Wolfgang Kirsch is CEO of Shelly Group - a company delivering innovation through designing, producing and distributing high quality IoT products, driven by the inspiration of the end consumer's dream to live calmly and happily. He will be participating on a panel at the IFA Sustainability Village on the 1st of September in Berlin. We spoke with him about how smart devices can benefit living spaces right now, the challenges surrounding their adoption and what we can expect for the future.

Smart devices: part of the future

Kirsch explains that there are many benefits to smart devices and connectivity and it’s likely that some all-new buildings will be equipped with smart solutions that make life easier, cheaper and help to reduce energy consumption significantly. 

He notes that “there will be no such thing as a new building without smart and sustainable technology.”

To make this happen, the technology must become cheaper and easier to use than it is today. However, we are on the right track, Kirsch insists, because the cost of smart technology is falling, and it is becoming easier to install and use.

But, back to those benefits of smart home devices, which to Kirsch, are clear.

They save you money, help the environment, and improve your well-being. By having your home under control, you can reduce your energy consumption and save money on bills. You can also help the environment by reducing your carbon footprint. And, by automating your home, you can free up your time and enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle.

“Shelly products are a great example of smart home devices that offer all these benefits,” he says. “They are reliable, affordable, and easy to use.”

Smart = sustainable

In terms of how smart devices and connectivity can contribute to creating more sustainable and convenient living spaces, they can take over mundane elements of our daily routines and perform them more efficiently. 

For example, they can turn on and off lights when needed, or start the garden irrigation system according to the weather forecast. 

“This can save us time and hassle, and it can also help us to save energy,” he says. “Additionally, smart devices can monitor our energy consumption and help us to reduce our energy bills. This can have both personal and environmental benefits. On the personal level, it can save us money. On the environmental level, it can help to reduce our carbon footprint.”

On a positive note, energy monitoring is a growing trend in both private households and public and corporate buildings. It is the first step to energy savings, according to Kirsch, as it allows users to track their energy consumption and identify areas where they can reduce their usage. 

“Once energy monitoring is in place,” he adds, “intelligent automation solutions can be used to further reduce energy consumption, for example, to charge electric vehicles at times when electricity is cheapest, to run laundry machines and other appliances during off-peak hours and/ or automatically switch off solar panels when there is too much energy on the grid.”

Looking ahead, the future of sustainable smart home technology is pretty exciting, but there are also challenges that have to be overcome.

What’s the holdup?

As far as challenges go, we asked about implementing sustainable tech in existing homes, and the issue with this is that installation can be invasive, and therefore daunting. It’s not easy to retrofit all of these products and might be off-putting to those not really keen and 100% committed. 

That said, the technology behind smart home devices is now good enough that anyone can use them, even if they are not very tech-savvy, and with technology always developing, smart home systems are becoming more user-friendly, with self-explanatory instructions and AI-powered setup wizards. 

Additionally, more and more smart home devices are compatible with popular platforms like Alexa, Google Assistant, and SmartThings. “This means that you can use a single app to control all your smart home devices, regardless of the brand. For example, Shelly devices work with over 100 different platforms. This makes it easy to set up and use Shelly devices, even if you are not very tech-savvy.”

If you’d like to learn more, Wolfgang Kirsch will be participating in the sustainability panel “Integrating sustainable technology into future homes” at IFA Berlin 2023 on 1st September from 5:35 p.m. to 4:05 p.m. in Hall 2.2.

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