Internet speed and smart homes
Access to smart home technologies has rapidly increased over the past decade, with a growing number of appliances able to connect to WiFi. From televisions and smartphones to fridges, doorbells and even coffee machines, the possibilities are seemingly endless.
ONS data from 2020 showed that the average UK home has no fewer than 10 internet-enabled devices. Now, in 2023, that figure can only have increased. But if you’re going to go all-out with smart devices or whole-home automation, the key thing to consider is internet speed.
What is a good internet speed for a smart home?
It’s easy to get carried away with planning a smart home, mentally adding all the gadgets your heart desires. But without the necessary bandwidth, things will run frustratingly slowly. With that in mind, you’ll need to work out the optimal internet speed for your home.
As a rule of thumb, you’ll need to allow 10 Mbps for every broadband user in your home. That means if you have a family of four, the minimum requirement will be 30-40 Mbps. If you have gamers in your home, or you want to stream 4K content, the allowance will need to double to 20 Mbps per gamer or person streaming 4K – resulting in a total of up to 80 Mbps for a four-person family.
So is 100 Mbps enough for a smart home?
The short answer is it depends. If you’re automating a two-bedroom apartment and live alone, then 100 Mbps may be plenty. But if you’re living in a multi-bedroom house with your family, with grounds that require lighting, a pool that needs to be heated, and multiple smart devices, you will need to turn to smart home specialists for help.
A smart home specialist can assess your requirements and calculate the optimal internet speed for your needs. They will take into account not only your immediate demands but also any future requirements you may have, giving you a solution that will enable you to scale up your system.
The biggest users of bandwidth are technologies with cameras, so if you want a video doorbell and a comprehensive CCTV system, for example, you’ll need to allocate a certain amount of bandwidth for that. Then you’ll need enough to cover everything else you plan to automate, be it lighting and shading, heating and ventilation, media, or outdoor sprinklers.
Smart home installers in Kent
If you’re living in Kent, London, Surrey, Sussex or Essex, the experts at New Wave AV can help you to determine how fast your internet speed needs to be to support your smart home. With over 17 years’ experience creating smart homes, and as a Control4 Diamond dealer, we can understand your requirements and help you to create the perfect solution based on a suitable network connection.
Get in touch with us today to book a demonstration at our state-of-the-art showroom in Tonbridge, or to discuss your needs.
