Is Automating Your Home A Smart Choice?

Have you been thinking of dipping your toe in the world of home automation?

Great, you’re in the right place! This article will show you why a smart home can change how you live.

It will also provide you with some amazing home automation ideas you can get involved in.

4 Reasons Why You Should Automate Your Home

There are plenty of reasons you might want to automate your home. But here are the four main reasons people should jump on the automation train:

#1 Saves You Money

Home automation gives you greater control of power-intensive devices, like your heating and cooling system or your house lights.

Using devices like smart thermostats could save you up to 25% on your energy bills.

This can be increased further by introducing smart lights and switches, which help you manage their power usage.

#2 Adds Home Security

This has to be one of the number one reasons people start using home automation. With tensions running high all over the world, people are looking to protect their homes and businesses.

And at one time, setting up a security system would be pretty costly and complicated. But not with smart home devices.

They made home security available to the masses by making it easy to install and cheaper.

#3 Makes Your Life Easier

There are many small tasks around the house that will take a considerable amount of time away and cause an annoyance when added together.

Home automation takes these little tasks away or simplifies them for you. This helps you recover time which could be better spent elsewhere.

It could be simple things like unlocking the door for you or getting your morning coffee ready when you wake up.

Or it could be more substantial things like cleaning the floor or your swimming pool.

#4 You Can Manage Your Home While You’re Away

Managing the coming and going of your home while you’re away is difficult without smart devices. You have to rely on someone being home or trusting your neighbors with the key, which isn’t always possible.

With smart devices, you can do everything from your mobile phone. This could be things like opening the door for a parcel, scaring away thieves, or making sure nothing is on fire.

6 Home Automation Ideas

It’s all well and good knowing what benefits home automation brings. But, if you don’t know what devices can provide you the benefits, you could find yourself in a pickle.

So, here are 6 home automation ideas you can use to get yourself started:

#1 Smart Thermostat

Smart thermostats like the ecobee4 are the number one money-saving home automation idea.

You can manage your heating from anywhere using your smart thermostats and mobile phone.

They come with plenty of features to make life more comfortable with the controls.

This could be using geofencing for location-based heating or setting complex schedules that fit your lifestyle.

Most smart thermostats work with voice assistants to give you hands-free control. But only a few thermostats have learning abilities like Nest, which can remember how you like the heating.

#2 Smart Plug

This is another excellent way of saving energy. Smart plugs and sockets can turn everyday dumb items into intelligent smart devices.

They can connect to the Wi-Fi, so you get full control of the device from your mobile phone. Now you never have to fret about leaving something on when you go out.

You can even set the sockets to schedules, for example, getting the coffee machine to get started when your alarm goes off.

#3 Smart Lights

This is a great entry-level home automation device; it’s where most people tend to start.

Smart lights will either use Bluetooth technology or a Wi-Fi connection to communicate with your phone.

From your phone, you can either control groups of lights or singular lights. This makes it great for creating scenes for different events.

Another great feature is being able to mimic people being home when you’re not. It will flick the lights on or off at different times during the evening.

#4 Smart Cameras

Nothing wards off thieves like outdoor security cameras, but this used to be pretty costly, as mentioned before.

Smart security cameras offer an easy to install and affordable option. The security footage can be viewed remotely from your phone as long as you have a Wi-Fi connection.

All the security footage is saved to the cloud and can be replayed whenever you want. Most security cameras come with a motion sensor built-in. If the camera senses anything, it will send a notification with the clip directly to your phone.

#5 Video Doorbells

You never know who is at the other side of the door, unless you have a video doorbell. They have a motion sensor inside, which warns you someone is at the door before they ring.

The doorbells will send you a notification to your phone warning
you someone is coming. When the bell is pressed, you can start a video stream and use the two-way speakers to identify who it is.

If you miss the call, the doorbell will save the clip until later.

#6 Automatic Pool Cleaner

There’s nothing better than having a dip in the pool on a hot summer day. But this means you’ll have to wash the pool regularly or pay someone to do it.

All of this can be pretty time consuming or cost a lot of money. Automated pool cleaners make your life easier by doing what you hate.

You can set them to schedules or use them as and when you need them. The choice is up to you; now you can enjoy the pool without the pain of cleaning the pool.