Smart home technology originally focused on added security and energy savings. In time, the technology has expanded to multiple areas designed to improve overall quality of life. Building such technology features into new homes, once considered innovative, is now becoming the standard.

Tech features used to be features like video doorbells and programmable thermostats. Now the technology has expanded into air quality, window shades, appliances, lighting, smart electrical outlets and even outdoor irrigation systems. Nearly all these features can be controlled from your cellphone or iPad. Coldwell Banker has long been an expert in the space of technology’s intersection with home, as we developed the industry’s first formalized definition of a smart home in 2016, along with CNET.

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According to the National Association of Realtors’ 2021 Home Buyers and Sellers Survey, 20% of buyers purchased a new home instead of a previously owned home due to the green/energy efficiency and smart home technology features.

Realtor Ryan Skrzypkowski, with Coldwell Banker Realty’s Longboat Key office, has not one, but two luxury listings with numerous smart home technology features. “The whole house is basically controlled by cellphone,” Skrzypkowski said of his listing at 15 N. Polk Ave. in Sarasota. “It even has probes in the soil to optimize the level of water for each plant and the many different types of fruit trees on the property.”

And with three retention tanks to collect and help distribute the water to these areas, it’s not only smart, but green as well.

A study by The Hartford and the MIT AgeLab rated the top 10 smart technologies people are looking for in homes. It included smart smoke and carbon monoxide detectors; wireless doorbell camera; keyless entry; automatic lighting; smart water shutoff valves; smart home security systems; smart outlets/plugs; smart thermostats; water and/or mold monitoring sensors; and smart window blinds.

Technology usage in homes is continuing to grow and expand at a remarkable pace. Research is now showing these technologies can improve the quality of life for older adults as well as people with disabilities, allowing them to stay in their homes longer as they age. By 2030, every baby boomer will be over the age of 65. Florida is one of the highest states for senior households, with some estimates saying more than a third of all Florida households are 65 or older. Smart homes can make daily life easier and more convenient, especially with how these features are designed to be easy to use and many of these systems interact together.

A home is only required to have a few technology features to be considered a smart home. In 2021, more than a third of all homes met these requirements. Projections show, however, that nearly 55% of all homes will be smart homes by 2023. That just shows the growth and demand for these technology features.

As people spend more time at home than ever before in the 21st century, remote work is also influencing technology in the home space. According to the U.S. Census, the number of full-time home workers in 2017 was about 5.2% of the workforce. Just five years later, in the pandemic era, that number has skyrocketed. Designated home work spaces with additional outlets and better wiring for the latest technology are in demand more than ever before.

Smart home technology and work from home or aging in place now go hand-in-hand. Just as when vehicles developed better technology with things like power windows/locks and rear-view cameras that are now standard, so, too, will be the case with home technology and the convenience it offers homeowners.

Duff Rubin is president of Coldwell Banker Realty in Florida.  

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Smart homes, great for aging in place, quickly becoming standard