7 Greatest Advantages of Smart-Home Automation

Home automation, like the name suggests, is the ability to automatically control electronic appliances in your home. In simple terms, home automation means that you can control certain features and devices in your home with ease by simply using the internet. In case you didn’t know, you can also automate your home by using hardwired systems. The goal is primarily to make your home safe and convenient. 

Home automation has been present for quite some time now and keeps on getting better as technology continues to evolve. In recent years, there has been a growing demand for smart-homes. IT futurists postulate that in the next ten years, a good number of us will be geared towards adopting home automation technology. Why will this be the case? While the home automation system field grows independently and at a faster rate, manufacturers of items such as televisions, refrigerators, and other home appliances are also designing items that necessitate the use of this system.

So, how does home automation work exactly?

It is important to note that home automation is a blend of electronic interfaces, hardware, and communication integrated through the internet. An effective home automation system has three components that allow it to operate effectively. The components include:

·   Sensors: Each device that you wish to have automated must have a sensor. These sensors function to survey variations in temperature, motion detection, and daylight. Home automation systems leverage these features by making changes to their settings so that they suit your needs.

·   Controllers: These are devices that regulate the appliances that you wish to automate and include tablets, smartphones, or computers. Controllers work by sending and receiving information regarding the condition of the automated devices. 

·   Actuators: These elements are involved in controlling the mechanism of the home automation system. They range from motors and valves to light switches. 

To say that you have a home automation system, these three components must work together. The system provides a broad range of features for its users. You can have it installed to enjoy numerous services such as:

  • Alarm systems
  • Equipment control
  • Remote lighting control 
  • Carbon monoxide monitoring
  • Security systems control
  • Surveillance camera control
  • Activated voice control
  • Personal assistant integration
  • Live video surveillance
  • Real-time message alerts

It is relevant to mention that you can automate places in your homes like your garden or your grow room if you have one. There is technology to control all the parameters your plants require for growth such as humidity, ventilation, temperature, and carbon dioxide. If you are on vacation or work a lot, you do not need to worry if your grow room has proper ventilation or whether there is enough air circulation, or temperature. You can easily install a LED grow light to do that for you and you can monitor it from wherever you may be.

Home automation has made automated homes earn the term “smart homes” because everything can now be controlled by a click of a button on a smartphone or tablet device. Some people tend to think that these homes can actually “think” for themselves now that they can operate things in your absence. If you are contemplating getting a home automation system, you should go ahead and do it. These 7 greatest benefits of smart-home based automation will convince you why you should get it.

1. Promotes safety

We all want to feel secure inside our homes. The capacity for you to control elements like lighting and small appliances remotely is what enhances safety in your home. Controlling small devices such as an oven or iron that are likely to cause a fire if left on for extended hours is an additional advantage because you can check from your phone to see whether they were switched off.  

Sometimes you may leave your home for work in a hurry and forget to switch off the lights. Having installed a home-based automation system gives you access to your home in that you can switch off the lights from the comfort of your office. Now that you can control lighting, suppose you are running late from work, or any other place you may be coming from, you can also easily switch them on to veer off burglars who may want to break into your home. 

2. Increases convenience and is cost-effective

 The potential to simply control everything will give you some kind of immeasurable satisfaction. While people can forget to carry their wallet or adjust a thermostat, people rarely forget their smartphones when they leave their homes. With your smart cellphone, you see and control everything at home just by clicking a few buttons.

If you have ever come home to find your house uninhabitable due to the extreme temperatures, you will appreciate a home automation system. Given how long temperatures can take to be at a favorable level having deflected to one end for too long, it can be distressing to stay in such a house. A home automation system can help make adjustments to your thermostat if you forgot to do that before you get home. With such convenience, you also save power. If no one has told you yet, smart homes will tone down your energy bill. Being able to control your thermostat and lighting ensures that you do not waste energy at all.

3.     Provides comfort

The fast-paced world that we live in comes with a lot of stress. For most people, the only place they feel most comfortable is there home. Having a smart-home based automation system makes life easy thereby promoting comfort. You get to sleep soundly when you know you have an alarm system. Life is comfortable if you can play music on your smart speakers or adjust the lighting in the room without having to get up.

Comfort is also felt by the ability to manage insights in your home. For example, you can monitor the kind of food in your refrigerator, the meals you cook, how much time you watch the television as well as how much energy you use. Having these insights will make you make plans or adjust your lifestyle. 

4.     Promotes awareness throughout the home

 When you live in a big house, it is difficult to be everywhere at the same time. Therefore, it is likely that you will fail to catch things that happen in some parts of your home. Surveillance camera control provided by the home automation system enables you to keep tabs on everything happening in the house. They can be installed in such a way that you can see your front yard, backyard as well as other rooms in the house. No unwanted guests can come into your home because you can choose to let them in or not. Additionally, promoting awareness also ensures that your home stays protected.

5.     Increases the functionality of your equipment

 A home automation system can help you operate your appliances better. For instance, an automated oven can help you cook your Thanksgiving turkey to perfection. When programmed right, you will not have to worry about cooking mishaps of undercooking or overcooking a meal. A smart television set will help you navigate through the apps to find what you need at the time. Suppose you have a home theater system, you can enjoy a movie night by controlling the effects of your sound and picture quality effortlessly. With these advantages, it will become fun for you to also entertain family and friends that come to your home. Lastly, having your equipment linked to other systems in the home using the automation technology will ultimately improve their effectiveness.

6.     Saves times

 In the running of the day to activities or while coming back from work, it is easy to run late sometimes thus living in a smart home saves you time. Suppose people are waiting for you on your doorstep wanting to go to your house, you do not have to worry about keeping them waiting for too long. You can easily let them in remotely as you head home. Moreover, with such a system, you never have to go back home to ensure that things are in order. You can go about your activities up until you are done thereby enhancing your productivity.

7.     You retain control of your home when out of town

 Sometimes your work may take you out of town, and require you to leave your house key with the neighbor to either feed your dog or water a plant. In such circumstances, it may be uncomfortable because you do not know what time they come in, what they do, or whether they even come at all. A smart-home based automation system ensures that you let your neighbor into the house on your tablet or iPad in your terms and monitor what they do. Such flexibility gives you control of your ” safe heaven.” You also do not have to worry when your good neighbor losses your house key. 

Conclusion

Home automation offers you endless possibilities to take charge of your home so that you also feel safe. Research has shown that when you install a home automation system, the value of your property also appreciates significantly. Leaving alone all the other things you can do to improve your home, this technology is by far among the top things you should invest in if you are a homeowner. Given how fast technology is evolving, you would not want to be left behind.