Home Automation Systems

Home Automation Systems

Home automation is the automatic control of electronic devices in your home. These devices are connected to the Internet, which allows them to be controlled remotely. With home automation, devices can trigger one another so you don’t have to control them manually via an app or voice assistant. For example, you can put your lights on schedules so that they turn off when you normally go to sleep, or you can have your thermostat turn the A/C up about an hour before you return to work so you don’t have to return to a stuffy house. Home automation makes life more convenient and can even save you money on heating, cooling and electricity bills. Home automation can also lead to greater safety with Internet of Things devices like security cameras and systems. But hold up; what’s the Internet of Things

Home Automation

CONVENIENCE

Control and automate just about every device and appliance within your home makes life easy. We've all gotten used to controlling our TV from the couch; just wait until you are able to dim the lights or turn on the a/c without getting up.

Imagine adjusting the temperature from your bed or controlling the volume of your whole-house audio system from any room. Or imagine having a the heater in your bathroom turning on automatically 5 minutes before the alarm goes off. It makes the chilly mornings much more bearable.

ENERGY SAVINGS

Home automation works efficiently for you, saving money on your utilities. Automating your home grants the ability to perform tasks simultaneously, without thinking. Smart thermostats and smart light bulbs save energy but only operating when you want them to.

SAFETY

Always on guard and ready, a home automation solution can also provide security and safeguarding for your home. From a wireless security camera keeping an eye on things to a water sensor that will alert you of a possible costly leak, an automated home keeps your property under surveillance so you can react at a moment's notice.

We're all used to opening the garage door from the car, but you'll be surprised how much safer you'll feel coming home to a lit home and even turning on more lights before you enter. With a couple of basic products, you can have your whole house light up like Fort Knox when there is motion detected at any corner of your house.

Home automation works via a network of devices that are connected to the Internet through different communication protocols, i.e Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and others. Through electronic interfaces, the devices can be managed remotely through controllers, either a voice assistant like Alexa or Google Assistant or an app. Many of these IoT devices have sensors that monitor changes in motion, temperature and light so the user can gain information about the device’s surroundings. To make physical changes to the device, the user triggers actuators, the physical mechanisms like smart light switches, motorized valves or motors that allows devices to be controlled remotely.1

Home automation works on three levels:

Monitoring: Monitoring means that users can check in on their devices remotely through an app. For example, someone could view their live feed from a smart security camera.

Control: Control means that the user can control these devices remotely, like panning a security camera to see more of a living space.

Automation: Finally, automation means setting up devices to trigger one another, like having a smart siren go off whenever an armed security camera detects motion.

Home Automation System Components

While some home automation systems require hubs, some mobile applications connect directly to a router, which connects directly to an IoT device. Of course, it’s preferable when there’s no hub, as that’s just an added cost on top of the cost of the IoT device itself.