Since 2015, Debon Lysight and his family have been among the pioneers of incorporating smart technology into households in Jamaica. Smart Home Solutions has made it possible to control all electronic devices within the house over an internet connection with voice recognition or remotely from a smartphone.

The company, which started as Debon’s brainchild, is focused on making the living experience at home as convenient as possible, keeping things simple, smart and secure and now provides their technology across the region.

“Picture the feeling of safety you get from being able to turn on the lights in the yard remotely and monitor for shadows before you even reach your gate, or never wondering where you left the remote for the gate because it’s now an app on your phone,” said secretary Karen Lysight, who is also Debon’s mother, when describing the comfort Smart Home Solutions provides.

“It varies, depending on the customer, some people ask for voice recognition, like maybe elderly people, but some homeowners, especially AirBnBs, tend to shy away from that,” said Debon.

The Lysight family, speaking with Our Today, shared Debon’s life story and some of their experiences.

“As a child, I wouldn’t say he misbehaved a lot, he just always had an inquisitive mind and was always pulling things apart,” said Karen.

“I remember how he used to come around his grandmother as a boy from around age 10 and help her sell things at her store, so it wasn’t really surprising seeing him in business.”

Debon, born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, attended Calabar High School before completing his degree in BSC Electrical and Computer Engineering with a double major in Power & Controls at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine in Trinidad.

The 29-year-old credits a lot of his character and work ethic to lessons he’s received from his parents.

Debon’s father, Major Anthony Lysight, said he passed on his beliefs in discipline, high standards, etiquette and values and he is proud that Debon over the years was able to apply them to his life and become his own person.

His journey is not without its own personal challenges. While still in his first year in 2013, Debon was badly injured in a car accident, caused by a collision with a reckless driver, that affected him for the remainder of his time at The UWI.

“All I can remember was thinking [about] the sacrifices my family made, and all the things I still wanted to do.”

Debon broke all his ribs on his left side, his collar bone, and punctured his lung.

“I just thank God that he made it out of that alive,” said his mother while recalling the event.

“When you know your calling, you tend to find a way to achieve it. For me – engineering was what I was always going to do,” said Debon when speaking about his recovery period.

He eventually completed his studies at The UWI and moved on to study Engineering Management, Cyber Security & Electrical and Computer Engineering at Florida International University, before spending a few years working with the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd as the planning engineer for the smart grid project until early 2019.

“I’ve gotten a lot of support from the people around me, people like Richard Walker, and people from outside the engineering space.”

Debon is a big believer in family and supporting the next generation. His younger sister, Shaneil Lysight, began interning with him this past summer.

“He’s taught me a lot, he’s taught me how to think more about solutions, how to pay attention to things and I apply that to my life,” said the 19-year-old when asked about what she’s learned from her brother.

In 2021, after being sought out by HEART/NSTA Trust, he led a team to design the syllabus for smart security.

“To any young person, man or woman, interested in getting into the engineering field, don’t be afraid. Remember you are just as capable of being creative and innovative as anyone else. The main things you’d need are a certain mindset – you can’t be willing to give up, Google is your best friend, research – try to find out who the experts are and reach out to them. It’s also important to remember that you should live your life while you can.”

The Lysights predict that 70 per cent of Jamaican homeowners will be using smart home technology within the next 10 years.

You can contact Smart Home Solutions at:

IG: SmartHomeSolutionsJa

Twitter: SHSolutionsJa

Facebook: SmartHomeSolutionsJa

Website: www.IntelHomeSolutions.com

Contact: JM 1-(876)-384-4859 US 1-(786)-872-2001