[Music]
[Applause]
have you heard of the smart-home
supposedly the smart-home is part of
this Jetsons like future a future where
yes there are flying cars and robot
assistants and this sort of hyper
intelligent smart home
that’s self-aware a smart home that can
anticipate your every need before you
can think to yourself
I’d like some toast the smart home is on
the job just a warning though in this
future unfortunately you will have to
butter the toast yourself
I apologize that the technology can only
get so good so while this sounds like
some far-off future right some vision
some imaginary dream well actually no
it’s actually here today according to
parks associates research over 26% of us
today have at least one smart home
device in our homes it’s true smart
speakers like the Amazon echo are all
the rage nowadays the smart thermostat
is the number one adopted smart home
device there are smart door locks smart
garage door openers smart appliances
smart cameras there are smart
dishwashers there are smart vacuum
cleaners for your cats to write on in
your YouTube videos all these smart
devices are here today consumers are
using them to positively impact their
lives while home owners are at least but
what about home renters what about the
smart home for renters what about smart
apartments after all 37% of us today
rent our homes and that’s a trend that’s
only projected to increase it’s a both a
global and a u.s. trend so that brings
me back to what about the smart
apartment is that a thing
I think an issue we’ve had is that
multifamily the rental market has been
traditionally slow to adopt technology
unfortunately and a good example would
be this the the metal key think about it
if you went to a hotel today and you
went and you got a room and they handed
you this you probably pause for a second
you’d think wow did I time-travel am i
back in the 1950s and you’d probably
call up your local Marriott to see if
they had a room that’s because we’ve
come to expect a keycard that works with
an electronic smart lock in the hotel
industry
contrast that with multifamily if you
rent your home more likely on that
you’ll probably have this in your in
your pocket so what are some of those
barriers to the smart apartment and by
the way what even is a smart apartment
what would that look like those are some
of the questions that I’ve been thinking
about over the years I actually come
from a smart home background I’ve worked
on smart door locks in the past I’ve
worked for several years in the
multifamily space as well and I can tell
you from experience that trying to put
these two spaces together it’s
frustrating it’s complex it’s difficult
however recently I think technology is
matured to the point that I feel
comfortable that we can we can solve
this problem and that actually brings me
to my project the project I’d like to
tell you that about today is a project
to develop a living learning laboratory
if you will a place where we can test
out the smart apartment where we can
test learn iterate that project that
laboratory if you will it will take the
form of a multi-family mixed-use a very
modern development here in downtown
Evansville
Indiana which is a typical Midwestern
city it’s a great place to test out
something like that our goal is to work
with the residents and there will be
residents living there to work with them
to learn what what makes a smart
apartment what approaches resonate with
the residents they will be guinea pigs
and they’ll know that we’ll be upfront
about that and our end goal is really to
create a recipe a model if you will of
the smart apartment that we can
replicate around the country so so how
do you do that what’s what’s a good
first step well for us it’s to look at
all the stakeholders involved and the
number one stakeholder that we need to
keep in mind actually the gatekeeper to
the multifamily to the rental space it’s
the building owner think about it if you
rent today you know that you don’t own
your appliances you don’t own that
thermostat on your wall you don’t own
your door lock on your door you can’t
simply rip the thermostat off the wall
you can’t simply take that door lock off
the door and put on a smart door lock at
least you shouldn’t although some some
have tried to get around their building
owner but that’s not our approach our
approach is to work with the building
owner to meet the building owners needs
to design something that meets their
needs so how do you do that the question
might be what what are the building
owners needs well the building owners
right is running a business so that’s
first and foremost and they care about
the security and safety of the residents
so our approach is going to be to
increase their bottom line to make it
very attractive for them and also to
provide an environment that’s a little
less risky a little more secure a great
use case for us is the vacant apartment
what if when someone moves out and the
building owner in his or her system
codes that apartment as unoccupied what
if it also kind of put the vacant
apartment in a sort of vacant mode if
you will a mode where the smart
thermostat went get turned down a few
degrees a mode where let’s say the smart
blinds shut a mode where the the smart
lights turned off if they were on the
smart water heater could get turned off
and even the door lock the smart door
lock on the door could automatically
riki itself everything that I just
mentioned represents tangible energy
savings for the building owner
represents productivity for the building
owner a maintenance person does not have
to go physically to the apartment and
make those changes a maintance owner
does not have to pull the door lock off
the door and rekey it everything I
mentioned also represents increased
security for the building think about it
if you have a smart apartment and it’s
in a vacant mode if any of those devices
get used if the anybody opens the door
well that smart apartment can alert the
building owner to unauthorized access so
you got you start to get a sense of our
approach here trying to make the smart
apartment work for all stakeholders we
also don’t want to forget the key
stakeholder in all this the end user the
resident we want to work to empower the
resident we know from smart home
research that consumers value in the
smart home convenience security comfort
control energy savings and we want to
try to deliver on that promise within
the smart apartment an interesting use
case for us within the smart apartment
for residents is how do we balance
energy reduction in the apartment with
comfort
many of you may not be aware of this but
many utilities out there today will
partner with customers in the hottest
summer months when there’s a lot of
energy load to actually set back the
thermostat a little bit that approach is
called demand response and it’s very
valuable for utilities but it actually
sacrifices the comfort of the customer a
little bit what if with a smart
apartment you could you could deliver on
that demand response you could set the
thermostat back a little bit but at the
same time what if you shut the smart
blinds to block the heat of the Sun and
what if you could turn on the smart
ceiling fan and thereby kind of maintain
the overall comfort of the resident and
what if what if the thermostat or the
HVAC system didn’t have to deliver all
of the needed reduction in demand what
if the smart water heater the smart
refrigerator also could contribute a
little to the energy savings again you
see by thinking about outcomes and
taking in mind keeping in mind the smart
apartment as a system how powerful can
be finally we want to keep in mind
sustainability within the smart
apartment we have an opportunity to
build in from the ground floor
sustainable energy solutions how my
rooftop solar that into a smart
apartment ecosystem what about energy
storage
like the tesla powerwall what about
electric vehicle charging how can these
emerging energy technologies play with
the smart apartment that’s something we
want to find out in an interesting
interesting use case for us around
sustainability is how can we impact
lasting energy usage behavior change
what if for example you live in a
building with a smart apartment and
you’ve got rooftop solar what if we
allow you to see the energy that’s being
generated
from the Sun it shows up in your app and
you can you can see that would you feel
a greater sense of pride as a resident
of that building would you feel a
greater sense of responsibility to the
environment could could that alone
impact a little bit of your energy
footprint can we take it a step further
could we give you awareness and insight
into the energy footprint of your
apartment itself and show you over time
how much energy you’re using what if we
also showed you your neighbors and the
building and their energy footprint or
take it a step further what about the
whole building and what if you could
take that whole building and see its
energy footprint compared to other
buildings around the city we’re hoping
that some combination of these actions
could result in a nudge if you will a
nudge towards a sustained behavioral
change a change that represents less
energy usage we could also choose to
take us one step further and gamify the
system could we we actually offer a
reward to a resident to all the
residents they could be challenged to
whoever’s the best energy saver of the
month they get a free pizza for example
we really believe that sustainable
energy solutions can this should be a
part of the smart apartment so you can
see that we need to take into account
all the stakeholders that are part of
the smart apartment ecosystem certainly
the resident the building owner is key
I’ve mentioned the utility as a key
component I haven’t mentioned the city
but the local government is important as
well as a smart apartment should be a
part of a broader smart city’s strategy
okay so that’s a big audacious goal how
do you accomplish that where do you
start well for me I think of it like a
journey it will be a journey and on any
journey you just have to have the will
to take the first step and that’s what
we’re trying to do here is just take
that first step
nobody’s saying it will be easy and
nobody’s saying we’ll get it right on
the first try we won’t and then that’s
that’s okay
but I firmly believe that smart
apartments are a big part of our future
and that’s a future that will happen
sooner or later but I’m thrilled
actually to maybe be a part of making it
happen sooner thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
have you heard of the smart-home
supposedly the smart-home is part of
this Jetsons like future a future where
yes there are flying cars and robot
assistants and this sort of hyper
intelligent smart home
that’s self-aware a smart home that can
anticipate your every need before you
can think to yourself
I’d like some toast the smart home is on
the job just a warning though in this
future unfortunately you will have to
butter the toast yourself
I apologize that the technology can only
get so good so while this sounds like
some far-off future right some vision
some imaginary dream well actually no
it’s actually here today according to
parks associates research over 26% of us
today have at least one smart home
device in our homes it’s true smart
speakers like the Amazon echo are all
the rage nowadays the smart thermostat
is the number one adopted smart home
device there are smart door locks smart
garage door openers smart appliances
smart cameras there are smart
dishwashers there are smart vacuum
cleaners for your cats to write on in
your YouTube videos all these smart
devices are here today consumers are
using them to positively impact their
lives while home owners are at least but
what about home renters what about the
smart home for renters what about smart
apartments after all 37% of us today
rent our homes and that’s a trend that’s
only projected to increase it’s a both a
global and a u.s. trend so that brings
me back to what about the smart
apartment is that a thing
I think an issue we’ve had is that
multifamily the rental market has been
traditionally slow to adopt technology
unfortunately and a good example would
be this the the metal key think about it
if you went to a hotel today and you
went and you got a room and they handed
you this you probably pause for a second
you’d think wow did I time-travel am i
back in the 1950s and you’d probably
call up your local Marriott to see if
they had a room that’s because we’ve
come to expect a keycard that works with
an electronic smart lock in the hotel
industry
contrast that with multifamily if you
rent your home more likely on that
you’ll probably have this in your in
your pocket so what are some of those
barriers to the smart apartment and by
the way what even is a smart apartment
what would that look like those are some
of the questions that I’ve been thinking
about over the years I actually come
from a smart home background I’ve worked
on smart door locks in the past I’ve
worked for several years in the
multifamily space as well and I can tell
you from experience that trying to put
these two spaces together it’s
frustrating it’s complex it’s difficult
however recently I think technology is
matured to the point that I feel
comfortable that we can we can solve
this problem and that actually brings me
to my project the project I’d like to
tell you that about today is a project
to develop a living learning laboratory
if you will a place where we can test
out the smart apartment where we can
test learn iterate that project that
laboratory if you will it will take the
form of a multi-family mixed-use a very
modern development here in downtown
Evansville
Indiana which is a typical Midwestern
city it’s a great place to test out
something like that our goal is to work
with the residents and there will be
residents living there to work with them
to learn what what makes a smart
apartment what approaches resonate with
the residents they will be guinea pigs
and they’ll know that we’ll be upfront
about that and our end goal is really to
create a recipe a model if you will of
the smart apartment that we can
replicate around the country so so how
do you do that what’s what’s a good
first step well for us it’s to look at
all the stakeholders involved and the
number one stakeholder that we need to
keep in mind actually the gatekeeper to
the multifamily to the rental space it’s
the building owner think about it if you
rent today you know that you don’t own
your appliances you don’t own that
thermostat on your wall you don’t own
your door lock on your door you can’t
simply rip the thermostat off the wall
you can’t simply take that door lock off
the door and put on a smart door lock at
least you shouldn’t although some some
have tried to get around their building
owner but that’s not our approach our
approach is to work with the building
owner to meet the building owners needs
to design something that meets their
needs so how do you do that the question
might be what what are the building
owners needs well the building owners
right is running a business so that’s
first and foremost and they care about
the security and safety of the residents
so our approach is going to be to
increase their bottom line to make it
very attractive for them and also to
provide an environment that’s a little
less risky a little more secure a great
use case for us is the vacant apartment
what if when someone moves out and the
building owner in his or her system
codes that apartment as unoccupied what
if it also kind of put the vacant
apartment in a sort of vacant mode if
you will a mode where the smart
thermostat went get turned down a few
degrees a mode where let’s say the smart
blinds shut a mode where the the smart
lights turned off if they were on the
smart water heater could get turned off
and even the door lock the smart door
lock on the door could automatically
riki itself everything that I just
mentioned represents tangible energy
savings for the building owner
represents productivity for the building
owner a maintenance person does not have
to go physically to the apartment and
make those changes a maintance owner
does not have to pull the door lock off
the door and rekey it everything I
mentioned also represents increased
security for the building think about it
if you have a smart apartment and it’s
in a vacant mode if any of those devices
get used if the anybody opens the door
well that smart apartment can alert the
building owner to unauthorized access so
you got you start to get a sense of our
approach here trying to make the smart
apartment work for all stakeholders we
also don’t want to forget the key
stakeholder in all this the end user the
resident we want to work to empower the
resident we know from smart home
research that consumers value in the
smart home convenience security comfort
control energy savings and we want to
try to deliver on that promise within
the smart apartment an interesting use
case for us within the smart apartment
for residents is how do we balance
energy reduction in the apartment with
comfort
many of you may not be aware of this but
many utilities out there today will
partner with customers in the hottest
summer months when there’s a lot of
energy load to actually set back the
thermostat a little bit that approach is
called demand response and it’s very
valuable for utilities but it actually
sacrifices the comfort of the customer a
little bit what if with a smart
apartment you could you could deliver on
that demand response you could set the
thermostat back a little bit but at the
same time what if you shut the smart
blinds to block the heat of the Sun and
what if you could turn on the smart
ceiling fan and thereby kind of maintain
the overall comfort of the resident and
what if what if the thermostat or the
HVAC system didn’t have to deliver all
of the needed reduction in demand what
if the smart water heater the smart
refrigerator also could contribute a
little to the energy savings again you
see by thinking about outcomes and
taking in mind keeping in mind the smart
apartment as a system how powerful can
be finally we want to keep in mind
sustainability within the smart
apartment we have an opportunity to
build in from the ground floor
sustainable energy solutions how my
rooftop solar that into a smart
apartment ecosystem what about energy
storage
like the tesla powerwall what about
electric vehicle charging how can these
emerging energy technologies play with
the smart apartment that’s something we
want to find out in an interesting
interesting use case for us around
sustainability is how can we impact
lasting energy usage behavior change
what if for example you live in a
building with a smart apartment and
you’ve got rooftop solar what if we
allow you to see the energy that’s being
generated
from the Sun it shows up in your app and
you can you can see that would you feel
a greater sense of pride as a resident
of that building would you feel a
greater sense of responsibility to the
environment could could that alone
impact a little bit of your energy
footprint can we take it a step further
could we give you awareness and insight
into the energy footprint of your
apartment itself and show you over time
how much energy you’re using what if we
also showed you your neighbors and the
building and their energy footprint or
take it a step further what about the
whole building and what if you could
take that whole building and see its
energy footprint compared to other
buildings around the city we’re hoping
that some combination of these actions
could result in a nudge if you will a
nudge towards a sustained behavioral
change a change that represents less
energy usage we could also choose to
take us one step further and gamify the
system could we we actually offer a
reward to a resident to all the
residents they could be challenged to
whoever’s the best energy saver of the
month they get a free pizza for example
we really believe that sustainable
energy solutions can this should be a
part of the smart apartment so you can
see that we need to take into account
all the stakeholders that are part of
the smart apartment ecosystem certainly
the resident the building owner is key
I’ve mentioned the utility as a key
component I haven’t mentioned the city
but the local government is important as
well as a smart apartment should be a
part of a broader smart city’s strategy
okay so that’s a big audacious goal how
do you accomplish that where do you
start well for me I think of it like a
journey it will be a journey and on any
journey you just have to have the will
to take the first step and that’s what
we’re trying to do here is just take
that first step
nobody’s saying it will be easy and
nobody’s saying we’ll get it right on
the first try we won’t and then that’s
that’s okay
but I firmly believe that smart
apartments are a big part of our future
and that’s a future that will happen
sooner or later but I’m thrilled
actually to maybe be a part of making it
happen sooner thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
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