Even Your Parents Have Home Automation, Why Don’t You?
When’s the last time you had a good heart-to-heart talk with your house? I mean a real soul-searching, tell-it-like-it-is discussion about your needs and desires?
Too many homeowners neglect these meaningful little convos, and as a result, they and their homes both fall into what can best be described as 20th-century not-so-smart home syndrome.
Relax, help’s on the way. Today’s latest home automation systems enable your house to do everything it can to please you, from announcing that your carpets need cleaning to letting you know if your wine cellar temperature is a tad too high for your Boudreaux.
Introducing Home Automation…
Home automation has been around since Joseph Henry pioneered the electric doorbell in 1831. Ever since, we’ve loved the idea of having our houses do things for us, making our home environment safer, cheaper to maintain, and hopefully saving us time that could be put to good use just goofing off.
Today’s smart homes do that, and a whole lot more. Technology is moving rapidly past the programmable thermostat into an era that’s best described as Jetsonian. Here’s just a taste:
Morning brings a graduated alarm that plays some of your favorite music. The volume builds slowly and the bedroom curtains gently part until you react and tell the alarm, “I’m snoozing!” In which case, the alarm quiets down for another 10 minutes of shut-eye. Meanwhile, the bathroom floors are already warming in anticipation of your arrival, and the coffee-maker starts brewing up some Italian roast. When you finally get down to breakfast, the voice of the automated home controller comes on the house speaker system to remind you to put bottles and newspapers at the end of the driveway because today is recycling pick-up.
Later, as you leave work for the day, you press a single “coming home” keypad button on your iPhone. In response, your house turns on the outdoor lights, brings up the indoor temperature from an energy-saving 65 degrees to a welcome-home 72, powers up the spa in similar energy-wise fashion, closes the living room and bedroom drapes, feeds the Smooth Jazz channel from your Pandora account to the outdoor speakers, and tunes the bedroom TV to the Colbert Report so you can have some laughs as you ready for the hot tub.
With all that being said.. What exactly is Home Automation?
Simply put, Home Automation is a system of networked, controllable devices that work together to make your home more comfortable, customized, efficient, and secure.
Now what can Home Automation do and how will it benefit me?
As stated in the examples above it can do just about anything. Control lighting, climate, entertainment systems, appliances, and manage home security. All of this with just a touch of the finger or the sound of your voice. We have split Home Automation into a few different spaces to show how these things and more make Home Automation a benefit to you and your home.
Safety
Always on guard! Always working to protect you. Wireless security cameras keep an eye on things when you can’t. Imagine getting a text notification while you’re away. Picture being on vacation and being notified if a door or window is opened while you’re miles from home. Maybe the teenagers are home while you’re finishing up at work and you just want to know they’re safe. This type of protection allows you to react quickly to situations you would otherwise never know about, giving you constant peace of mind.
Convenience
Forget to lock your door in a hurry to leave the house? Too tired to get up and turn those lights out? Maybe you just want to turn the heat up without leaving your cozy blanket. Home Automation make all these things possible. We have all loved controlling our TVs from the couch for years, right? Wait until you can control your lights, thermostat and so much more by just the swipe of your phone. Hey, maybe you just want to tell Siri or Alexa to do it and really minimize your effort. We get it!
Efficiency
Using smart home technology can lead to energy efficiency, savings, and better quality of life. Home Automation uses technology to remotely control and monitor the function of your home’s systems. That equals major savings when applied to energy efficiency. It doesn’t matter if you are home or on the other side of the world, Home Automation can connect you to your lighting, heating & cooling, and plumbing systems. These tools allow you to tell your systems, “I’m coming home” or “leaving home” at the touch of a button. This allows you to turn off expensive home systems when you’re not using them. So, whether your kids forgot to turn off their bedroom lights, or you want to turn the heat off because you’re working a little later than expected, you now have the power to control that. But it doesn’t stop there. Maybe your phone notifies you of a leak you weren’t aware of. Trust us, you’ll see the savings almost immediately in more ways than one.
Customization
The world is yours. Ok, maybe just the house. Home Automation gives you the power to have things exactly how you like them. The freedom to do what you please! Setting schedules allows you to customize things to your unique lifestyle. Maybe you’d like to have the air kick on when you’re driving home from your daily workout. Maybe you want your doors to unlock automatically when you pull in the drive each day. You can even have the lights come on for those nights you work late. The possibilities are endless. Be as creative as you like!
Don’t Forget Home Automation is FUN!
Let’s be honest, even with all its cost effectiveness and convenience, one of the best parts of Home Automation is the fact that its just plain FUN. So, invite your friends over for that football game. Don’t forget to have the lights flash and the music play when your team scores the winning touchdown. Go ahead, be the hero of your little girl’s sleepover and make the lights dance purple & pink in sync with her favorite song! See, so much fun!
The bottom line is, Home Automation is no longer just for the wealthy or the tech savvy. It is now more affordable and user friendly than ever before. Jump over to our Home Automation page to check out some of our services geared towards making your home a little more witty, because a smart home can offer big rewards for the average homeowner with relatively small efforts and/or investments.
