If you’re planning to build a new home for your family, you may want to go a mile further by making it a smart home. An intelligent home can help you remotely access your appliances, lighting, air conditioning, television, doors, and other devices through a mobile app. Smart home technology is supposed to bring comfort and help anyone operate electronics and appliances easily.
However, before you undertake this project, you need to plan well and have the proper budget. For instance, you need to identify the smart air conditioning system, security system, and other appliances you should acquire and from which manufacturer. Do you prefer to network them, or can they use a hotspot? These are some of the things you should be clear about. So if you’re planning to go smart, here are some prerequisite things you should consider to come up with your dream smart home.
What Devices And Appliances You Can Automate
Even though your aim is to have a smart home, this doesn’t mean every electronic in your house has to be automated. You only automate those devices you think would change the life in your home and make it comfortable. So consider making a list of those devices.
To help you out, you can consider automating these devices: your heating and cooling system, security system, home lighting, window treatments, home theater, television, blinds, multiroom music, and coffee maker. This list may look long, but you don’t have to implement it all at once. You can begin with the most essential and continue bringing the rest in.
Remember also that this will require finances, so you don’t need to push yourself too far. Adding the appliances slowly would even give you time to learn each of them extensively.
Facilitating Device Communication
Apart from being able to be accessed remotely, you need to ensure the devices can pass information to each other. For this, you need a good Wi-Fi router to facilitate device communication. Some devices that may need to communicate with each other include your smart door, smoke alarms, security system, and TV.
To have all these devices well connected, you need a powerful router with a strong connection, long-range of signals, and high data rates. The typical routers may not serve you well for this purpose. A good router is vital for good connection and to ensure your devices are safe from hackers, who also target smart home technology. Quality routers have suitable security protocols to ward off security threats.
What Gadgets Can Simplify Your Life
Smart home devices aren’t just for prestige. More importantly, they’re there to simplify your life. However, they’re not uncostly at all. Therefore, consider what you do from morning till evening and list those activities you can automate. This may include turning on the hot shower, turning the radio on and off, making coffee, switching the lights on and off, or opening the shades. Once the list is complete, you can now buy gadgets that can help you accomplish those tasks.
Such tasks can also be timed. What time do you want the shower to start? During the winter, would you prefer the air conditioning to be on minutes before you arrive home? Or do you want the smart cooker to cook dinner and find it ready once you come home from work?
Integrating Smart Gadgets With Dumb Appliances
If you want to cut your budget, you can consider upgrading some of your dumb devices with smart plugs. It’s the smart plug that’s connected to the Wi-Fi for remote access through your phone or digital assistant. For instance, you can connect your smart plug to your old lamp, coffee machine, or washing machine. There are many kinds of smart plugs out there. Be sure to get one that’s compatible with your devices.
Budget For Accessories
If you’ve learned about smart devices from the media, it’s possible you didn’t get all the information. Many smart devices may not work without their accompanying accessories. Therefore, talk with professionals to know what else you need apart from the smart gadget itself.
Wrapping Up
Building a smart home needs proper planning, just like any other project. Take your time to think through the devices you want to automate. Before buying a new appliance, you may ask whether there are smart plugs you can use instead. This might be cost-effective for you.
Additionally, ensure your Wi-Fi device is strong enough to provide the best connectivity to your smart devices, such as smart doors, cookers, television, and lighting system. Otherwise, you’d be unable to access them most of the time, a situation you should avoid if you want to enjoy your smart home investment without hassle.
