If in the crazy rhythm of modern life you forget whether you turned off the iron, or are surprised at the amount on your electricity bill, or hate daily home cleaning routine, you should think about a smart home. This system will relieve you of most of your everyday problems, worries, and boring home routine tasks.
What can a smart home do?
A smart home is a system of devices, each of which performs its own function. It includes sensors, sockets, cameras, household appliances. They are connected to a single control center or installed separately – such a system is called decentralized.
Usually, a smart home is controlled using a panel that is located in an apartment and provides for remote access from a smartphone or tablet. A smart home can do a lot:
- transfer the apartment to an energy-saving mode when no one is at home
- set lighting scenarios, turn lights on and off automatically
- shut off the water in case of leakage
- control humidity and temperature
- take care of pets: add water and feed, adjust the lighting in the aquarium, let the animal out into the street
- show what is happening in the apartment
- help in raising children: restrict access to TV or the Internet, track the time of coming home
- warn of fire
- disconnect power to electrical appliances
- clean up, brew coffee, and solve other household issues for you
The functions of the system are selected based on the needs of the residents. For example, if it is important that the temperature in the apartment is not higher than 23 ° C, a temperature and humidity sensor is installed. If the temperature rises, the system turns on the air conditioner. Falling down – transmits a signal to the heater.
To choose a smart home, think about your needs, installation method, budget. The cost of a smart home depends on its functions and the area of the apartment. If you need a minimum of sensors for one or two rooms, then the cost will be low. And if you want to automate every home process in a country mansion, you will have to fork out.
Ready-made sets include a control center and several sensors. The range of prices for ready-made kits is huge. The functionality is appropriate: there are 3-5 sensors in a cheap set and several dozen in an expensive one.
If additional sensors, sockets, and devices are needed, they are purchased separately. A robot vacuum cleaner or smart coffee maker is unlikely to be included in a standard set.
The small ready-made kit is easy to set up by yourself. But if we are talking about a set of a couple of dozen sensors, you will have to ask for help. Companies that sell kits offer such services – check the cost before buying.
Turnkey individual projects are suitable if you want to automate each room and connect several functions that are not included in ready-made kits. Smart home on an individual project is tailored to the needs of the owner, not the average buyer.
If you are ordering a turnkey system, please ask if it can be supplemented. If you buy a ready-made kit, pay attention to what else the manufacturer offers for home automation. Usually, well-known brands have sensors and equipment for every need. Even if you take the kit for trial and doubt that a smart home is so necessary, take an interest – maybe in the future, you will want to connect a video camera or a smoke detector.
Smart homes can be wired and wireless. The wired system is installed when the wiring is laid: the elements are connected with wires, which are walled into the wall. It is faster and more reliable than wireless, and it costs less.
If there are no plans to renovate an apartment, it is better to buy a wireless system. It does not work as fast as a wired one, the elements sometimes have power supplies, and it is more expensive than a wired one. But as an option for trial, it is better suited: a ready-made kit can be found for a small price, and new sensors are installed without problems.
Consider which features you definitely need and which you can opt-out of. Note that some devices help you save more time and money than others. The light sensor and smart plug will reduce your electricity bill, and the robot vacuum cleaner will save you a couple of hours a week on cleaning. But at first, you can refuse from curtains with an electric drive if the budget is tight.
Home security
When choosing a home security company there are a number of things that should be kept in mind. It’s important to make sure that they use the latest and greatest equipment, provide local service and support (most alarm companies will sell off your monitoring agreement to a national provider), have an amazing rating from actual customer reviews, and have a low monitoring rate.
Many companies make you pay for your equipment forever, but of all the San Antonio security companies, Alamo Smart Home is the only one that doesn’t require you to have a monitoring contract and has an extremely cheap monitoring rate.
Whether it is worth spending money on home automation, everyone decides for himself. It is difficult to call it a first-order purchase: the equipment is not cheap, and some of the functions can be performed by yourself. But a smart home improves security, makes life more comfortable, and saves time – at least it’s worth taking a closer look at.