Alliance Residential Company, one of the largest multifamily developers and managers in the U.S., is rolling out a new initiative to outfit 25,000 luxury apartments across the country with smart-home technology through partnerships with Google, Nest, and Dwelo, among others. “We wanted to ensure that from the moment our residents move in, they are able to control multiple aspects of their home—access, climate, and lighting—from a single, simple interface: the Alliance SmartHome app powered by Dwelo,” explains Taylor Wiederkehr, the project’s architect and the leader of technological innovation at Alliance.
New tenants will receive an email welcoming them to their new smart apartment, and they’ll be able to pair devices and take control of appliances and systems via their smartphone.
The system also offers privacy controls, which Wiederkehr acknowledges is important to note. “Our solution has built-in rules and permissions that ensure managers don’t have remote access or visibility to an occupied unit,” Wiederkehr says. “Only the resident can control and see the status of their devices when they are living in their new home. We have learned to be patient, adaptable, and open-minded as we dive deeper into this newly emerging technology, as IoT in multifamily still exists in a legal gray area that is becoming more clearly defined every single day.”
Landlords may still have a long way to go before they’re able to outfit the nation’s apartment stock with smart-home tech. “Once renters demand their dwellings come equipped with connected devices, landlords will have no choice but to invest in the technologies or see their applications drop and vacancies rise,” writes Franco Faraudo for Propmodo.
Source:
“Largest Ever Smart Apartment Project Focuses on Ease of Use,” Propmodo.com (Aug. 17, 2018)
