Smart technologies are rapidly changing people’s lives in many areas, including the home. If you’re thinking about turning your place into a smart home, then you should understand the types of solutions and their benefits.
Types of Smart Home Solutions
The go-to smart home technologies for most people involve electrical systems. These are the simplest systems since the controls can easily take the place of traditional switches. If you want to be able to turn every light in your house on or off in an instant, the task is as simple as tapping a button on your phone’s screen. Integration with other solutions is also simple since you can connect your smart home to entertainment systems, phones, tablets and even security systems. With a voice assistant, you can make the job as simple as telling the house to do something.
Smart homes can control almost anything that works with an electrical signal. You can connect the technology to your household’s thermostat, appliances, shades and doors. Likewise, you can quickly add cameras and speakers to the system, providing better coverage for voice assistants and security.
Control
One of the main benefits of a smart home is improved control. It may sound like a small issue, but the ability to turn everything off before you go to bed is great. If you’re not sure whether you got the back porch light or not, just check the app. Also, you can quickly control things. If you need to unlock the back door for a guest, the system lets you do it without even moving.
Similarly, you have control over who can use specific systems. A family with children might want to limit the kids’ time playing video games. With a smart home, a parent can simply program the system for the desired time window.
Efficiency
Modern smart controls also handle many tasks more efficiently than you can achieve manually. For example, a system can detect that the lighting conditions are sufficient to turn off outside lights. Also, you can turn things off when you’re not going to be home. This ensures that your household will conserve energy.
Accessibility
Older individuals and those with disabilities may find many features in a home to be difficult to work with. This is particularly true if the house never had a proper retrofit for their needs. However, smart home automation makes everything accessible from a single app. The combination of touch and voice controls also makes the systems more available to people of differing abilities.
Programmability and Customization
The right setup for a particular room can change based on the time of day or the season. Fortunately, a smart home lets you program multiple settings for each space. For example, you might want different levels of lighting for your dining room. From mood lighting to full lighting, you can program an array of custom options. Likewise, you will be easily able to pull them up through the app or by voice command.
You also can add graduation to certain functions. If you’d prefer the system to bring the lighting up in the house slowly rather than abruptly, just program it.
Automation
You don’t always want to think about every task. Vacuuming is a classic example. A smart home can control robot vacuums and automate their schedules. You might also want the system to start the coffee maker at a specific time so that there’s a fresh pot by the time you get to the kitchen in the morning.
Monitoring and Alerts
A smart home can alert you to unusual activity. If a camera identifies someone at the door at an unexpected time, the smart home can log the activity and send you an alert. You also can order alerts for changes in energy consumption. The system even stores the monitoring data so that you can track efficiency and costs over time. If you’re trying to remember when the last electrical outage happened, for example, you can quickly identify it in the log.
Plugz Electric is a business that serves the people of Forest Lake and the Twin Cities metro area. We handle numerous electrical jobs, including installations, upgrades, repairs and rewiring. Qualified customers are welcome to take advantage of financing options for their projects, and we offer many specials, too. Contact Plugz Electric today to discuss a smart home installation or other electrical work.
