7 Things to Take Care of to Ensure Your Home is Future Ready

For most Indian families investing in a home is a lifelong dream. But when you buy or build a home, it is important to ensure that it is a future-proof home that can easily adapt to future technological changes and your own family’s changing needs.

Future-proofing is the process of anticipating the future and developing methods of minimizing the effects of shocks and stresses of future events or ground breaking innovations that change the way we live.

From ensuring a fully enabled Wi-Fi enabled home to leaving provision to tap solar energy the author offers 7 tips for building a future-proof home (Photos for representational purpose only)

Here are the top 7 items to take care of to ensure your home is future ready:

1. Wi-Fi Coverage

With internet and Wi-Fi becoming an integral and unavoidable part of our daily lives, make sure that your home is Internet of Things (IoT) ready.

Comparing the current situation to how it was a few years ago would easily make one realize how exponential the growth is in terms of the scope of IoT.

The smart home trend has caught on, and since WiFi enabled devices (starting from a robot vacuum/mop to CCTVs) would most probably be spread across the home, it is important to ensure that Wi-Fi also reaches to every nook and corner of your home.

Finding an ideal space for the router right at the planning stage, deciding on the coverage area and network bandwidth would help you to make sure that every part of your house is connected well. Investing in a Wi-Fi booster would also be a good option for homes with larger areas or without a uniform design.

2. EV Charging Points

Electric vehicles have already taken and established their space in the current vehicle market. People are generally more concerned about the environment recently, and rightfully so.

To ensure that you are planning a future proof home, a charging unit for electric vehicles has become an unavoidable accessory. There are a few points one should consider while choosing an electric charging unit as well.

It is important to plan for the power requirement that would arise and incorporate a power unit that could bear the load easily. It is also important to choose a durable product that would be of high quality and require less maintenance. The charging unit has to be located at a suitable and convenient place for daily use.

Providing provision for a Smart Home Controller will make it easier to add a new appliance or a device into the smart ecosystem in the future

3. Smart Home Controller

Owing to the security, ease of life and comfort that it provides, smart homes have been highly preferred by homeowners recently. They are so inclusive that they have USPs for every age group.

While the curiosity factor plays well for the youngsters, the comfort and ease to use becomes the USP for middle aged crowd. The security and assistance it provides to the elderly makes it favoured by them.

Thus, while taking the necessary steps to ensure that you have a future proof home, installing a smart home controller and smart hub is absolutely important. The smart home controller will make it super easy to introduce a new appliance or device into the smart ecosystem anytime in the future.

4. Spaces & Sockets

Increased standard of life and growth in the quality of life has been on a record high in the last few years. While most people are able to afford the latest home appliances, the challenge comes while looking for a suitable location to keep them.

It is so common that even after you buy an appliance, you are not able to find a suitable position to accommodate it, or the position doesn’t have the power socket required for it to function effortlessly. This can be avoided by planning every space in your house along with a list of appliances and furniture that needs to be accommodated.

It would be a wise option to leave spaces earmarked for specific appliances. For instance, robot vacuum has been gaining a lot of popularity among the public. It would be ideal to provide storage and docking station for it on the floor. Similar is the situation for dishwashers as well.

Allocating space while designing, and providing electrical and plumbing points for these options would be the ideal way forward. Providing a few extra sockets in every room, near counters, floor and at least one near ceiling, is recommended.

Work From Home  spaces for family members can be considered

5. Work-From-Home Corner

The pandemic that took away almost two years of our lives taught us enough to plan for a secure future, and gave us the god sent option of being able to work from home. Companies that caught on the trend, seeing the increased productivity, are now giving options to work permanently from home.

Even for students classes are being conducted online and students have the flexibility to learn from their rooms. Looking at the trend, it seems here to stay and thus becomes an important aspect to be considered while making your home future proof.

6. Baby Proofing

It is a normal trend for families to expand after building the home and then struggling to find space for a nursery for example. Baby proofing the homes is always important. Implementing current practices like edge and corner covers, and concealed power sockets in the areas which can be easily accessed by kids can be of great help.

It would be best if you could ensure the materials that you choose for your home are not toxic for the kids or that don’t break easily.

It is always a herculean task to keep children out of the cupboards. Along with the added risk of locking themselves in, it also could contain cleaning supplies and other items that could potentially be a risk. Introducing magnetic locks for cupboards and wardrobes is a good idea. But it is also important to provide separate storage spaces for cleaning supplies and other toxic elements.

Baby proofing the house is recommended for children's safety

7. Green Energy

Using solar energy to power your house is not a new idea, but more and more people are opting for it in recent times. Therefore, when building your home, even if you don’t plan to install solar panels immediately, find suitable positions and make necessary provisions so that you can go for the installation it in the future.

With the energy demand going up, energy prices are also on the upward trend. Using solar power to meet a substantial portion of your energy consumption is going to go a long way towards sustainability and cost efficiency. Besides, most places already have the option of solar power generated in excess to be supplied back to the grid.

Remember, the future is always changing and adapting, and it is important to ensure that your home is dynamic and change ready. - ©TWL

The author Gopikrishnan V, Founder & CEO, BuildNext