Home automation is a field that could be a simple or incredibly complex task. It is easy to get overwhelmed by jargon and devices and standards. The easiest way to get into home automation is cut the crap and focus on what you want to do.
Deciding what you want to will help you determine your budget, method to act, and how much time you will be investing to setup things. With the right level of originality, the sky’s the limit on things you can automate in your home, but here are several basic categories of jobs that you can pursue, for example:
- Automate your lights to turn on and off on a schedule, remotely, or when specific conditions are triggered.
- Set your air conditioner to keep the house temperate when you’re home and save energy while you’re gone.
- Open your curtains during the day and shut them at night.
- Feed your pets on a calendar and with pre-determined quantities of food.
- Open your parking door with voice controls.
- Set your coffee maker to have a fresh pot ready as soon as you wake up.
- Create an emergency party button that goes from one to funky in seconds.
These were few example what you achieve with smart home, everything now works on electricity, and several things can not be made more intelligent.
If there are specific things you want to control, you don’t have to connect your whole home. Instead, you might choose a single-purpose product.
Ensure Compatibility Among The Products You Buy
But when picking a smart appliance, don’t just look at your current needs. Think about what might interest you in the future. Automation of Home is an evolving field. New products are becoming widely available, and new versions are replacing older.
By knowing few basics about the type of devices you buy will be compatible with your plan. The secret is backward compatibility. When purchasing new home automation product, you should check for backward compatibility with products you already have. Buying backward compatible products will expand your system instead of replacing it.
Modes of Connection
There are many network methods available to connect your smart device when considering to make your home bright for example:
- Bluetooth
- ClearConnect
- Insteon
- Thread
- Wi-Fi
- X10
- Z-Wave
- ZigBee
5 Easy-to-Setup Smart Home Devices
The Amazon Echo
Amazon Echo is an impressive device for a smart home. It started as voice-operated Bluetooth speakers but evolved into something much greater. It can connect with several smart home product, and you can control them using voice command.
Smart Thermostat
A smart thermostat is perhaps the second most useful smart product you can buy. Not only does it make your life more comfortable and convenient, but it can also save you money in the long run.
The best part is that the Nest thermostat can now interface directly with the Echo by enabling the Nest skill in the Alexa app. Use voice commands to change the temperature or provide Nest with comfort level feedback.
Smart Light Switches
Some users recommend smartphone newbies to start with smart lighting and bulbs because they are easy.
A Smart Hub + A Few Sensors
If you want to take your smart home from the basics to the next level, you’ll want to start using a smart home automation hub, of which there are several to choose from. However, for us, nothing beats the newbie-friendliness of the Samsung SmartThings Hub.
A Smart Home Door Lock
The last “practical and comfortable” item I want to highlight is the smart home door lock. There are many models to choose from, but the one we recommend is the Schlage Connect Touchscreen Deadbolt.
Smarthome and Actuators
Linear Actuators can be used to shift work tables, move printer and scanner heads and even drive robotic system. Mostly used for automatic lifts, Different types of actuators can be used in a variety of ways, but are the most efficient solution to automate the retraction and extension of various design elements.
In other words, if you want a feature in your home to open when needed, and closed when not in use, then a linear actuator can provide this function. It all depends on your vision of how simple to use technology can be applied in your home.