5 Tips To Consider Before Installing A Home Automation System

Home automation, enhanced security, and remote control are not new concepts—they’ve been around for decades.

The difference between then and now, of course, is price and availability. Smart homes are no longer only for the wealthy. In fact, by 2020 Gartner estimates that the IoT will sprawl to 26 billion units of connected devices.

If you’re not already living in a smart home, chances are you will be soon. Here are some tips that will help you optimize your smart home experience.

Why do you want a smart home in the first place?

Simple question, but not a stupid question. Are you looking to save money with energy efficiency? Do you want to enhance your media (TV, music, etc.) experience? Or would you prefer additional home security?

Consider the needs and lifestyle of your entire family.

Make a list of features you think you will use the most, add in the ones that would be nice to have, and rank them from 1-10. This exercise will help you decide how you want your home to supplement or enhance your daily activities and point you down the right path of research.

Safety is #1

It’s easy to get distracted by the thousands of features available with IoT (automatic dance party at 5PM Friday, anyone?), but nothing beats the true utility of increasing your safety and security.

For instance, did you know you that with a smart home system you can connect your smoke detectors to your lighting system? In this way, you can easily design your house to go into ‘fire mode’ automatically.

Seriously, start by considering safety features.

You may not have to rewire your house, but you may want to

Home automation is a wide spectrum, from million dollar installations to a $30 Philips Hue light bulb pack.

There are plenty of systems that can use your existing wiring, plumbing, and HVAC systems. Power-line communication devices can plug into your existing outlets and carry data through the same wires that transmit electricity.

The strength of your home network and other DIY considerations, however, can interrupt media experiences. Buffering, buffering… Noooooo!

Don’t be afraid to start small

Remember that ranked list you made of all the home automation features you’d like? If you start with the first one or two on that list, observe how they enhance your lifestyle, save you money, or help the environment, you’ll be in a better position to know if going all in with a home automation system will actually benefit your lifestyle.

No reputable home automation installer would tell you that you need to go big or go home. If you are looking for a reputable home automation company, we can help.

Decide what this investment is worth to you

This tip should arguably placed in the first position. Is home automation a luxury purchase? That’s debatable, as we’ve gone over some of the safety and security benefits. Is it something you should take out a second mortgage on your house to implement? Probably not.

Again, reputable home automation companies will look at your plan and lifestyle and work with your budget, not use it as a negotiating tool.

Thanks for reading! We’ll see you next month with more smart home tips and content.
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