Quick and Simple Ways to Make Your Home Smarter
Home automation or ‘smart home’ makes almost everything in your house easy to access either via handheld remote or through a smartphone app. From controlling the thermostat to opening and closing your garage doors to heightened home security, home automation makes it simple and effortless. Basically, it makes minuscule tasks automated taking off the stress of your shoulders trying to remember if you have closed your doors or not as you lay in bed.
Since it’s becoming a trend, home automation is not as expensive as most of us think. Smart home gadgets and upgrades are becoming more accessible for the average homeowner. If you have a good Wi-Fi and a smartphone, you’re good to go.
Benefits of Home Automation
Home automation has one simple goal: make our lives easier. It’s all about convenience. Smart homes help homeowners make mundane or repetitive tasks a breeze to execute like setting the thermostat, securing your doors are locked, or monitoring activity in your home.
Many recent automation features can be accessed through an app. If you’re a bit old school, or in case your battery died, these gadgets come with a remote control or keypad which you can keep in your car.
Most popular home automation features let you control the lights and music to set the ambiance in your home, notify you of appliances or even faucets left running as you leave the house, or lock garage doors.
So many different products catering to various areas of your home are being offered in the market all designed to provide us the convenience we need. In the United States, there are many who are starting to upgrade certain areas of their home like the garage. And, there are also those who would go full suite.
There are plenty of advantages of switching to a smarter home even for the average family. Here are some of the benefits of home automation.
- Save Money – While the initial cost may not be so budget-friendly, the money that you save outweighs the cost you spend on installing them. Smart home devices are designed to turn your home cost-efficient in the long run. An automated thermostat can monitor your energy costs. Schedule “switch-off” when you’re leaving for work. Remotely access lights and other appliances you’ve forgotten to turn off.
- Convenience – The time you save automating some tasks is definitely priceless and much safer! Not having to go out of the car to open your garage door is less hassle and time saving compared to doing it otherwise.
- Comfort – Home automation lets you relax as you get home. Instead of wasting time inspecting or preparing every single thing, access your phone app and do the checking before you leave work. Set up your thermostat and walk into a cozy room.
- Safety – Make your home more secured. Home automation is not just about surveillance cameras. Smart locks can notify you of intruders trying to access your doors.
How Does Home Automation Work?
A device that can be controlled with a remote is not entirely ‘smart’. This is a common misconception. Just because you don’t need to manually open something does it mean it’s already automated.
True home automation can only be achieved when all devices are connected in a shared network (Internet of Things) and can be controlled using one device like your phone or laptop app. If you can use your phone to control room temperature or check activity in the garage or switch on your favorite music, that’s true home automation.
The Internet of Things is basically anything with a switch connected to the internet. It can be your home security, appliances, lighting, etc. Smart homes utilize this network to connect all devices and give homeowners a single control point which is usually an app you can install on your phone or laptop.
Ways to Make Your Home Smarter
While robots cooking us a hot meal is still farfetched, today’s home automation solutions can offer smarter solutions to several household functions.
Home Security
When you say home automation, it’s almost instant that you also think about home security. These two technically work hand-in-hand. Technology has helped Americans to improve their home security, especially that incidents related to break-ins and theft are on the rise.
From surveillance cameras to smart locks, home automation provides you with an added layer of security. Modern garage doors can be installed with automatic openers with really cool features like rolling lock codes, intruder alerts, among others.
Temperature Control
Temperature control is another popular product. Smart apps let you control room temperature for the entire house or specific rooms in your home. Some allow you to do it remotely even while you’re at work or driving back home.
Some devices are equipped with sensors that detect who is in the house and adjust the temperature to their specified settings.
Entertainment
Entertainment is a huge industry for home automation as this is where we spend most of our money in. Got a spare room? Build your own movie theater. With a smart home, you can access your entertainment system through your phone app. Adjust the projector, dim the lights, play the movie while sitting on your lazy boy chair. No need for multiple remote controls.
If you’re hosting a party, set the mood with good music and lighting. Some features even allow users to change the entire color scheme of their homes with LED bulbs. Don’t be shy in creating your own playlist and make the right impression.
Home Health
Home health check allows you to keep track of how your home impacts your health or the environment. These detect water leakage and broken plumbing, fire and smoke, and can also track pollution and humidity.
A detailed report is delivered wherein homeowners can see possible problem areas so that they can come up with solutions before it gets worse. Repairs can get quite expensive so anything that would help homeowners detect a problem beforehand can save you a ton!
These are just some of the ways home automation can help you live a better life. There are more upgrades and features to watch out for in the coming years!
Author Bio
Mik Vil writes for Canadian Garage Door Repair – a company that provides top of the line installation and repair service in Calgary, Surrey, Vancouver, etc.
