Doorbell

Doorbell Future

At its simplest level, the doorbell is used to advise the homeowner that a guest is at the door. The doorbell buzzer has been serving this purpose since the beginning of the 20^th Century. However, in modern times, the doorbell has taken on additional forms and feature. Now, you can choose from any audio you like for your buzzer sound as it can be a chime, a bell, music, a recording, or any other sound. In addition, doorbells have expanded beyond sound. Video intercoms allow for visual cues as to who is at the door and different doorbell buttons can have different sounds letting you know which door the guest is at. Plus, doorbells can now be attached to mailboxes to alert you when the mail is here or even to let you know when the dog wants to go outside. In the ever changing world of home improvement, the doorbell has not been left behind.

Future Advances in Doorbells

Looking forward, there are a number of anticipated advances in the industry.  Naturally, one would expect to see further improvements in audio quality, signal strength, and video quality, especially in wireless doorbells and wireless intercoms.

However, we will also see home security capabilities take on larger proportions.  It is expected that you will be able to see who is at your door from a remote location whether over your PDA, smartphone or over the Internet.  This remote viewing would allow you to talk directly to the visitor in such a way that they would believe you are home or provide them with pre-programmed instructions.  In addition, there could be a button that you can push to open the door for the repairman or guest to allow them entry into your home.  This dual functioning of convenience and safety will become increasingly important as the baby boomer generation ages and home safety becomes a more pressing issue.  

Another convenience feature will likely be the doorbell tied into other electric appliances of your home.  This way you will get a message on your computer or television screen when a visitor has arrived whether you are in the home or away at work.  The video camera will allow the visitor to record a message which you can review at your convenience much like an answering machine records missed calls.

In addition, safety and convenience could get a boost by allowing you to know who is at the door by having a different doorbell chime for everyone.  The doorbell would read their fingerprint letting you know who was at the door.  For those who it did not recognize, it could ring a specific chime.  In this way, it would work like a cell phone where you know when a friend is calling as their name lights up on your phone or it will say unknown if the phone does not recognize the number. 

Design of the systems will also not be left untouched.  You will likely see continued development of high end models that add to the home decor and sometimes even improve it. 

With so many possibilities in the near future, it will be interesting to see how the doorbell industry evolves in the next 20 years.

*To find out about a great modern design doorbell product, check out Jacob Jensen Doorbell.