Upgrading to smart hardware should be a simple process. Giovanni Laporta, inventor and innovator of Smart Ready, explains why it’s the hardware, not the lock, that makes the transition so much easier.

When Smart Ready was conceived, it was to facilitate the transition from passive doors and windows to smart, as easily and cost effectively as possible for hardware manufacturers, fabricators, installers and ultimately, for consumers to engage with and use.

The Smart Ready ‘Everything’ brand proposition encompasses this approach, which significantly, is applicable to new windows and doors as well as those that are already in a home. In other words, we can help installers unlock the huge potential of the retrofit aftermarket.

Futureproof

There are basically two options for upgrading / retrofitting passive windows and doors to smart windows and doors. The first option involves changing a critical window and door component, the lock – often not something that people want to do, especially when it comes to door locks.

Why? Our research shows a huge brand loyalty to locks. There’s also the hassle and cost of having to retest if you swap to a different lock manufacturer. But if your current lock provider hasn’t got smart built in, there isn’t another option. You need to look for an alternative lock which has smart capability built in to help you keep up with moving markets.

Simply active

Alternatively, there is a much more attractive solution: work with partners who can offer smart without the need for lock changing. Search out those who have a solution built into their hardware which means upgrading to smart is as simple as replacing a window or door handle. A perfect ‘lock free’ solution. This means that installers can come back at any time after the installation and upgrade the passive windows and doors they’ve already installed and make them smart in a matter of seconds, by simply removing two screws.

Imagine that – an entire house made smart in under 60 minutes. The perceived (and very real) value to the homeowner is huge. They are able to make their whole house smart with minimal effort. It’s mind blowing when you think of the volume of windows and doors already in place that can be upgraded so easily in less than an hour. Of course, this also gives homeowners the option to upgrade their windows and doors to smart as and when they want.

Beautifully stripped back

It’s sounds simple right? And sure, the end result for the installer is simple. But behind this ‘simple’, are layers of complex design processes and days of innovation and expertise. I first said it about four years ago when we started working on Smart Ready and I am not afraid to say it again: people always underestimate how difficult it is to get from complex to simple.

Whilst it’s flattering to see others adopt this rhetoric for their own product design messaging, it’s also dangerous. It confuses the market and essentially elevates solutions to heights where reality does not match the fiction. You need to show bravery to let go of complex and I genuinely have not seen this bravery anywhere else when it comes to smart windows and doors.

We started with a genuinely clear understanding of what the whole supply chain needs to make their life simple, and in turn to make smart attractive and accessible. One of the most important links in this chain is the installer. They are at the forefront of our industry and it’s our job as suppliers to give them added value smart solutions to sell that consumers want and need, whether it’s new windows and doors or the upgrades in the retrofit aftermarket.

Installers are the ones who know what the consumers want and they are the ones we, the rest of the industry, should be listening to.

This puts them in a powerful position. Smart Ready and certified hardware and tech partners Sac and Hug, have taken considerable steps to ensure that installers are provided with solutions that will meet not just their customers’ needs, but also their own by being super simple to fit at a time when the windows and doors are installed, and for years afterwards.

Remember – passive to smart by removing just two screws. When it comes to bringing smart technologies into the window and door industry, making it simple to understand and fit is the way we will collectively find success.