How much internet speed does your smart home need UK

Smart Homes help make our lives easier in many ways. But with technology advancing at such a fast rate, does it mean internet speeds are getting left behind?

Today, many Smart Homes in the UK boast as many as twenty-five internet-connected devices and the number could be growing. It’s all thanks to the new technologies that are now available.

Enjoyment, Convenience and Security

There’s no doubt that smart home devices make life more comfortable and secure. So, when you’re adding new ones to your smart home you should check how much bandwidth each one uses. Otherwise, you could find that your existing setup won’t provide enough bandwidth to handle everything.

The good news is that most smart devices won’t use much bandwidth and we’ve listed which of the devices would use the most in our post!

The different smart home devices

You can add certain smart home devices to your home without worrying about bandwidth. This includes things like light bulbs and smart speakers.

Other popular devices include things like:

• Door locksCameras
• Video doorbells
• Thermostats
• Thermostats
• Digital assistants
• Intelligent lighting
• Smoke alarms 

The problem could start when you introduce smart home devices that require fast internet speeds. It’s always a good idea to seek advice from experts when you’re looking to add smart home devices. It means you’ll achieve the perfect smarthome bandwidth to suit your needs.

Smart devices that need faster internet speeds

Some smart devices need more in the way of bandwidth and a high-speed internet connection to work as well as they are designed to. This includes any smart home devices with cameras. This includes devices like:

• Video doorbells
• WiFi cameras

As an example, if your home network’s speed is higher than 4 Mbps, chances are devices with cameras will work as they should. But if you have a slow broadband speed, a smart device with a camera could use up most of the bandwidth causing other devices to suffer. In short, they won’t work as they should.

The good news is that WiFi cameras and other smart devices with cameras can record at a slower speed. The downside is that image quality tends to be poor in quality.

So, how much internet speed does your smart home need?

It’s a commonly asked question that many people ask. In truth, the answer is that adding smart devices to a network should not be a problem. Most devices will work if your smart home has an average internet speed as they won’t need a very fast connection.

But as mentioned, if you have a few smart devices with cameras in your home, you may need to review your setup.

Also, if you have several devices working at the same time, which includes smartphones and computers, it could affect how other smart devices in your home actually work.

In short, you may find that too many devices working at the same time will slow other devices down, including a smart TV.

If there are six people in your home or 10 devices all working at the same time, 100Mbps should be enough. However, if you notice that some devices don’t work as they should, you may have to review your plan!

As a general rule, you should count 10Mbps for every broadband user in your home. But if for gaming or streaming 4K content, you’d need to double this to 20Mbps.

Your broadband speed is measured in megabits. If you have a higher speed, it allows you to download files that much faster. Plus, the quality of your streaming is higher.

For all your smart home devices to work properly, you need to find the right broadband deal to suit your requirements. If the speed isn’t fast enough, connection issues and frustrating delays become a real concern. Plus, it only gets worse when several people in the home want to get online all at the same time.

What about households with 1 – 2 people?

The recommended speed for households with 1 to 2 people who go online to shop and browse, is 10Mbps. Chances are ADSL/standard broadband would be enough to suit their needs.

That said, with the introduction of fibre broadband, ASDL is generally only provided to people where no fibre connection is available. Although slower and somewhat less reliable thanks to the fact pre-existing BT phone lines send and receive data, it’s an option that delivers.

What about households with 3-4 people?

The recommended speed for households with 3 to 4 people is 30-60Mbps. Larger households that enjoy streaming movies and where several devices work at the same time need a faster speed.

A broadband deal that offers a speed of between 30-60 Mbps is typically adequate. It’s also an option if anyone in the household works from home.

What about households with 5+ people and gamers?

You’ll need a speed of anything from 60-1000Mbps if anyone in the family likes gaming and where there are five plus people in the household.

The speed allows you to stream content via a smart TV. A reliable connection that provides adequate speed will ensure there’s no buffering or slower downloading which is irritating.

Would 200Mbps let you run several devices at the same time?

If your download speed is 200Mbps, you should be okay and multiple devices should work as they are designed to. Even when they are working at the same time and used by multiple users!

How many devices can 500Mbps support?

If you have a download speed of 500 Mbps, you should be able to stream ultra-HD video on as many as 20 devices at the same time. Moreover, you should be able to download an HD movie in one minute!

Need help with a smart home upgrade? Home Automation London is here to provide essential advice on the sort of broadband speed you’ll need to run all your devices correctly.

One of our home automation specialists can explain how IoT Smart home security can make your home safer if you’re looking to upgrade your home security. Are you thinking about installing a home entertainment space? If so, get in touch today and find out how we can help!