Our vocabulary is changing rapidly in these days of coronavirus. Suddenly, the words on everyone’s lips are shelter-in-place, hunkering-down, social distancing and hand sanitizer. It’s a new world out there, and we don’t have any choice but to cope.
While people handle this pressure differently, everyone is trying to avoid transmission of the virus by avoiding person-to-person contact. Smart home technology wasn’t developed to fight coronavirus transmission, and yet it can be an important ally in keeping you and your family healthy.
Social Distancing and Keeping Healthy
The novel coronavirus has been declared a pandemic and everyone is thinking about it. While its “novel” status means there are more questions than answers about the virus transmission, one thing is clear: it spreads primarily through person-to-person contact.
That’s why authorities in countries around the globe are encouraging or mandating social distancing, generally described as maintaining a distance of 6 feet between you and others. That’s because a sneeze, a cough or even touching something an infected person has touched can transmit the virus.
Hands-Off Smart Technology
Smart home technology can help you stay healthy. The smart home market includes devices that have digital connectivity, like Alarm.com’s WiFi Doorbell Camera, Smart Thermostat and smart locks powered by PointCentral. These devices can generally be switched on and off via app on your personal smart device or by voice control without actually touching anything.
Whether you are “addressing” Alexa or another digital assistant, you can just speak a command to activate or deactivate something. That can make an enormous difference when trying to prevent infection within a household.
Almost anything with an on-and-off switch can be converted to remote control with smart technology. You can turn on the coffee, dim the lights or crank up the music without leaving a fingerprint—or a germ. You can get an automatic soap dispenser for your home so your family can wash their hands without fear of transferring germs or viruses to the pump.
Using this type of technology can significantly reduce the possibility of spreading any contact diseases, from a regular cold to the coronavirus. No more filthy television remotes or light switch plates where germs or viruses can be transferred from one person’s fingers to another’s. It doesn’t require a germaphobe to appreciate the value in avoiding items that others have touched, especially now.
Smart Home Technology Facilitates Deliveries
Most people are avoiding crowded stores and restaurants right now, assuming restaurants are even open. Many people are ordering out meals, groceries or other necessities in order to comply with the “hunker down” directives.
But accepting deliveries usually involves interacting with a person. If you are sick, you might transfer the virus to the delivery person and vice versa. While you could have the food or package left outside the door, there is some risk in that approach, too, given that packages can be stolen or ruined by rain.
Smart home technology gives you the chance to accept deliveries in a different way. With exterior cameras and/or video doorbells that allow you to watch your front door and/or driveway, you can keep your eye out for the delivery person on your computer or smartphone. As she approaches, you can use the doorbell speaker to request that she place the package inside the door when you unlock it. Once it’s inside and the delivery person is gone, you use your app to lock the door again. That means that both you and the delivery person have a lower risk of spreading any potential virus or illness between you. Don
Smart Home Tech Is Part of the Solution
Given how much the world has yet to learn about this pandemic, smart home technology cannot claim to be the solution to the problem. But without a doubt, it is part of the solution.
Our governments and scientific communities are working to find vaccines and cures for this virus, but in the meanwhile, they propose social distancing and attention to hygiene as the working plan to get us through. By reducing the need to regularly touch appliances in our homes, smart technology makes everyone safer. You still want to continue washing your hands, keeping your hands away from your face and avoiding crowds. But with a PointCentral’s smart property automation you’ll be a step ahead.
