Ways to Create a Smart Home
The technological revolution has changed our lives irrevocably, and you only have to look around the average home to see how far we’ve come. With the ‘Internet of Things’ already delivering more advanced appliances and accessories, almost every aspect of your home life can be automated or streamlined.
From Wi-Fi-enabled kettles and automated grocery orders to motorized blinds and doorbells with in-built cameras, your home can utilize a wide range of tech to make your life easier.
Despite the range of options available, many people are simply unsure where to start when it comes to creating a truly smart home. If you’re not familiar with the technology or you’re worried about compatibility, you may be hesitant to make any changes to your existing setup.
However, creating a smart home could be easier than you think. With the potential to save you time, money, and hassle, don’t let a sense of apprehension hold you back from enhancing your home and your life. To get accustomed to the benefits a smart home can offer, take a look at these four fast ways to make your home into a tech paradise.
Boost your router
If you want your home to be wise, it needs to be well-connected. To operate effectively, appliances need to receive and send information via your Wi-Fi network. This means you’ll need to ensure that your router offers decent coverage in every area of your property.
Don’t simply focus on the rooms where you usually use your laptop or tablet. Use your smartphone to check the signal in other areas too. For example, you may not routinely spend time in your attic conversion, but you’ll want to ensure they’re a good Wi-Fi signal up there before installing automated blinds on the skylights.
Similarly, you might not spend a lot of time on the internet when you’re in your kitchen, but if you want to start making a cup of tea while you’re on your way home from work, you’ll need a good signal from your router. If your signal isn’t up to par, upgrade your router or place boosters in strategic locations to facilitate a better connection. You can also consider getting a cell phone signal booster.
Choose a hub
If you’re going to have lots of smart devices dotted around your home, it can be helpful to have a central hub from which you can control everything. Although it isn’t essential, it can make it easier to automate tasks and issue commands, particularly if you’re not very confident regarding technology.
Some smart devices will only work via a hub, while others can be used in isolation. It’s critical, however, that whatever accessories you choose, you check that they are compatible with one another.
Many people use Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa to control a variety of smart devices, so you may want to try both out and see which works best for you. Remember – a virtual assistant can make it easy to control everything, from your lights, tv, and Freeview box to your cooker, thermostat, and home security system.
Create a Smart Home: Put safety first
Creating a smart home allows you to streamline your life and enhance your entertainment options but, more importantly, it allows you to make your home even safer. Today’s technology means you can upgrade your home safety systems and incorporate smart smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, CCTV cameras, and even motion detectors.
As well as alerting you with a standard alarm, you can set your smart devices to send alerts to your phone and to the phone of a family member or friend. What’s more, smart devices mean it’s easier than ever to test devices regularly and ensure they’re working optimally.
Many people forget to do this with standard devices or put it off until another day, sometimes with catastrophic consequences. With smart devices, however, checking your home safety equipment is functioning can be as easy as tapping your smartphone.
If you have central alarm monitoring in place to help you, all of this becomes much more streamlined and easier to manage, enabling you to really make the most of the technology you have in place.
This level of safety means you can be sure that your home remains secure at all times, whether you’re at home, out and about locally, or even on the other side of the world.
Enjoying Your New Smart Home
If you’re interested in tech, creating a smart home can be an exciting way to explore new concepts, designs, and equipment. If you want to enjoy the convenience of living in a smart environment but feel daunted by the prospect of choosing devices, systems, and hubs, there’s no need to worry.
Many firms offer customers the chance to have an experienced technician install and program smart devices, so they can create a genuinely smart home in a fraction of the time and with minimal disruption.
