No one can deny that technology has made our lives easier. In the blink of an eye, we can see the weather, the quickest route to our destination, and even the next train or bus schedule. These days most people are talking about Smart Home, that is referred to the use of technology to automate your home.
It allows you to control almost every aspect of your home via the Internet of Things (IoT). If you are looking for how you can automate your home, you are at the right place.
This article will let you know what is home automation. how you can automate your home? the popular smart devices and more.
Table of Contents
What is Home Automation?
Home automation allows you to control everything including kitchen appliances, energy usage, cleaning, safety, the temperature of your home, and much more via a remote-control device, smartphone, tablet, or computer.
Although technology varies by country, company, and type of automation, The following two main Home Automation systems are operating globally.
Central Control System: Central Control is a single Home-Automation system that controls everything in your home. Allows you to control your lights, thermostat and electronic appliances, and more. It is commonly used for home security systems. It is controlled by a single system.
App-Based System: It can be controlled from your smartphone. Once you have created a personalized account with mobile apps you can connect with your Smart Home devices. This system connects the home network to the cloud technology that is the base of the Internet of Things. It helps the company knows which device goes with the app user.
Why do you need home Automation?
Home automation saves your time, energy, and money. Modern technology makes your life much easier. This means you no longer need to worry about whether you locked your home before you left, turned off all the lights, or made sure you didn’t accidentally leave the oven on. The main advantages of Home Automation include
- Manage all smart devices from your phone
- Easily integrate new smart devices into your smart home system
- Remotely control smart devices
- Control energy usage in your home
- Improve functionality of appliances
- Insights help you to manage your home more efficiently
How to make your home a smart home
The automation of your home is not a one-day game. It can be done slowly and systematically. Start by choosing the systems and devices that fit your budget and make small progressive changes along the way. Keep in mind as you add other features, you want to make sure that new devices are compatible with the system, so be careful with the integration. Take your time and find out what works best for you.
However, to turn your home into a smart home, the first step is to make sure you have a strong Wi-Fi internet connection depending on the size of your home. In case, your home is large, pair a router with the best Wi-Fi range extender to extend the wireless network with a stronger signal. The powerful wireless network will enable you to connect smart devices and control them remotely.
There are various options for home automation – from smart safety devices to smart lawnmowers and anything in between.
Analyze what to do first.
To determine what is most logical to automate in your home, consider a typical day. like ask yourself
- What devices do you turn on and off regularly?
- Do you regularly adjust the temperature in your home throughout the day?
These types of repetitive habits or activities are good places to start when considering what to do. Next, take a moment to decide which ones are most important to you. You will have a much better idea of what works for you as you start buying smart home devices.
Popular Smart Products
There are too many smart products in the market, that can be used for home automation. Here is the list of smart popular products, you can choose from:
1. Smart Safety Devices
This help to set up the security plan that enables you to lock or unlock your door and set the alarm from your phone. You can allow babysitters, nurses, or other visitors to enter your home without a key. Video doorbells enable you to see who is at the gate without going to the gate.
Smart surveillance camera ensures that you know exactly what is happening at anytime, anywhere. Overall home safety devices keep your home safe and secure from anywhere at any time.
2. Thermostat
Adjust your schedule, keeping your home at a temperature that will help you save money. Another extremely beneficial feature is the ability to adjust the temperature of your home from the app on your smartphone. If you are out of town, you can adjust the temperature, turn on / off the heater or air condition even you can adjust an automatic schedule.
3. Smoke Detector
Send you verbal and written alarms on your smartphone. It mainly alerts about smoke, carbon monoxide, faulty wiring, or dead battery.
4. Smart Lighting
Convert your Smartphone, Tablet, or computer into a Smart Light switch enabling you to turn on or off your lights, change the color produced by a LED light, or adjust brightness without being in the room. You can set certain times that your smart lights will automatically turn on, off, dim, or increase light.
5. Smart Vacuum
Completely clean your homes and give you the power to control the vacuum through the App. This means that your stairs and carpet will be properly cleaned when you are out, leaving you stressed and worry-free!
In addition, you can set schedules and select options such as one or two passes and final cleaning.
6. Smart Home Assistants
can be kept in the family room, but it can also work well in the kitchen. For example, you may be able to maintain a grocery list as you prepare dinner or play your favorite songs while you make meals.
You can also ask your assistant to come up with a recipe and guide you on how to properly cook food. You can do all these things with just your voice – no need to turn off your phone and look at the app.
7. Kitchen Appliances
There are various smart devices that can make cooking easy and fast for you and help you to stay healthy. The details of each device are given below.
Smart Refrigerator
It controls activities with your Smartphone using a downloadable app. One of its excellent features is Hot Water Scheduling. It allows you to set up when the refrigerator has hot water, which is good for anyone who loves coffee or tea. With hot water, you will be able to drink coffee easily using the French Press.
Smart range
It enables you to turn on the stove, change the temperature, and set timers within your home, or store. Another great feature found in Smart Ranges is the ability to find and download recipes.
Smart Dishwasher
It helps you to check the wash status, get notifications when your load is complete, and then stop/restart the load.
Smart Oven
It allows you to select a recipe and set and control the time and temperature needed for them, but you need to press to start. It also allows you to diagnose the status of cooking food.
Smart Plates and Forks
It can monitor your calorie intake.
Smart Cooker
It enables you to check the temperature, change the setting, and then turn it on and off.
Smart Coffee Maker
It helps you to set the timer to start brewing when you want.
Smart Garbage Cans
Not just touchable, but also controls odor and includes a barcode scanner. As you dispose of your food, you scan the barcode, and food can be added to the grocery list.
8. Bathroom Appliances
The description of each bathroom appliance is given below;
Smart toilets
The basic features include flush without touch, a sensor that opens/closes the lid, automatic cleaning, and deodorizing.
Smart Mirrors
It allows you to turn on a mirror light or fogless surface with a single touch.
Smart Showers
It can be unlocked from the comfort of your bed before you get up, maintain your proper shower setting, and have a TV in them.
Smart Windows
It offers privacy by switching from the normal window to the invisible window that you can see in, from a distance, or from your smart device. Also, offer protection against harmful UV rays and act as an insulator to maintain a comfortable temperature.
9. Smart Laundry
It enables you to do laundry from your phone without being at home. And simply hitting the start button, you can toss your laundry into the dryer. While doing laundry, you can upgrade your Smart Washer in less time.
10. Smart Gardening
Smart Lawn Mower: This allows you to turn it on or off with the app. These are useful to automatically cut the gross of your yard. These mowers have several safety features to help prevent the machine from falling on the pipe or grass ornament.
Be sure to read the owner’s manual before using the mowers. Keep in mind that these devices are expensive, so you must decide whether to invest or not.
Smart Sprinkler: Collect the latest weather reports to decide whether you need to water your lawn or not. When it rains, the system automatically adjusts its schedule so that it does not end above your need. And you will no longer need to decide for yourself the right spraying time or remember to turn off the system after the rains.
11. Smart Pet Care
Video monitor: Helps you to check pets when you are not at home. Special pet monitors allow your pet to see and hear you.
Smart Mats: Many pet owners have good furniture and don’t want pets to be there. Smart mats give a harmless warning to pets not to enter enclosed rooms and furniture. This is very helpful in training a pet.
Smart Key: This key is a pet’s collar guide and allows your pet to get in and out of the door. You can also lock the door when you don’t want your pet to get out.
Smart feeder: You can set a schedule of feed and control the portion of food for your pet.
12. Other Smart Products
Smart Speakers
These speakers tell you the weather, update you about news, act as a personal assistant, and can serve as the central control hub for your entire Smart-Home system. If you are considering using your smart speaker as a Home-Automation hub, you need to re-evaluate whether the devices you are buying are compatible with your speaker.
Smart TV
It helps you to watch whatever you want, whenever you want, whether you have a cable or not.
Smart Health Monitor
It monitors your breathing, heart rate, movement, and sometimes temperature.
Smart Pool
If you have a pool, Smart pool apps allow you to measure chemicals in your pool remotely, perform specific cleaning procedures, and schedule pool repairs.
Smart beds
It controls the position, softness, and warmth of your bed. Luxury mattresses have additional features, such as massage settings, built-in alarm clocks, and a sleep monitor that sends you details about your sleep habits to help you to improve your night’s sleep.
Smart Babies Care
Its smart nurseries help you to remotely monitor your baby via video. Smart bed stand measures baby’s weight to inform about feed time and even tell whether the baby is properly fed or not. Parents can also use sensors around the baby’s bedroom to get alarms about any uneven activity.
Home Automation Brands
The first industry-invented home automation system was the X10, which helped devices connect to each other primarily through power lines, radiofrequency, and wireless connections.
Today Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Insteon also lead Home Automation products. These new industries are using electricity, radio waves, and modern wireless technology, such as mesh networking to make smart home products.
Consult Smart Products Specialists
New products and devices are entering the market by day and night. Consulting a specialist is the best way to get all your required features. Specialists can advise you on a variety of possible features and recommend the best products and services to achieve, ensuring that all the systems are compatible with each other and your desired outcome.
If you don’t need, turn off your speaker. It is because companies collect data about you to better serve your needs and for advertising. But keep in mind that cyber criminals can hack data and blackmail you anytime.
