How to Make My Home Smart - Installation, Automation Benefits and Smart Home Costs
Nov 17, 20237 min read
Chapter smart home: How to make my home smart? How to install automations & how much does a smart home cost? Learn information about everything you need!
A smart home represents a modern way of life, with the demand to buy or build homes with smart functions showing a significant increase. It is undeniable that a smart home can facilitate your daily life, making your life more comfortable. Who wouldn't want to be in full control of their home through a device they can keep in their hands almost all the time?
Smart homes have advanced systems that impress, using the latest technologies to automate various processes inside and outside your home. Are you looking for information on installing automations that will make your home smart? Below you will find everything you need.
What is the Smart Home
By the term "smart" house we mean a property that incorporates – to a lesser or greater extent – the possibility of setting and controlling certain electromechanical installations. Specifically, a smart home, a home with some intelligence so to speak, "performs" functions according to your own needs, giving you complete control. These functions are controlled at the push of a button, remotely, whether you are inside the building or away from it.
The smart home is not synonymous with simple programmable timers. Instead, it is a truly automated home characterized by the ability to create complex lighting conditions, sophisticated security control, video and audio distribution, and energy management.
Smart home and automation installation
Are you thinking of investing in the installation of systems that will make your home smart? Everything starts with the appropriate study of the space by professionals. From this study, your needs will emerge and after you have obtained all the necessary information about the smart home, you will be able to create a plan for the complete installation.
It should be noted that the installation of automation can be related to the creation of a smart home as a whole, or the integration of individual smart functions, depending on your needs, wants and, of course, your budget.
Then, after a comprehensive-documented study and discussion with the company or the person who will undertake any improvements, you can make the relevant agreements, gradually proceeding with the transformation of your home into a smart one. In a home that can provide you with conveniences and automations, making your life more comfortable and functional, without effort.
How to make my home smart - The top automations for a smart home
Is the question "how can I make my home smart" bother you? If so, then it is important to know that there are dozens of smart home automations that can make your life more comfortable, with the most popular being the following. Specifically:
Home security automation includes a variety of technological solutions designed to protect the home and its residents from dangers and threats. These automations can include:
· Alarm system: Motion sensors, window and door sensors, as well as surveillance cameras that trigger an alarm when they detect open doors, windows or even movement indoors.
· Access control: Systems that allow access to the home using codes, access cards or even biometrics such as fingerprints.
· Smart locks: Electronic locks that can be controlled from remote locations via smartphone or tablet.
· Security cameras: Smart surveillance cameras that allow home monitoring from anywhere with internet access.
· Alerts: Systems that notify residents via SMS, email or smartphone notifications if a problem occurs.
· Fire detection: Sensors that detect the presence of smoke and activate an alarm to warn residents - and/or the Fire Department, in case of danger.
A system for smart lighting can automatically turn on, turn off and dim the brightness inside your home, depending on your needs, the available natural light, saving energy and offering optimal visibility. Smart lighting facilitates your daily life at home as a whole and gives you whatever atmosphere you want, depending on the occasion.
#3 Water heater automation, irrigation system & electrical appliances
The system can turn a multitude of electrical appliances on and off at the flick of a switch, even remotely via smartphone. In particular, it may include the following:
· Water heater automation: Programming water heater temperature according to your needs and remote control via smartphone or tablet.
· Irrigation system automation: Irrigation scheduling and soil sensors for automatic moisture control and watering need.
· Automation of electrical appliances: Remote control of electrical appliances, such as air conditioners, ovens, TVs, etc., and the possibility of programming their operating hours to save energy.
Set up audio and video players easily and quickly in your home, filling the space with your favorite tunes or favorite programs. Check at any time and moment whether or not you turned off the radio and/or TV when leaving the house.
The automatic switches are the core of the system. Specifically, they distribute all information and accept programming via a local network connection to create various scenarios at home.
Roller and awning automations are the use of technologies to automate the shading system in a home. Specifically, such a system raises and lowers the blinds and awnings individually or in groups at the push of a switch. Shading at the appropriate times leads to reduced temperatures inside the house and therefore a reduction in cooling needs. For example, some functions are as follows:
The system can regulate heating and cooling remotely, not simply as an on/off function, but taking over all the adjustment functions that the remote control of the air conditioner can perform. You can program, in advance, the temperature change at home depending on the season or simply the time of day, with a touch or a simple voice command.
What are the benefits of a smart home?
The smart home gives you complete information and control even when you are on the other side of the world. By installing e.g. security cameras and their connection to your mobile or computer, you have remote access to your home 24/7. You know at all times who is entering or exiting, offering security and peace of mind. Beyond security, the smart home is a smart investment that can pay off in the long run. Specifically, a smart home:
According to research, automating certain processes in a home can increase its value by 5% - 35%, depending on the number and type of smart devices used. More and more property buyers are interested in buying a home that has smart devices such as:
Considering the increased levels of crime, property owners choose to surround their residences with the best possible security measures. Thus, Smart Homes, which already have such smart security systems installed (e.g. monitoring system) are particularly attractive to them, as they offer the required sense of security and peace of mind.
All of us, more or less, want everything and we want it now. For this reason it is not surprising that almost everything can now be done with a few taps on our mobile. Do you want to order? You use the corresponding app. Do you want to manage your finances? The same. Do you want to reserve a table in a restaurant? Similarly. Well, the smart home puts the control and management of many home functions on your mobile phone. Thus, it makes your life easier.
#4 Contributes to the protection of the environment
Often, a smart house is identified with the "green house" due to its high energy efficiency and autonomy that reduces or even limits the consumption of electricity and fossil fuels. So we would say that, in a way, a smart home is more ecological and environmentally friendly than a conventional property, since it contributes to the protection of the environment and the preservation of energy sources.
Installing a smart home is an expensive investment, but in the long run it pays off and saves money in the second year. Since everything is controlled with a few clicks, you can always be sure of what works, how it works and for how long in your home. You have control over the various devices in his home, you also control how much they "burn", since you define their overall operation, limiting the reckless waste of energy from devices that are constantly on, even when no one is in the room to use them .
Smart home and costs
It makes sense to have second thoughts when it comes to the smart home, since the cost of installing automations is not negligible. However, if you consider the benefits it can offer you in the second year, then it's worth reconsidering. Especially in a possible renovation, it would be good to consider the possibility of the "smart home".
The cost of converting a house into a smart home has to do with what you want to install in it. For example, an installation that requires a lot of wiring will obviously cost much more than buying wireless devices that communicate with each other. For example, if you start with a smart hub, the base on which you set up your smart home, since it functions as the means of communication and coordination of the various smart devices (ecosystem), you can spend from 12 euros to 300+ euros, depending on the needs and your budget.
If your property is at the stage of studying the electromechanical installations, then we recommend that you be informed by a responsible engineer about the Smart Home systems and how they could be integrated depending on the study.
For existing homes, the right solution comes after a serious study, which will document the proposed changes in wiring and installation. The correct evaluation of the benefits and the payback time of the project are the "key" to make the final decision.
