Home automation is the automatic and electronic control of household features, activities and appliances from a device (desktop, laptop, smartphone, tablet). It makes life more convenient, increases security and saves you money. There is a myriad of smart home automation options available to homeowners!
How Does Smart Home Automation Work?
A smart home automation system has three main elements:
- Sensors monitor changes in daylight, temperature, or motion. The system then adjusts those settings to your preferences.
- Controllers are the devices (laptop, tablet, smartphone, desktop) used to send and receive messages about the status of automated features in your home. They receive the information from the sensors, and based on the program, control the actuators.
- Actuators (light switches, motors, relays, limit switches, motorized valves, etc.) control the mechanism or function of a home automation system. They’re programmed to be activated by a remote command from a controller.
Smart Home Automation Options:
- Fire, carbon monoxide and smoke detectors monitor levels in your home and set off an alarm if danger is present. Smart home options are more reliable than the stand-alone detectors found in hardware stores.
- Remote lighting control allows a homeowner to turn lights on and off, change the colour, brighten and/or dim the lights and schedule daily options.
- Thermostat control is a great tool for managing power consumption. You can program your air conditioner and heating systems, saving you time and money while reducing your carbon footprint.
- Water leak sensors reduce worry and keep a leak from turning into a flood! They alert you to standing water and persistently damp areas that you may not notice. They can be programmed to automatically send an alert to shut off the water in case of a leak.
- A garage door opener detects if your door is open or closed, and you can operate it remotely from anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection.
- Inter-device communication allows all your devices (phone, laptop, tablet, TV, entertainment system, etc.) to communicate with each other creating a communications network in your home.
- Motorized control of anything that moves (curtains, shades, blinds, murphy bed, etc.) is possible with a smart home automation system.
- Automated home security systems are perhaps the most important and most popular features of smart home automation.
- Interior and exterior cameras enable remote live-stream footage and send a notification when a camera detects movement, people or packages.
- Video doorbells have a camera that live-streams what it captures, sending notifications to your mobile device and revealing whomever/whatever is waiting on your doorstep. This makes it easy to communicate with visitors via an installed speaker, without having to open the door.
- Alarms/sirens go off and are intended to scare away intruders, alert you and/or alert your neighbours.
- Smart locks allow keyless entry to your home via an app.
- Entry sensors are placed on a window and/or door and sense if that entry point is opened. Entry sensors are suggested for all windows and doors on the ground floor.
- Motion sensors, usually placed in the main entryway on the ground floor of a home, detect motion and alert the system.
- Glass break sensors detect the sound of glass breaking and alert via mobile notification.
- Control panel: This device is used to activate and deactivate monitors and sensors.
Smart home automation allows you to make your home work for you. Lights come on to welcome you. Doors unlock when you approach. Your smart security system disarms. The temperature is always perfect. You can build a smart home automation system that suits your personal needs!
Interested in Smart Home Automation? Considering an automated home security system? Contact SMART | Home Security. We’re a Calgary-based company partnering with ADT by TELUS, Canada’s leading provider for advanced home security systems. Call us at 587-800-1542. We’ll help you develop a customized home security plan.
