Understanding Home Automation

Home Automation has quickly become the next big thing in Technology. Fortunately, learning how to control your home system has never been easier. Home automation puts control of basic home systems and appliances into the hands of the homeowner and provides access from a remote point- like a smartphone app, or from a centralized unit inside the home. This means you can unlock your doors, turn your lights on and off, lower your cooling system and even answer your door right from your phone or tablet.

The idea of home automation has been relatively unfamiliar to most homeowners and may sound a little to “techy”. Ideally, anything that can be connected through the internet can be automated and controlled remotely.

Picture this: you finally have the kids all packed into the car and you are on your way out of town. Suddenly, you begin to feel like you forgot to do something. Is the door locked? Did I leave the stove on? Did I leave the dog out or in? If your home is automated, you will have the ability to investigate and rectify all the above scenarios from the convenience of your smartphone or tablet. You can lock your doors, check the status of common kitchen appliances, and even check on your pets via surveillance camera to make sure everything is ok at home.

Now that we have a brief understanding of what home automation is lets point out some of the benefits.

Safety and Security

The safety and security of your home is probably one of the most important reasons to have home automation. Home automation can make a secure home even more secure. Doors can be locked, security systems armed, and camera monitored from you phone creating a safer and more secure environment for you and your family.

Savings

When you are able to use home systems and appliances only when needed, the savings will be apparent in your first utility bill.

Energy Efficiency

When used properly many home automation products, also known as “smart” products, help you manage your home’s energy consumption.

Convenience

Often, we leave for work early in the morning and forget to adjust our thermostat. As a result, we come home to a house that is severely to hot or too cold. This is inconvenient, as it usually takes a good amount of time for the household temperature to increase or decrease after being adjusted. However, with a home automation system, you can simply adjust the thermostat from the convenience of your office a few hours before heading home. This is both cost effective and saves on energy.

Peace of Mind 

One of the biggest hidden benefits that comes with the home automation is peace of mind. No more worrying if you turned off the lights, locked the doors or turned the air up. Home automation is reassuring and definitely worth it.

Whether it’s lighting, cleaning or temperature control there are a lot of ways to start automating your home. The reality of having a “smart home” is possible.

Here are our top smart devices that helped turn our home into a smarter home.

Smart Locks

We use the August Smart Lock. This lock has hands free entry and guest access and integrates with Apple HomeKit so Siri can do the unlocking for you.

Smart Doorbell

The Ring Video Doorbell lets us answer your door from our phone, seeing and speaking to whoever is at the door.

Video in the home

Canary’s smart home security camera lets us keep an eye on things while we are away and check on our dogs while at work.

Smart Lights

Adding connected lights to our home was one of the easiest ways we made our home smarter. Lutron’s Caseta Wireless Dimmers work with many types of bulbs, making them both dimmable and smarter.

Outdoor lighting control is not much more complicated than indoor lighting control and often uses exactly the same devices. Southern Outdoor Lighting specializes in Remote lighting designs and uses the Lutron’s Caseta

Smart thermostat

A smart thermostat helps save energy and money. We use the Nest.

There are so many more new and interesting products out there. Our next purchase will be the iRobot’s Braava Jet Mopping Robot.