The perfect location for the cleverest of smart homes

Gorey has been a town on the rise for well over a decade. The population jumped by 44 per cent between 1996 and 2002, thanks largely to its connectivity to Dublin and greater eastern corridor.

With schools that regularly place well in the national ratings – including the highly-regarded Gorey Community School, with its strong sporting and academic record of success – and numerous amenities, Gorey is attractive to young families in particular.

A growing town needs homes and in Gorey the emphasis is on building modern, high-spec (and affordable) smart homes suited to the needs of a town that’s fast establishing itself as a technology and IT hub for the greater region.

Justin McInerney of smart home technology firm Smartzone has seen the town’s 21st-century ambitions grow from the ground up, working with local developers Redmond Construction on the flagship MillQuarter residential development just on the edge of Gorey town.

This major residential development, next to the M11 Business Campus and just a 45-minute drive from the M50 in Dublin, will have homes with an energy A-rating and equipped with the latest in Smart Technology.

Justin McInerney’s Cork-based company Smartzone is the Irish leader in connected smart security, heating controls and home automation.

“The houses in MillQuarter are going to be state of the art in terms of smart home technology and capability,” said McInerney.

“Our Smartzone home automation package will be included in the package the homeowners get.

“It’s a home-automation package, with features like a video doorbell. Once you have that fully capable starting set-up, there’s then an à la carte menu for the homeowner to choose from, to expand it as far as you want to go.

“They can upgrade the heating controls to make them smarter, put in CCT and enhanced security systems, smart lights, sockets, switches, immersion heaters, all controllable remotely, usually from your phone via the app.

“Really, what you are talking about is a system that can be expanded and enhanced, and will keep up with changing technology, new software and controls.

“We believe it’s a fantastic package to start off with. But the homeowners will be able to add and constantly update, integrate new systems such as solar panels, heat-pumps and what have you, to make their home completely monitorable and controllable via their phones.”

McInerney said that with the ever-faster pace of technological advance, real smart homes have to stay smart, allowing for constant upgrading and the latest plug-ins.

One of the more popular systems allows homeowners to see, via their phone-connected video doorbells, who is calling to their door and if they need to open (and close) it to allow delivery men to drop off packages, or let in kids should they arrive home from school earlier than usual.

Smartzone is the Irish and British partner for global cloud-based security company Alarm.com. When controlled with the Smartzone app, the system claims to make Irish homes more energy-efficient and cut energy bills by up to €300 per year.

A recent deal with insurance giant Aviva will see Smartzone roll out 10,000 Aviva smart home systems in year one.

Gorey’s MillQuarter development, almost 200 high-tech homes within walking distance of a thriving town centre and fully connected to both Dublin and the smartphones in the pockets of its residents, represents the future for Irish housing developments.

With a separate control for hot water that can be controlled through smartphones or tablets, the smart home tech also answers one of Ireland’s most vexed questions: “Oh God, did I leave the immersion on?”