Smart Homes: Energy Efficiency and Safety Issues

This article comprehensively examines energy efficiency and security issues in today's rapidly evolving smart home technologies. As a result of the adoption of new technologies such as digitization, automation, and the Internet of Things (IoT), significant achievements have been made toward optimizing energy use, enhancing security, and managing resources in residential buildings. Smart home systems not only provide home comfort but also prevent energy waste, reduce environmental load, and serve sustainable development goals. The article extensively analyzes the structural principles of smart home technologies, energy management mechanisms, the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technologies, as well as information security and cybersecurity issues. In the global experience, the application of smart home systems in the USA, Japan, Germany, and Scandinavian countries has resulted in 15-30% savings in energy consumption. In addition, the article examines the ways of localization of these experiences for Azerbaijan, state programs, and development directions of the normative-legal framework. The study shows that widespread adoption of smart home systems contributes to both energy independence and environmental sustainability. However, increasing network connections, the proliferation of IoT devices, and cloud-based data processing processes are creating new cybersecurity risks. For this reason, the article emphasizes the importance of implementing information security standards (ISO/IEC 27001, GDPR, etc.) in addition to ensuring technological efficiency. In general, the research aims to determine the scientific, technological, and social aspects of smart home models that increase energy saving, security level, and user wellbeing, as well as to evaluate the development prospects of this field in the conditions of Azerbaijan.