One of the hottest home improvement trends right now is making homes smarter. Now you might be wondering how does a smart home works? Well, making a home smart means making use of the Internet of Things to control all aspects of a home’s operation via a single device or smart hub (i.e. smartphone). Hence, everything is controllable with just a few taps of the finger with the help of a Wi-fi connection.
Contrary to what many assume, converting a house into a smart one doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive. You can start with something small and cost-effective and automate certain functions of your home like AC/heating, lighting, and even surveillance. If you’re interested and want to know more, read on.
Convert to Smart Lighting and Plugs
One of the cheaper ways to a smart home conversion is to start with the lighting. There are many brands that offer smart lighting systems nowadays and they aren’t that difficult to install either. Some of them come with a smart home DIY guide so you can install them yourself. In terms of hardware, smart lighting only requires a few ones, with the smart hub being the most essential. The smart hub, of course, needs to be hooked up with the Wi-fi for connection. You might also want to consider brands with BlueTooth connectivity so you can hook them up with your smartphone for a more convenient control.
While you’re at the process of making your home lighting system smart, you might want to turn your ordinary dumb plugs into smart ones as well. Compared to converting the lighting system, making a home plugs smarter is much easier. You only have to purchase smart plugs and plug them into your existing plugs and you’re done. With a smart plug, you can do all sorts of powerful controls like automating, randomizing or automating any appliance or device plugged in on them.
Make Use of Smart Home Security Surveillance Systems
When it comes to security cameras, you don’t actually need a professional set up that requires a lot of wiring and intensive installations. You can make your home smart with security camera options that can be installed using a DIY approach. Wireless cameras are also called IP (Internet Protocol) cameras, and they are an excellent way to upgrade to a smart home. For the installation, the most basic things you’ll need include are a wi-fi connection, a smart camera application, and the wireless cameras themselves. Once you’ve installed the cameras to specific areas of your home, you now have the ability to monitor all activities using your smartphone anytime wherever you are.
If you ever found yourself with more budget in the future and you want to make a smarter home, you can upgrade this basic surveillance setup into a more elaborate and all-inclusive home security system. Some of the smart security devices that you can upgrade into are smart locks, doorbells with motion sensors, outdoor motion lights, and smart home security kits. Because these devices are smart, they have a built-in capability to be controlled via a smart hub, which could come in the form of a smart home application such as, for instance, Google Home. There is a bevy of other apps that you can use to make your home smart. Check this great list over here to find some useful ones for a start.
Best Apps to Change You Old Home into a Smart Home
Turn Your Heating Control Smarter
Perhaps the device that can give you the most impact in terms of energy efficiency and cost savings is a smart thermostat. It’s one of the best smart home devices you could ever invest in. Such a device is great to establish a heating and cooling schedule in the places of the house you use most, such as your bedroom. You can turn your room into a smart room by equipping it with this smart device. You can turn on your AC when you’re 10 min away from home while driving in your car so that when you step into the room, it is already nice and cool. Another thing is since you’re going to be controlling this device via your smartphone, you’ll be able to see real-time energy consumption, running hours, and temperature data. With this information, you can then manage your energy usage and adjust it accordingly by turning off the heating/cooling system when they’re not really needed. That means you can trim down your utility expenses proactively.
Conclusion
A lot of people think that it’s way too expensive to have a smart home when, in fact, there are cost-effective options that can be had. The smart device industry is a burgeoning industry and that means more and more products are being churned out at a more affordable price point. A smart home has a lot of benefits, and chief among those is the ability to cut down home operations cost and maintenance and save money in the long run. Really, there are only upsides to upgrading into a smart home, so whenever you can you should never hesitate to push through with it.
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