There is a great deal of information written today about the advantages of smart home automation and smart home control. Is it all hype, written to sell us more gadgets? Is it all just promotion and marketing? In this short article, we will look at real life benefits of working to turn your Greeley, CO house into a smart home.
The benefits revolve around several categories. They include convenience, remote access or control, security, efficiency, resale, and just plain fun.
Convenience
Having a home that is controlled or automated just makes life more convenient. Sending audio and video around the home from one central location gives you access to your media in ways that up to now have not been possible. Lighting control, intercoms, controlling your HVAC system, door locks and garage doors, blinds, and other sub-systems of your home simply make life easier.
See Also: What is Lighting Control?
Remote Access
Have you ever wondered if you forgot to close the garage door? Or perhaps you have forgotten to turn the air conditioning off when you went on vacation. Maybe you have needed to check on whether your driveway needs to be plowed while you are out of town. These situations can be alleviated when you have the ability to access your home remotely. Smart automation makes this possible by monitoring all your home's systems and providing you instant access to that information right on your smartphone or tablet
Energy Management
Proper energy management of the lighting, heating, and other utilities can be effectively enhanced when you use smart home technologies. Lights can be programmed to turn on or off depending upon vacancy or occupancy. Your sprinkler system can be automated based upon weather conditions. Heating and air conditioning can be controlled remotely or based on occupancy for a more efficient use of energy. Each change will help conserve resources and money when you use smart home control.
Security
There are a variety of methods for adding security to your home. These include integrating the security system into the smart home technologies so that lighting, HVAC control, and other solutions can all be used to make your home safer and more secure. Smart door locks can make it easier to give access to workers and family members who may need to be let into your home.
Home Resale Value
When it comes time to sell a smart home, real estate agents will have an abundance of effective selling points. The seller can explain the system and discuss how it makes life easier and point out whichever advantages of a smart home appeal to a given buyer. If you have smart home automation, your home has the potential to sell for more than similar homes with conventional technologies. By attracting potential buyers and increasing your home’s value, automation can be a worthwhile investment for the future.
There are not too many disadvantages to having a smart home. The most significant one is that-- because you end up with a multiplicity of apps--incorporating smart technologies into your home can be confusing and difficult to manage. Each subsystem ends up requiring its own app for management. It can be confusing, and ultimately frustrating. The good news is that there’s a better way.
At Encore Sight and Sound, we recommend using an integrated control system such as Control4 as the backbone for your smart home. With one simple and easy-to-use interface, you can control all your home subsystems with any smartphone or tablet, computer or television. Give us a call today and let us help you discover the pleasure, simplicity, and efficiency of a truly smart home
