The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) has made consumers’ lives more convenient both inside and outside of their homes. As smartphones become more interconnected and cities themselves become smarter, the technology continues to gain immense popularity amongst large corporations and startups. In fact, Business Insider projected there will be more than 41 billion IoT devices by 2027.

“We understood that everyone was talking about smart homes and smart services and that all companies were going to start offering these as a value-added product”, explains WeHaus CEO and founder, Gaston Farias Bouvier. For this very reason, the young entrepreneur established WeHaus, an Argentina-based telecommunications company that focuses on engineering solutions for a smarter living and work environment. This project also gives consumers the added benefit of more autonomy over their energy consumption, further promoting the transition to a more sustainable lifestyle.

"Connectivity will be defined as a basic service, like electricity, gas and water"

Gaston Farias, founder of WeHaus

The path to interconnectivity

Founded in 2011, WeHaus derives from Farias Bouvier’s father’s company, DGT Electrónica. DGT was a pioneering telecommunication PABX solutions company in Latin America, which operated from the 1970s to the early 1990s. “Ever since I was a child, I was exposed to the telecommunications industry”, mentions Farias Bouvier. After a request from his father to develop an electronic product capable of the simple task of turning lights on and off via a phone call, “I discovered that something that seemed so complex could be done” and WeHaus was born.

WeHaus provides companies with a complete IoT service that enables them to differentiate themselves from the competition. Their technology not only supports interconnected devices in the home, but also promotes sustainable living for consumers. In the energy sector, for example, customers can use this IoT technology to optimise their energy consumption via a software platform and thus create a positive impact for the world.

The portfolio of services offered by WeHaus focuses on three pillars: Smart Home, Smart Building and IoT Lab.

As the name implies, their Smart Home service offers a central Wi-Fi hub that integrates with standardised connectivity protocols. It helps control different aspects in the home such as lighting, temperature, surveillance cameras and overall consumption, facilitating the transition to more sustainable habits.

The Smart Building service targets real estate and construction companies that aim to offer increased value through IoT. Through this business pillar, WeHaus helps these companies with the complex logistical planning of circuits and signals throughout buildings. Smart buildings can then offer services such as managing the intake of visitors, facial recognition, camera monitoring and sensing any alarms or fires that may occur.

Finally, WeHaus’s IoT Lab offers consulting services for the development of unique solutions that companies can offer their customers. Farias Bouvier expresses that “today connectivity is almost like a basic service, and what we try to do is understand not only a company’s needs, but also what value proposition they might offer their users through IoT”.

"IoT technology is now evolving and becoming an agent of change that will help us in the transition towards a more digitalised world"

Gaston Farias, founder of WeHaus

A connected future with Enel

We met WeHaus when it was a startup, about three years ago, through a project to develop a smart home as a value-added service. Together with Enel X, WeHaus delivered an end-to-end home automation solution that combined hardware and software in lieu of using open standards, allowing telecommunication companies, internet service providers, utilities and retailers to launch a new concept of smart homes, bringing value to their services.

In addition to this project, we joined forces during the Covid-19 pandemic to create smart building terminals with facial recognition devices in order to measure individuals’ body temperature. We have also co-developed a self-diagnostic app, which allows users entering a building to make a self-declaration that they have not been exposed to the virus, thus ensuring the safety of the people inside. “I believe that people are what make the difference in a company and having an open conversation with Enel managers is what allowed us to trust this co-creation process”, affirms Farias Bouvier.

To continue the fight against the coronavirus, WeHaus partnered with seven startups to design, produce and distribute face protection masks for public healthcare centres – reaching a total of 34.000 masks donated to date.

The CEO of WeHaus recently joined Manager of Enel Innovation Hub Chile Hernán Acuña and Head of Enel Innovation Hubs Fabio Tentori in the “Road to Innovation” webinar, hosted by EIH Chile; he detailed the impact his company’s technology has had in Latin America and how they are continuously pushing forward post-crisis.

Although times may have changed and certain milestones may have shifted for many companies around the world, WeHaus continues to grow and innovate its products to become more relevant and be an agent of positive change in a wide variety of fields.