undoubtedly a multifunctional robot, like the Thermomix or Moulinex ecompanion. Connected to WiFi, they can provide various recipes and guide you while preparing them, as well as adopt appropriate settings for cooking time, temperature, etc. If they still can’t cook on their own, they are still true helpers!
This kind of assistance can also be found in ovens, such as the models available from Whirlpool or Samsung for example.
In terms of cooking, Miele offers items that are able to communicate with each other, such as the hood that starts when certain cooking operations are carried out on the hob.
At Samsung, the refrigerator becomes a true ‘family center’, as it can display the family schedule, listen to music or watch videos, manage the home, list what’s in the fridge, etc.
Let’s not forget the connected coffee maker, which allows you to create profiles for the type of drink that one prefers, and which can be programmed so that your coffee is ready even before it reaches the kitchen!
Finally, for wine lovers, let’s not forget the connected wine cellar: linked with the mobile app, it is able to update your bottle stock and advise you on the best wine according to the recipe in progress!
In short, as we can see, there are many advantages to having a connected kitchen! Moreover, after thinking it is undoubtedly one of the pieces that offers the most applications possible. And you, how “control” is your kitchen? Feel free to share your thoughts and achievements in the comments!
