Starting Your Smart Home

Understanding the basics is very important if you plan to incorporate technology into your house. While there are a number of ways to get that technology, install it, and start moving forward with a smart home, it all starts with one basic question:

What is Home Automation?

In short, home automation means using technology, namely wireless internet connections to set your home up to operate as automatically and independently as possible. Your devices can now “speak” to each other, and you can set rules and conditions to automate certain tasks. For example, you could have your blinds open to let light into your room when it’s time to wake up. Getting to this level of home automation takes some setup, and usually involves voice-controlled items, and interfaces to make everything work well with everything else.

Controlling Your Entire Smart Home With Your Voice

Some automation options will not work with some others, so getting the right items and linking them together is very important. One of the main things that people do when they decide they want a smart home is to get a voice assistant such as Amazon Alexa. That way they can do everything from ordering groceries to looking up information to controlling their thermostat just by using their voice. When so much can be done just by asking Alexa to handle it for you, it can make life easier and more efficient. Tying it to an alarm system can also provide additional peace of mind along with the smart home basics.

Music Can Set the Mood in Your Home

With the Sonos One, you can get great music and control it with your voice. That’s a wonderful way to enjoy music, which can boost your mood, get you moving, and keep your home feeling light, happy, and fun. It is also a good way to set up a romantic evening, or even create some background feeling before or after a scary movie. When you want to set a mood for your home, music is one of the best ways to address that. But without a good collection and a way to control it, sorting through all that music often is not easy. Sonos One is a way to keep everything in one place and ensure you can get to it easily and quickly.

The Right Lighting Saves Money and Keeps Your Home Cozy

Smart LED Lights (such as the Philips HUE, for example) are a great option for lighting automation. They can be controlled in such a way that they are only used when they are really needed, and that can mean big financial savings. These lights are eco-friendly, they last a long time, and they work well. When they are turned on and off with an app, set to come on and turn off at particular times, or respond to motion in the room, they can keep your home more efficient and energy-saving than ever before.

Turn Everything On and Off With Smart Switches

Smart switches that can turn electronics on and off are a wonderful way to make sure you don’t accidentally leave things on and drive the power bill up. It can be easy to leave a room and forget to turn something off, or go out of the house on a particular day and leave something running. It happens to almost everyone at some point. With smart switches, though, you no longer have to worry about any of that. Your switches will take care of everything for you, so you can just enjoy your life without worry over whether you forgot to turn something off when you left on vacation.

Never Worry About Forgetting Your Keys Again

Wifi-enabled front door locks, including those that have voice, app, and keypad control, means you never have to worry if you forget your keys. You can always get back into your house, even without a key. You also will not need to worry about someone else getting hold of your keys if you lose them, and then getting into your house when you are away. Without needing a house key at all, there is one less thing for you to carry with you no matter where your adventures take you. That is a great way to add to your peace of mind and to keep things simple and easier to handle every day.

You Can Automate Many Things On Your Own

By using IFTTT (which you can learn more about by visiting https://ifttt.com/discover), you can automate a lot of different things in your home and control all of them from one location. This works with some of the smart thermostats on the market today, and also with a number of other smart technology items. When you can take so many of them and put them together through one website or app, you can more easily collect everything in your house and make it work for you in a way that helps you get more done and keep up a high level of comfort and efficiency anytime you need to do something in your home.

The Right Tips and Tricks Really Make a Difference

From having a smart thermostat that senses whether you are home and adjusts the temperature, to creating a smart sprinkler system that only operates when it has not rained for a set period of time, home automation continues to advance. The right tips and tricks can help you automate your home more completely, and that adds to the energy efficiency and value you receive when you focus on smart home basics. It is a great way to feel good about the home you live in, and keep your life moving forward without stress and worry over basic home functions.

Ready to get started? Contact one of our specialists today, and we can help you choose the right smart home options for your needs.