Having a smart home means your home has a system that connects with your appliances to automate certain tasks and usually can be controlled remotely. A smart home system can allow you to control things like lighting, motorized drapery, set and monitor your home security system and/or surveillance cameras, adjust your HVAC as well as your audio-visual equipment system settings. Below we answer some of the common questions about smart home systems:
WHAT IS NEEDED TO TURN A REGULAR HOME INTO A SMART HOME?
· smart home appliances (or smart home devices)
· a smart home system to connect as well as monitor and control these devices.
WHAT IS A SMART DEVICE?
A smart device is any electronic device that can be connected to your smart home system, is able to interact with other devices, and that can make some decisions on its own. Televisions, alarm systems, doorbells, garage doors and lights are very good examples of smart devices. It is worth knowing that smart devices can be bought separately and over time, making it easier to slowly transform your house into a smart home.
WHAT IS A SMART HOME SYSTEM?
The smart home system can be described as a hub through which all devices connected to your smart home can interact. This hub gathers unique information from each of your smart devices or appliances and allows you to control all your devices in one place. Because the smart home market is still emerging, there are several different options for smart home systems or home automation hubs, that offer solutions for all kinds of possible systems and all budgets. Examples of smart home systems are manufacturers such as Savant, RTI, Control4, URC, Lutron, etc.
HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR HOME A SMART HOME?
The short answer is either “all at once” or “one step at a time.” Both approaches have their own pros and cons and, depending on your exact needs, our specialists will be able to help you to make an informed decision. There are two things we ask our clients to do before discussing the setup they would like to have in their home or place of business:
The first and, probably, most important thing is: identify your needs. It is a good idea to figure out exactly what you’re looking for from a smart home, and then pick the areas you want to start addressing first. From there, it will be much easier to do research on the smart home systems, smart devices and appliances that will meet your needs.
The next thing would be making sure the existing Wi-Fi system is strong and reliable enough for the client’s needs. Since all smart home devices use the Internet to communicate, the Wi-Fi signal should be strong enough to properly handle information sharing, otherwise the system might not function as intended. If necessary, we can help to upgrade the existing Wi-Fi system, so it meets your new system requirements.
SMART HOME IDEAS AND FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Keep your home safe with smart locks. Replace your current front-door lock with a smart lock to lock and unlock your door remotely, check to make sure you locked the door after you’ve already left, and keep a record of who has come and gone.
Monitor your home with smart security alerts. A multitude of smart home devices such as Ring or Nest can alert you to safety or security issues remotely. Get alerts no matter where you are for leaks, for leaving the garage door open, for smoke, for when someone rings your doorbell, or for if you left something plugged in that really should have been turned off before you left the house.
Manage your home temperature and save energy with a smart thermostat. A smart thermostat can learn your habits and automatically adjust the temperature based on your unique schedule. It also lets you manually and remotely adjust temperatures through an app.
Control your home lighting with smart light bulbs. Smart lights allow you to control the lighting in every room of your house from your smartphone or tablet. You can turn the lights on or off remotely, as well as configure them to turn on and off at set times, and never worry again if someone forgot to turn off the lights before you leave for the day.
All the above can be a stand-alone solution or part of a full-scale home automation setup. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about the available solutions or if you need help with an existing project!
