As you may have noticed from my previous post on micro-apartments, I find them to be very interesting. I am particularly intrigued by how clever high-tech automation features and sheer creativity can make small homes comfortable and efficient. In this post, I wanted to share with you some of the more interesting small home ideas that include cutting edge automation technologies.
One of the projects that captured my attention is Kasita. Jeff Wilson, Kasita’s founder, has come to be known as Professor Dumpster after he spent one year living in… well, you guessed it, a dumpster. Jeff managed to turn a 33 square foot trash container into a livable space equipped with a small AC, weather station, under the floor storage space, and solar panels. While living in a trash container is too extreme for most small home enthusiasts, Jeff used his experience to design a comfortable and tech savvy mobile micro apartments, known as Kasita units.
Kasita units come pre-configured with a set of smart technologies such as a smart thermostat and a voice command device. But, my favorite is a View Dynamic Glass that can adjust to the movement of the sun or on command from of your mobile device. View Dynamic Glass enables you to do is to basically control the tint level of the windows throughout the day depending on your preferences. The technology behind this glass is quite fascinating. The coating of the glass consists of multiple layers of ceramic material and when low voltage electricity is applied to the coating, the window darkens. Large windows are integral to small home designs as they help small spaces feel lighter and loftier. View Dynamic Glass provides full control of the light and heat coming through a window without losing the view.
Another interesting feature of Kasita units is that they easily fit inside specially designed docking stations. The purpose of this is to make these micro apartments interchangeable and transportable. So next time you want to move, you tap a button on your app and a big rig comes to pick up your house, and your house moves with you!
Another amazing idea of a smart small home is currently being developed by Intel. Intel imagines a world where homes are part of the intelligent and integrated city network. Intel’s tiny home idea incorporates an integrated system of smart home technologies that can be controlled through a single Intel tablet application. So imagine that you are hard at work at your office when a sensor goes off at your home indicating a possible water leak. The app will alert you to the leak as well as provide you with the options to call appropriate service. Through the app, you can remotely control almost everything in your house; you can use the app to lock the doors, turn off lights, adjust the thermostat, and even turn on the oven.
Both of these projects are still in their development phases. I am definitely intrigued to see how well they do once they show up on the market.