FAQs

The term smart home refers to the regular home, which has its appliances, lighting, and electronic devices connected to the internet to enable remote monitoring and management. The homeowner enjoys the convenience of securing, operating, and monitoring their house even from another side of the world. The devices that are connected are lights, security systems, cameras, audio and video systems, televisions, thermostats, and even sprinklers.

The first and foremost reason to buy a home automation system is for comfort and security. The other benefits that the homeowner gets to enjoy are the convenience, remote access, savings, and peace of mind. A few home automation systems have become more accessible and advanced, that the homeowners across the country are upgrading their homes.

There are a variety of devices and appliances that get connected and controlled in a smart home setup. The most common ones fall into four categories, and they are lighting, climate control, entertainment, and security.

Yes, smart homes are affordable. However, there was a time when smart homes were considered a luxury. Setting up your smart home is easier than ever but choosing the right smart home system to unify your devices and get them talking together is the biggest challenge that a homeowner faces today. Know how you can benefit from turning your house into a smart home; this helps zero-in on the right product.

Home automation is on high demand, and thereby, it increases home value. Today, everyone wants to live in a smart home and enjoy advanced technologies. When a house uses smart technology, the homeowner can most likely raise their asking price. It would be best if the homeowner worked with a licensed real estate agent, though, to ensure your price falls within what the market can bear.

The best time to install home automation is now. The smart tech offers security and safety for the family and the house - nothing beats the security aspects. Besides, the best time to install home automation is while building a new home or renovating an existing one. In both the scenarios, the homeowners can get down to the wires easily.

Home automation makes sure that your home uses resources like electricity and water more effectively in order to reduce waste throughout the home. Besides increasing security and convenience, home automation can indeed make a difference in the environment and you will thus get smaller utility bills. You can save energy by using energy management devices like smart power strips and switches that can turn off lights and appliances when not in use, thus saving energy and reducing costs. For instance, lighting controls can be set on a timer and this will prevent lights from staying in the ON mode for the whole night or day. You can also get smart lightbulbs that work with motion sensors and respond to people leaving or entering a room, thus helping you to save energy and money.

A variety of smart home devices and systems are currently available on the market. Each of these come with a unique set of features and different specifications. You may get confused about what to choose with so many options. Make sure that the gadgets you add are compatible with each other or just go ahead and get yourself a smart hub that will bridge any gaps.

The market today has smart home devices from popular brands like Wink, SmartThings, Google Home, Amazon Echo, etc. Wink Hub 2 supports BLE, Z-Wave, and Zigbee. Additionally, it integrates with Philips Hue, Amazon Alexa, Canary, Lutron, Canary, and iHome. Samsung SmartThings also supports several protocols. These products work with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Z-Wave standards, and Zigbee. Amazon Echo integrates with Philips Hue, ecobee, Insteon, Honeywell, Nest, and Belkin WeMo. Google Home is the latest hub offering fewer product integrations when compared to Amazon Echo and Samsung SmartThings.

Home automation is mostly a good investment as it helps in saving money and time. The following benefits will help you understand why home automation devices and systems are worth the investment.

Security: Home automation delivers security and safety, helping you to lead a stress-free life style. This is true because once you start using these home automation devices you will realize that you can relax as an alert will be sent if anything strange occurs in your house. Whether burglars or unwanted guests, these automation devices will alert you when these individuals approach your house.
Financial Savings: Some home automation systems save you money on water bills and utilities. For instance, a smart thermostat and sprinkler system guarantee that your electricity bills do not shoot up in the summer.
Comfort: Home automation is a good investment as it prevents you from rushing around in the morning and getting all stressed when trying to get the lights turned off before you leave home and also when trying to get the thermostat set. These devices are so comforting because if you forget to turn off the coffee pot, these devices will monitor the situation and automatically turn it off for you.

Making your whole house smart is NOT necessary. You first have to prioritize all your options and then decide whether to invest in a full-scale home automation network or in separate smart gadgets.

If you want a automate your whole house, there are tons of home automation solutions you can choose from and these include appliances, climate control devices, access control and security elements, entertainment technology, lighting controls, and energy management tools to name a few. Also, you need not buy all the smart home devices you need at one shot. To help you stay within a planned budget, you can plan your purchases in different stages.

No matter how you plan to buy the home automation systems or devices, always make sure that you choose your devices carefully because not all devices are compatible. You need to verify that the devices or systems you want to buy actually work together.

A smart home automation system lets technology take care of your home and business. In just few clicks, life is made easy and every device connected to the home automation system can be controlled through a remote or an app installed on a smartphone or tablet. For instance – if you are going out, you can press “Away” and all the activities programmed while in Away mode is made to control instantly – it locks the doors, turns of the lights and other devices that has to be turned off, etc.