How to Elevate Your Home and Make it a Smart House [Guide]
In the coming years, most households will have smart technologies for the home. With endless possibilities, technology is sophisticated enough to automate sophisticated systems with the touch of a button or voice activation.
Whether you’re looking to do a new construction, whole remodel or a kitchen remodel, we’ll cover the ins and outs of smart home technologies to modernize your home and make it more efficient and convenient.
These days it’s hard to find a homeowner without some aspect of smart technology in their homes. A smart home connects multiple devices to Wi-Fi, allowing you to control compatible appliances with a smart home manager app on your phone, tablet, or computer.
It’s comforting to know you can control smart lights, smart thermostats, garage doors, and smart security systems remotely with Wi-Fi.
Since we spend a lot of time in our homes, automating processes can improve your overall quality of life, while making your home more energy-efficient and cost-effective.
Here are a few smart home features to take a look at.
Ways to Elevate Your Home and Make it a Smart Home
Voice Controlled Assistants
Voice assistants are another great way to make things more readily accessible if your hands are full and you’re unable to manually scroll through menus on a touchpad or mobile app.
Amazon Alexa and Google Home are two of the most popular platforms because they have more sophisticated smart home platforms and features, followed by Apple HomeKit and Samsung SmartThings.
Smart assistants are typically smart speakers like Google Nest Mini, Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod. The overall functionality of these devices is similar, and their sole purpose is to manage other smart devices in your home. It can play music, set reminders or answer questions.
Smart Lighting
Smart lighting adds ambiance. Accent lighting in a brightly lit home can be welcoming or act as a deterrent for burglars when you’re out-of-town. Turn your lights on whenever you want from wherever you are with just your voice.
If you aren’t necessarily looking to make a big investment, you can get some smart lightbulbs and smart plugs to get started. If you decide to go with a whole smart home makeover, you would need smart switches and outlets.
Although in-wall outlets are difficult to install yourself, hiring an experienced electrician or home builder can help you save money in the long run because you won’t need to individually convert every lightbulb in your home to a smart lightbulb.
Compatibility is key when it comes to mix and matching different products and services. One thing to consider is the different tiers of technology to choose from and what features you’re looking for.
Smart Thermostats
Smart thermostats allow you to program your schedule and create routines, maintain set temperatures to save energy, and are equipped with remote sensors and geolocation. Google Nest, Honeywell Home T5 Smart Thermostat and Ecobee’s Smart Thermostat with Voice Control are some of the best ones on the market.
Once you decide on a smart home platform, you can then program your devices to fit your busy schedule.
Smart Home Manager
A smart home manager is the final piece to bring it all together, automating everything from one centralized device.
Smart home manager apps help control all your appliances and create group actions for specific situations such as activating your security system and security cameras,closing the garage, and locking the front door when you leave for work. You can turn on and off indoor and outdoor smart home lighting from anywhere on your phone with a WiFi connection.
To cut down on any potential confusion, you could also convert your routines and timers to a single app, although you may still have to use the original app on occasion to fine tune.
Choose music from your favorite artist by song, genre, album, playlist or mood. Close your smart shades or smart blinds, which are motorized window treatments that can be controlled remotely and turn up the air conditioner all before walking in the house. Make your devices fit your busy schedule.
Final Thoughts Around Smart Homes
Costs can range depending on the size of your house, equipment cost, installation and set up, in addition to monthly support subscriptions. Check out HomeAdvisor for more information.
Smart home systems are no longer just for tech junkies and early adopters anymore because it’s hard to resist the ease and efficiency high tech platforms provide. New software is constantly coming out, so keep a lookout for the latest gadgets to add to your home.
Building a custom home with smart features doesn’t have to be daunting. There are many advantages to having a smart home that make it worthwhile including:
- Saving money on energy bills
- Making your family feel more secure
- Flexibility for adding new devices and appliances
- Convenience of managing all systems in one centralized location
- Keeping your home safe from burglars and having the ability to check on your home when you’re away
Ready to Get Started on Your Smart Home?
At Kamanski Construction, we have over 30 years of experience. We believe in quality work done right and making sure the process goes as smoothly as possible— let our highly skilled team of designers and contractors help you customize your smart home today, it’s just one click away.
Check out our portfolio. Questions? Give us a call at 864.800.9912 or drop us a line. Start your project today!