What is a Home Automation system?
Home Automation, often referred to as “Smart Home Technology”, is the use of technology to automate your home. Home automation allows you to control almost every aspect of your home through a click.
A smart home is a residence that uses internet-connected devices to enable the remote monitoring and management of appliances and systems, such as lighting and heating.
Home Automation started with the invention of the Thermostat and has developed into one of the biggest and fastest growing markets in technology. Home Automation’s potential continues to grow. Smart home technology provides homeowners security, comfort, convenience and energy efficiency by allowing them to control smart devices, often by a smart home app on their smartphone or other networked device. A part of the internet of things (IoT), smart home systems and devices often operate together, sharing consumer usage data among themselves and automating actions based on the homeowners' preferences.
How Does Home Automation Work?
It is hard to explain how Home-Automation works because there are many universally accepted protocols. The technology varies from country, company, and type of automation. Often, because the Home-Automation market is so lucrative and fast-paced, companies will withhold new developments.
There are many different home automation protocols that are divided into two types according to two aspects; its availability and its connection type.
The first type is divided for two types according to availability: open and close standard protocol.
Open standards are publicly available specifications for achieving a specific task. By allowing anyone to use the standard, they increase compatibility between various hardware and software components, since anyone with the technical know-how and the necessary equipment to implement solutions can build something that works together with those of other vendors.
Open standard advantages are:
1. Can be used by anyone
Open protocols are rather universal - they can be used by anyone rather than one entity or company. An open protocol is the one that the manufacturer publishes this information for anyone to see and use. You can use this information freely without being charged and without any conditions.
2. You'll avoid vendor lock-in
Remote monitoring systems that use open protocols allow for the network manager to choose between a wider selection of manufacturers who supply devices that talk the same language to communicate with each other. Open protocol systems can be maintained by companies other than the system provider.
3. Higher flexibility
Since a very large number of different devices support open standard protocols, it's easier to make them work together.
Open protocol systems offer a higher degree of networking flexibility, with more integration options between existing and new gear. This means that you can add new devices (independent of vendor) into your existing network.
You can choose between a variety of different vendors for the monitoring solution that best fits your needs - in terms of technical requirements and budget as well.
Closed standards are normally devices can communicate with one another without a problem when they are from the same single manufacturer because they'll probably support the same proprietary network. This means that proprietary protocols are owned and protected by a determined company, and devices supporting this protocol can only communicate with other equipment supporting the same protocol.

Close standard advantages:
1. Typically has specific features and capabilities
Proprietary protocols typically offer some specific features and capabilities. In order to compete with open protocols, they aim to appeal to people that need some level of personalization.
These protocols can include custom upgrades, functionalities, and tools.
2. All the elements of their devices are perfectly compatible with each other
