The 2024 Guide to Smart Home Technology for Apartments

Picture coming home to an apartment that recognizes you: the door unlocks automatically, lights brighten your path, and the temperature adjusts to your perfect setting-all without you lifting a finger. This isn't a futuristic fantasy but the present-day reality of smart apartments. As smart home technology rapidly becomes the norm in rental properties, understanding these innovations is essential for both renters and property managers.

Smart apartments use devices connected to the internet to make life more comfortable, easy and efficient. Examples of smart apartment technology include thermostats that learn your preferences, doors you can unlock with your phone and lights that save energy. These smart features aren't just in your apartment - they're all over the building. Smart apartment building technologies like WiFi that covers the whole community and better security systems make everything work together smoothly.

In this guide, we'll explore:

Popular smart apartment technologies

Multifamily communities can use smart technology for security, irrigation, maintenance, package management, parking, maintenance operations and more. Here are some of the most widely adopted smart home technologies for apartment buildings:

1. Smart access control and smart locks

Keys are becoming obsolete as multifamily property owners embrace smart security solutions, particularly smart access control and locks. Smart access control automates access into a community and common areas. It allows residents to use a mobile device, PIN, card, or fob credentials to open gates, doors and elevators. Property management teams can monitor and control community access remotely in real time through a centralized platform. They can easily provide access codes when new residents move in and revoke access when residents move out. It's also simple to provide guest access for deliveries and self-guided tours.

Smart locks provide keyless access to apartments, package lockers and other spaces. As with access control, residents can use a mobile device, PIN, card, or fob credentials to lock or unlock smart locks. Residents can create guest codes for people who need to access their apartments. According to the 2024 NMHC & Grace Hill Renter Preferences Survey, 67% of renters are interested in keyless smart locks.

2. Smart thermostats and climate control

Most programmable thermostats allow you to automate temperature settings. But smart thermostats take automation a step further. They can learn your schedule and detect if you're home at unusual times to adjust settings without your intervention. You can also use your mobile device to adjust temperature settings from afar. In addition, smart thermostat apps provide detailed power usage reports and tips for improving energy efficiency. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of renters are interested in smart thermostats, according to the NMHC & Grace Hill survey.

3. Smart sensors (appliances & leak detection)

Apartment building smart home technology helps prevent issues before they happen. Some smart sensors alert residents and site teams about potential maintenance issues. For example, leak sensors detect water issues and automatically create maintenance work orders. According to the NMHC & Grace Hill survey, more than two-thirds (69%) of renters are interested in smart leak-detection sensors.

Motion-control smart sensors improve safety and energy efficiency. These sensors can detect unexpected movement in a vacant apartment or let residents know if a door or window opens. Residents can also connect window motion-control sensors to a smart thermostat so the heat turns off when a window opens. Parking sensors allow site teams to track the availability of parking spaces.

4. Community WiFi

A fast, secure WiFi connection makes smart apartments possible. It's the foundation of smart technology and one of the most desired amenities. In a 2023 SmartRent and Parks Associates survey, 79% of apartment residents said they wanted seamless connectivity, and 48% said they'd pay $79.99 monthly for 1 gigabit WiFi service.

Increasingly, communities are turning to community WiFi to ensure uninterrupted connectivity. Community WiFi is a managed WiFi solution. A community owner manages and strategically places WiFi access points throughout a community to provide excellent coverage and connectivity. Residents can access the network using a unique name and password and roam around the community with a seamless connection.

With community WiFi, site teams can monitor and manage the network remotely. They can also easily set up internet service when someone moves into a community and revoke access for move-outs. Owners finance and manage community WiFi solutions, which means they can generate revenue from them.

5. Work management software

While often invisible to residents, work management software improves residents' daily lives by ensuring prompt maintenance responses. This technology provides one unified platform to help manage tasks, track assets, and communicate with residents and team members. It automates work orders for faster maintenance response times and provides data to help property managers make better decisions.

Streamlined and efficient maintenance is important for renter retention. More than half (52%) of renters in the NMHC & Grace Hill survey say maintenance-free living is the top benefit of renting. That percentage is significantly higher than the 31% of renters who say lifestyle and amenities.

The majority (82%) of renters want at least one smart device, and for good reason. Here are a few ways smart technology improves residents' daily lives.

Luxury

Smart devices offer unparalleled comfort and convenience. Residents can remotely control devices via a user-friendly app. That means they can turn off lights or thermostats while at work or on vacation. Moreover, they can program smart devices to act autonomously and in tandem with each other. For example, a smart motion detector can send data to a light to turn off when everyone leaves a room. Community-wide technology solutions like community WiFi and access control offer even more luxury. They mean residents no longer need to worry about spotty internet or lost keys.

Security

Smart access control, doorbells, locks, and motion control sensors protect residents and property and offer peace of mind. These systems alert residents or site teams about unusual activity and provide a log of which doors are accessed by whom in case of a security breach. For optimal security, look for smart apartment technology companies with strong password policies and data encryption to prevent hacking.

Cost savings

Smart thermostats with the Energy Star rating can save residents approximately 8% on heating and cooling bills. Energy-efficient smart lights, plugs, blinds, and appliances can save even more. At the same time, smart leak detectors help prevent expensive water damage to personal items.

Community

When a community employs smart access control to secure common areas, residents may feel safer convening and getting to know their neighbors. Plus, some multifamily communities use a smart-home resident app, which can help connect residents. This technology makes it easy for multifamily owners and property managers to send out community-wide broadcasts. Residents can also use it to communicate, share information with each other, and organize events.

The main benefits of smart technology for apartment owners

Multifamily owners are embracing smart technology because it offers many benefits. Smart technology not only enhances the living experience for residents but also streamlines operations. It can help optimize:

Retention

Smart home technology boosts the resident experience by improving communications, ensuring quicker responses to maintenance requests, reducing repair wait times, simplifying lease renewal and rent payment, and enriching residents' day-to-day living experience.

In the NMHC and Grace Hill survey, 20% of renters who plan to move say they want better home features or property amenities. With the latest smart-home technology, residents may be more likely to stay where they are. Reducing resident turnover can save multifamily owners thousands of dollars per home.

Operational efficiency

Smart-home technology allows for remote monitoring of various systems. It can reduce the need for on-site visits and streamline maintenance management. It also automates rote tasks, freeing site team members to work on other revenue-generating tasks.

Cost savings

According to one national water damage company, restoring water damage in a single home costs an average of $3,300 and can run up to $13,000 in some situations. An affordable leak detection smart sensor can entirely prevent this costly maintenance issue.

With smart thermostats, site teams can adjust the temperature in vacant homes to reduce costs. At the same time, thermostat sensors monitor apartments for extreme heat or cold and automatically create maintenance work orders if needed. Smart access control and locks prevent theft, vandalism, and other property damage. All of these savings add up to significantly help multifamily owners reduce costs.

Conclusion

The global smart home market is growing rapidly. Analysts expect it to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 22.9% per year, from 121.59 billion in 2024 to 633.20 billion by 2032. By embracing smart apartments, residents gain comfort, convenience, security, and cost savings. Property owners improve retention, increase energy efficiency, and boost operational efficiency. With all these benefits, smart apartments are setting a new standard for modern multifamily living.

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