Nigerians who are desirous of a system that enables them to intelligently and functionally control every electrical and electronic device in their homes using intuitive programmable panels, mobile app or universal remote control as well as integration of all their technology services to make them prepared for trending smart city projects like the one being planned in Lagos now have MBX Smart Homes providing these services at the same price with what obtains overseas.
The company distributes end-to-end smart home solutions that include the design of the system, supply of the equipment, installations, commissioning, pre and post-sales support and also train smart home installers. These services allow customers to automatically preset their home, cars and other space to their preferred condition, and even allows them to continue listening to multiroom Audio with seamless mobility.
According to the mBx chief executive, Mr Chidi Okpanku, “Assuming you are approaching your house from the airport and there is nobody at home and you don’t want to be welcomed by a dark and lonely house, you can actually send SMS or open a mobile app to turn on your home and you are welcomed into a home that is already working. The AC is good, the lights are on, the music is playing, in fact, the home becomes set for you even before your arrival. Visiting the web address www.smarthomesbus.com.ng & www.mbx.com.ng will give you a clearer picture.”
He also highlighted how the smart house conserves public energy thus: “Aside from the luxury end which gives you the comfort and flexibility to control from the palm of your hands, you can actually enjoy a lot of energy savings. We have a smart sensor that can be installed in places like the ATM gallery. If you go to all the ATM galleries in Abuja now that is daytime, all their lights are on. If you also go to the ATM gallery, the ACs are on in the night but they don’t need it because the temperature is probably 18 degrees the same temperature you can achieve with the AC.
“So what if you have a sensor that monitors the atmospheric temperature, monitors the number of people at the gallery, monitors to know if it is day or night and presets the ATM space as required. So if it’s dark, it turns on the light if its day it turns off the light; if it’s hot it turns on the AC, if it’s cold it turns off the AC. These would save a lot of energy so calculate all the ATM galleries in Abuja, calculate all the security lights that would be left on for up to two hours in the morning when it’s already daylight, calculate all the toilet lights that are left on during the day.
“Imagine major cities like Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt having a huge number of lights on when they are supposed to be off, air conditions on when they are supposed to be off. Imagine if you block all these wastages and channel the energy conserved to those that need it we can actually have more sustainable cities.”
Okpanku, while disclosing that his company is currently open to training those interested in sales, design, installation, programming of the smart home system, stated that the smart home business is a $20 billion projection business for 2017, and is speculated to get to $50billion by 2025. He stated that prerequisite for the training is just knowledge of computers, and how to use a screwdriver, adding that after two days of intensive training, trainees become dealers equipped to be able to install and maintain a system and get huge discounts and bonuses that enable them to sell smart home systems in Nigeria for the same price it is sold in US, Australia, Canada, China, Dubai. He added that the system is so simple that one can set up a home in a few hours; and that a 5-bedroom duplex can be fully installed in a day.
The training centre which would be held at Suite 303, Capital Hub Mall, Plot 272 Ahmadu Bello Way, Jahi-Abuja will also expose trainees to complete end-to-end solution for hotels, through which guests can be made to control their lights, create mood lighting, order for services, preset the temperature of the room to suit them with all these tied up to the entertainment system. They will also be trained on how to set up smart hospitals, “which comes with devices worn like wristwatches by nurses so that if there is an emergency all a patient needs to do is touch a button and an attendant comes calling. It comes with pressure sensors installed in the bed so that an alert can be sent to caregivers when a patient is in crisis”.
While disclosing that the world is transiting from analogue to smart building which would evolve to the futuristic internet of things where every device will be connected to the internet, the MBX boss said, “Smart home is the precursor to the thing that is going to happen so we need to make our spaces, homes or buildings smart. From there we can then move to smart streets, smart communities and smart cities. That is the future.
“You must have heard about the Dubai Smart City as well as the Lagos Smart City that is coming up. So the smart city starts from smart buildings. The government should make it mandatory that every modern buildings built in the city must be smart. This enables full monitoring of the building as well as energy consumption of the house, thereby saving energy. So legislations should be put in place to ensure that every new building being erected should be made smart. In that way also, it also helps in wealth redistribution and provides a lot of job opportunities”.
Speaking on the affordability of setting up a smart home, he stated that one can actually start with a little as N100,000; starting with the basic lighting and keep improving from room to room, space to space, service to service until the entire building is covered. He was categorical that whoever can build a house, can own a smart home, adding that making a building smart increases its value by 300 per cent.
The expert also clarified that smart home system are manufactured to be long-lasting and are acclimatized to Nigeria’s weather, adding that “because the smart home is basically a contactless system since you can actually use remote or mobile append soft-touch systems to control; it reduces the wear and tear caused by mechanical failure. Beyond this, our products come with twelve months warranty and we give extended warranty to those we install their systems”.
In addition to home automation, mBx also design and install private cinemas using award winning JBL Synthesis speakers.
