Five from Finland
Smart home solutions
Home is where the heart is – and Finnish innovation as well, of course.
Julia HelminenYour home is your castle, and it can be smarter, safer and more comfortable thanks to these practical Finnish innovations.
In the era of modern technology, everything in your home can be done in a smart way – from ensuring kitchen safety to optimising energy efficiency.
These five Finnish companies aim to improve people’s quality of life with their innovative home solutions.
SAFE COOKING: SAFERA
The kitchen is the heart of the home, and Safera has made it its mission to turn kitchens into spaces where technology takes care of everyday comfort and safety.
SaferaWhat began as a product design company in 2006 has now grown into a leader in kitchen fire prevention. Headquartered in Espoo, Safera offers smart devices that can be effortlessly installed in any kitchen to ensure a safe and enjoyable cooking process.
Built using proprietary sensor technology and data analytics, Safera stove guards are the perfect example of state-of-the-art smart home technology that is super practical and easy to use. They assist in cooking, monitor air quality and prevent home fires. In other words, they do everything that modern (and often distracted) home cooks need.
“There is no other product like this,” declared CEO Mikko Reinikainen. “It combines a stove guard, an air quality meter and a cooking application.”
ENERGY EFFICIENCY: OPTIWATTI
OptiWatti provides homeowners with a big number of benefits, including energy efficiency, comfort, room-level temperature control and remote access.
OptiWattiCan there be anything more annoying for homeowners than enormous electricity bills? OptiWatti, a smart system that offers an easy way to adjust temperatures separately for each room, can save you up to 40 per cent on heating and cooling costs without compromises on comfort.
Used through a single interface, OptiWatti monitors room temperature around the clock and adjusts it for different times of the day based on the user’s preferences. Moreover, the system learns how each individual room reacts to temperature changes and takes into account the outside temperature, weather forecast and even electricity price fluctuations.
As a great bonus, installing this award-winning solution doesn’t require any major renovation work. OptiWatti promises to pay itself back in two to three years on average.
“Typically our customers are astounded when they realise how much you can save,” said co-founder and CTO Juha Marjeta.
INDOOR GARDENING: PLANTUI
By developing innovative indoor gardens, Plantui responds to such global megatrends as self-sufficiency, hyper-local growing and sustainability.
PlantuiIf growing your own greens at home sounds like a smart idea, then growing them with the help of Plantui’s smart gardens is a double win. With no gardening skills needed, this unique all-in-one indoor garden device helps you to grow more than 50 different kitchen herbs, salads and trendy microgreens year round.
Plantui’s innovative technology and stylish design, which have sparked interest and received accolades globally, ensure ease of use, optimised growth conditions and lights, and low energy consumption. Moreover, thanks to the modular design, the product life cycle is naturally long, and all parts are fully recyclable. Plantui also reminds that growing your own food can bring both environmental and personal benefits and help to decrease your individual carbon footprint.
“All in all, indoor hydroponic gardens are beautiful, entertaining and healthy. A must to try for a conscious urban citizen,” the Plantui team enthuses.
SMART LIGHTING AND SECURITY SOLUTIONS: AIRAM
Headquartered in Kerava, Airam makes people’s lives more comfortable with its smart lighting and security solutions.
AiramThis family-run business that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021 has come a long way from its humble origins as a light bulb repair service. Today, Airam is a household name in Finland and one of the leading lighting companies in the Nordic countries, offering a wide range of lamps, luminaires and smart lighting solutions for both consumers and electrical professionals.
To make people’s everyday life easier and smoother, the company has also developed Airam SmartHome, a comprehensive line for the home which includes both lighting and security smart products. All of them – from lights and power sockets to doorbells and security cameras – can be easily managed from a smartphone, further adding to the convenience of users.
“The world does not adapt to us, but we have to adapt to what the customers expect from us,” highlighted CEO Jorma Koskiola.
SMART SENSOR SOLUTIONS: RUUVI INNOVATIONS
To guarantee top quality, all Ruuvi products are designed and assembled in Finland.
Ruuvi InnovationsEstablished in 2016, Ruuvi Innovations has set itself a goal to become one of the leading open-source hardware influencers in the Internet of Things (IoT) market. Its first product, RuuviTag, was successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter the same year.
Today, both private and business customers in over 100 countries rely on Ruuvi sensors to measure temperature, air humidity, air pressure and motion in homes and other living and working environments. The data can be easily accessed with a mobile device using a branded application within the Bluetooth range. Making it possible to monitor the data from further away, the startup has also introduced Ruuvi Gateway, a router that transfers the data to the cloud.
“Ruuvi's products are designed to serve both private and business customers,” explained CTO Henri Hakunti. “Basically, the devices are made so easy that any consumer can use them without technical knowhow. For many people, Ruuvi sensors may be their first smart home technical devices.”