How to create a smart kitchen?
Posted on 3rd December 2020 at 17:34
We are all aware that technology has become integrated into the easiest of tasks. I am of the age when I remember only three channels on the television and the introduction of the video cassette. Its maybe not so noticeable how well we rely on it until its taken away, living rurally with overhead cables we can receive the odd black out and my daughter still questions why the WiFi is not working as that does not need power…does it Dad!.
Go back ten years ago and writing a piece on Smart Kitchens may be about what we guess the future would hold, but today technology can play a big part in making your kitchen work to your advantage. I don’t want to delve deep in to what a techno wizz may be looking for but instead what I see as standard practice, almost what we are generally fitting or the next step to making those every day tasks easier.
Voice control
At home I now heavily rely on voice commands to our “Alexa” from playing music to switching on lights. I bought one because I saw a client setting reminders, alarms and looking up recipes. How brilliant I thought and from this I forget that the lights are on before I get home because technology is looking after me. Take this one stage further your whole kitchens illumination can be controlled as you walk in the door or on a timer for when you're not there. One less switch, one less action.
Phone Control
We all have an array of phone Apps and as we replace house thermostats they are probably replaced with a WiFi version. This means on that cold day when you are at work you can turn up the heating in advance of getting home, boost the hot water and even look at what it's costing. Added to this is a product we fit often, an under tile heating element that keeps your feet warm and for quite some time this too can be controlled off your phone….warm feet at breakfast even when its not quite time for the heating to be on.
Ovens with integrated technology
Neff do a wide range of products now with what they class as "Home Connect” this allows you to control the appliance off your phone. To some this will seem a little odd but consider the occasion when you pick up a take away, are running late or just want to get the kids dinner on quickly. I think we may not opt for this if its was a lot more on an appliance but if it was a free addition to your appliance I think we would all use it………we have all left the house and wondered if we have left the oven on! Add to the this now the options of combination ovens which can cook in three ways (Microwave to cook from the inside, oven heat from the outside, grill to crisp) at once and roast potatoes can be baked in 25 minutes.
Hobs and Extractors
I recently had to supply an AEG hob and extractor and realised they have a solution for something we all need….a hob which speaks to the extractor, as the hob is turned up the extractor responds and extracts at a higher rate….one less button to push.
Hot Taps
Until you have experienced a good hot tap hold your comment, I have so many clients who said they would not be interested but once installed its them who come back to tell me what a great bit of kit it is and all the other things you can do apart from speeding up the time to make a cup of tea!
Smart Storage
Like how technology has changed how we heat and light our homes, I don’t want to overlook what everyone can have. If you plan a kitchen today we would be advising about bringing stored items to you, not you climbing into the back of cupboards. Manufacturers like “Ewe" & “Intuo" from Austria have invested millions in creating factories to deliver the very best in cabinetry and with these storage systems now we can stack, store, access in a smarter way.. The cabinet dimensions giving you almost 20% more volume means smarter storage makes you work better in your kitchen and is probably more influential in working smart.
To create a smart kitchen you need to make sure you enter a proper design process with a designer who listens & understands your needs as well as whats available to fill the gap, its not all about buying the most expensive as technology is in reach of most mid range kitchens.
If you need help planning your smart kitchen, we would love to hear from you.
Tagged as: Kitchen Designers
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