A Guide For Your Smart Home Essentials. Benefits and Tips
In our digital world, technology is constantly changing and getting better which should come as no surprise that people have invented ways to make our homes smarter and our lives easier. But if you’re still unsure about investing into smart homes, then this article is perfect for you. There are plenty of benefits to having a smart home, keep reading to find out more!
Smart homes may seem convenient for others, but others may also struggle with the idea of smart homes. Smart homes are a huge change and can impact how you and your family live for the next few years. When considering your kitchen or bathroom renovation and design consider installing some smart home appliances.
Curious about smart bulbs or exploring the new amazing capabilities of your new voice assistant? There are many researches that can be found on smart homes NZ and how you can make your house a smart home. Best thing about it, is that you don’t need a full house renovation to make your house a smart home. Having some kitchen design ideas with smart solution home ideas can work wonders in just one room. This can be done in many ways and you’ve probably come across two keywords that is repeated in all your research findings. Smart home and home automation. So what are the differences between those two key terms?
If you assume that these two terms are somewhat similar, you are correct! These two terms are closely related, but they do refer to different things that makes them different from one another.
Smart homes in NZ refers to electronic devices and sensors that can be controlled over the internet or your own local network like your phone, computer and other devices. These devices most often have their own separate app that you’d use to control within certain ecosystem. And it also doesn’t require a full home renovation for it to work. For example, Alexa is a home assistant smart device that you can set up and make it towards your liking. As Alexa is a part of Amazon, there is a separate app needed in order to set up you Alexa.
Home automation refers to a methodology for using smart home devices. The purpose of home automation is to make devices work automatically so that it can response to what you’re doing. While also requiring little to no interaction with any app or physical interface as we try to incorporate this into smart homes NZ.
For example, Philips Hue smart bulbs. You can set them up to a certain ‘scene’ or lighting for a movie night. With a smart home, you’ll open your smart home app to adjust the lighting. But, with home automation, you can set up an automation that can detect when you’re watching a movie and adjust the lights for you. While this can be done to any room you pick, consider going for a full home renovation to be able to have all those nice features in every room.
Content:
- 7 Benefits of having a Smart Home
- Cost of Setting up and Running a Smart Home
- How to get started on a Basic Smart home
- Top 4 energy efficient Smart appliances
- Creating Smart bathrooms
- The future of Smart Kitchens in NZ
- Tips to have a secure smart home security system
- Our top 4 automation systems
7 Benefits of Having a Smart Home in NZ
1. Entertainment
The main form of entertainment we indulge in nowadays is connecting our streaming services to our Tv’s. Which provides you with a bigger screen to watch your favourite movie or tv show on. When first starting to invest in smart homes, Google Chromecast or Apple TV is a good starting point. These are smart home gadgets which can be controlled via voice if you have a compatible smart assistant. Not only is it exclusive to watching movies and tv shows, it’s also another way to blast your music while doing chores.
Example of Chromecast/Apple Tv
2. General Appliances
There are many appliances that be control towards your smart home and make your life easier. There are a huge variety of smart appliances that you could choose from. Few examples are fridges, ovens, heaters, air conditioners, which those appliances are able to give you notifications. A popular appliance that most people have in their homes are automatic vacuums which will send you a notification once it’s finished or if it’s stuck somewhere in the house. Some appliances can be controlled on your phone or by using voice commands. Voice commands only work if you have a smart device, like Alexa or Google Assistant.
3. Lighting and Temperature Control
Are you all comfy and warm in your bed but forgot to turn the lights off? With your smart home appliances like purchasing smart lights, you can turn the lights off from your phone and stay in your cocoon of warmth. Having a smart thermostat in your household can also be controlled from your phone or using voice command.
4. Home Security
Security plays a huge part in our lives as we want to keep our belongings secure. With a smart home, you’re able to control your gates from your phone. Install cameras which you can also see from your phone and purchase a smart doorbell which comes with a camera. Works best if you’re connected with Wi-Fi.
5. Sustainability
Smart home appliances are environmentally friendly and can be sustainable for you as there are gadgets and appliances that can track your energy usage and water consumption. This can help you use less energy and water.
6. Remote Access
The best thing about investing into a smart home is that everything can be controlled from your phone no matter where you are as long as you have a strong internet connection. Think you left the lights on while you’re on vacation? Worry no more because with remote access, you’re able to turn the lights off from your phone.
Remote Access through your smart phone | Photo Credit – iStock
7. Accessibility
Smart homes are easy to use and accessible to everyone. This can be extremely helpful with people who have a disability as they can use voice commands to turn things on and off and be able to control things without having to get up.
Cost of Setting up & Running a Smart Home
With upgrading your house, there will always be associated costs and creating a smart home is no different. Smart homes NZ do have smart home appliances and smart home technology that do cost significantly more due to the lack of interest and popularity in them. But it’s been predicted that these prices may drop and become more popular in the next few years. Running a smart home can also be costly as you’re introducing more powered devices to your house. Look at it this way, buying a house is an investment. Doing a full home renovation so that you love your house even more is also an investment. Setting up a smart home is also an investment.
Setup Costs
Setting up your smart home NZ or purchasing your very first smart home technology can cost significantly more than ordinary items that does the exact same things but with manual assistant. An example of this could be having LED bulbs. LED bulbs can range between $10 – $20. Whereas smart bulbs can range from $30 – $40. A little jump in price but it’s enough reason as to why consumers prefer not to adopt in smart home technology.
Running Costs
It’s no secret that having a smart home will incur additional running costs to your power bill. However, with intelligent choices and enough research, you can reduce your costs and lower you water and electricity usage.
Taking your time and carefully considering when choosing your smart home technology, setting up and managing your IoT (Internet of Things) appliances can have a positive impact on the cost in smart homes NZ.
Do Smart Homes Save Money?
Smart homes can indeed save money. As said before having a smart home is an investment that can pay off in the long run. To save money you’ll need to set up and manage the devices correctly. When setting up your smart home devices or items. Consider on-time and power consumption. Creating smart solution homes by choosing energy efficient smart homes technology. When you do a full home renovation, we encourage you to think about incorporating smart solution ideas in your full home renovation.
When purchasing smart bulbs, consider buying the more energy efficient LED lights. With many researches, LED lights are shown to be the better option as they run cooler, use less energy and last longer than incandescent bulbs. Studies have found that LED bulbs use between 75% and 80% less energy than an incandescent bulb.
Another benefit to encourage you to use LED bulbs is the extended lifetime they have. Most if not all LED bulbs have around 25,000 hours of life. Compared to incandescent bulb which can last around 1000 hours.
As said earlier, LED bulbs are significantly cooler than incandescent. Incandescent bulbs in the house can slowly increase the ambient temperature of the house, increasing the costs of cooling the house. When thinking about a full home renovation, consider opting for LED bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs in smart homes NZ.
Another way a smart home can help you save money is investing in purchasing a smart thermostat which can help you save on energy bills. Smart thermostats can allow excellent control over heating and cooling the house and you’re able to monitor the temperature with your phone.
How to Get Started with a Basic Smart Home?
Starting to move towards having a smart home is very exciting no matter if it’s one smart item or multiple smart items. But if you are looking to create an 100% smart home. It’s important to plan it out and consider smart home technology and smart solution homes. Which can help you get the best possible solution for your budget.
Planning
Thinking of having a smart home? But not sure where to start? There are many smart devices that is advertised to you. But not all of them are the right fit for you or your house. This is where planning becomes a vital stage of creating a smart home. There are many tools to help with this process and make your planning easier.
Firstly, you’d want to do research in which smart home device is compatible with your home. Start by writing down the different devices that would work well with your house. If there’s too many options, consider a pros and cons list of them all.
Secondly, you’d want to decide where you’ll place the device. The most popular place that people put their smart devices is usually in the living room or the kitchen. This is due to having easy access to power outlets. Some smart devices also have a wired network capability and can often work better when wired.
Once that is all sorted, you can go ahead and set up your smart device. You’d want to set up schedules which can help reduce your energy bills as well as playing around with it to get more comfortable with the app. Trying out all the features that your smart device can provide. This is a great way to slowly inch your way to making you house a smart house with smart home technology.
Installing
When it comes to setting up smart devices that are somewhat like Amazon Alexa, they are easy to set up. But with smart bulbs and smart outlets, it can be a different story entirely. If you need help installing new outlets or needing new cable runs. It’s the safest choice for you to hire an electrician who can do all the electrical work.
Top 4 Recommended Energy Efficient Appliances
1. Smart Thermostats
When renovating your house, consider purchasing a smart thermostat for your house. Or if you’re designing your house, switch out your old thermostat for a smart thermostat. This can help cut down on energy consumption. Smart thermostats help regulate and automate your heating and cooling. They can also be controlled from your phone.
Smart Thermostat which can be controlled from phone | Photo Credit – iStock
2. Smart Lighting
When designing your house, consider purchasing smart lighting that can connect to your smart home device. Having smart lights in your smart home means you can schedule when the lights turn on and off. Switching to LED bulbs will also help reduce your energy usage.
Check out some smart light bulbs from Bunnings
3. Smart Fridge
When considering your kitchen design, opt for a smart fridge as they are energy efficient and come with heaps of benefits. A smart fridge gives you an option to write a virtual bulletin board for your family with a ‘to do list’, reminders or quote of the day. Sick of having expired food in your fridge? With the smart fridge, the appliance is able to keep track of expiration dates, so you don’t waste any food.
Smart Fridge with touch screen options | Photo Credit – iStock
4. Smart Outlets
Thinking of making your house more modern? Consider switching some outlets to smart outlets to make your house eco-friendly. Normal outlets constantly drain energy even when you aren’t using it and to stop it from draining energy, you’ll have to turn the outlet off. Not everyone has time to turn the outlet on and off everything. With the smart outlet, they automatically detect when you aren’t using it and cuts the power off. This is a great way to be more energy efficient.
How to Secure Your Smart Home Security? 5 Essential Tips
1. Set up your router correctly
A key tip when thinking about securing your smart home security is understanding that your Wi-Fi router is the doorway to your smart home. Setting up your router correctly by following all instructions and these tips will secure your home security. Therefore, eliminating the threat of a possible hacker.
2. Change the routers default name
It’s important to change your router name as keeping it as the default name will make it easier for people to find default login details. Using the default name will make it easier for others to gain access to your smart home. When changing the router name, be creative and remember to leave personal details out.
3. Set the password to something unique
Include capital letters, numbers and symbols in your password which can create a super strong password for your smart home security. You can also consider using a random password generator if you can’t come with anything. The generator will provide you options and be sure to write the password down somewhere in case you forget it.
4. Disable features you don’t use
There are many features that come with a smart device, and most times you’ll end up only using a few things. Be sure to disable any feature you don’t need like voice control on certain features. This is because if someone hacks into your smart device, they’re able to listen to your conversations and hear everything you say. Therefore, disabling features, you don’t use, eliminates the threat of that problem.
5. Enable multi-factor authentication
Enable a multi-factor authentication onto your smart home device is a great way to increase security and prevent others from hacking your smart home device. The best two factor authentication to use for a smart device is sending a verification code to your mobile device to gain access to the smart home device. As we always have our phone on us, if you get sent a verification code that you’re unsure off you can change the password on your smart home device or improve the security.
Benefits of Installing Smart Kitchen Appliances
1. Smart devices provide useful notifications
With technology growing, smart appliances are becoming trendy and somewhat useful. Based on the smart appliances you have, they’re able to send you notifications to let you know if you didn’t close the fridge properly, or if the dishwasher is finished. Mundane tasks that could let you get on with other things you need to do without worrying if you left the fridge open or not as your smart appliances or devices will send you a notification.
With smart appliances and smart devices, they’ll let you know if they’re malfunctioning, and you’ll be able to get them fixed before they actually break.
Notification received on phone
2. Energy efficient appliances cut costs
Although smart appliances are more expensive than normal household appliances, they’re a good investment to make when creating a smart home. Not only are you just investing in the appliance itself, but you’re also investing into the software and technology that is integrated into the appliance.
Smart kitchen appliances can help you track your energy consumption by letting you know which is using the most energy to help you cut cost. These smart kitchen appliances can be monitor on a regular daily basis from your phone.
3. Cooking made easy
With having a smart kitchen, it makes cooking easier as there are some smart kitchen appliances that lets you know important information. An example of this would be letting you know the perfect temperature for cooked meat which will eliminate any food poisoning. This makes preparing food safer.
There are some smart ovens that don’t require you to sit around the kitchen and keep an eye on the oven to make sure your food isn’t burning. The smart oven itself will cook your dish for you and then put it on ‘warming mode’ until you’re ready to eat. There are many benefits to having smart appliances in your kitchen and this is one of them.
Example of a small smart oven | Photo Credit – iStock
4. Less worry when you’re on vacation
Constantly think someone is going to break into your house when you’re on vacation? With your smart home, you’ll be able to keep an eye on your home and eliminate any worries you might have. Having smart lights in your smart home will make your house feel less empty when you’re on vacation. Which can give an illusion of someone being home because the lights are on since smart lights are accessible from your device.
5. Smart Appliances
Some great smart appliances to add to your smart home kitchen are smart dishwashers and smart refrigerators. Smart refrigerators have a camera in the inside so, when shopping for groceries you’ll know what you need. Having a smart refrigerator also helps monitor and control energy usage and sends you a notification letting you know if there is a power outage or if you didn’t close the door properly.
A great feature that is included in a smart dishwasher is that if there were a leak, the dishwasher would let you know. Smart dishwashers stop working once it detects a leak and shut themselves off to protect flooring. Which is helpful as you’re able to get that fixed asap. These are some essential items to think about having in your smart home.
Example of having a smart dishwasher and features | Photo Credit – iStock
How to Create a Smart Bathroom? 6 Tips to Help.
1. Voice control in the bathroom
With your smart device, you’re able to take advantage of using voice commands when showering or too busy to do it yourself. You can use your smart devices to adjust smart lighting or to change music. The best thing about this is that you can use any smart device to do this. Using a virtual digital assistant helps add another layer of convenience to your smart home and make your bathroom design more luxurious.
2. Smart shower
Are you always waiting for your shower to heat up before jumping in? With smart showers you don’t have to wait for the shower to heat up. Smart showers let you adjust the temperature towards your liking, so you can step into the shower with the perfect water temperature. Another benefit of a smart shower is that you can adjust a time limit for your shower to ensure that you’re not late for anything. Smart showers help lower your water usage and smart showers also come with Bluetooth speakers which can connect to your phone. Have a shower, have a party, have a concert.
3. Soaking tubs
Having a smart bathroom doesn’t always have to mean having smart appliances or a smart device. Creating a smart bathroom can be from how you design the space and keeping bathroom accessories organized. Standalone soaking tubs are a great way to help eliminate clutter in your bathroom. Having a standalone soaking tub in your bathroom will help replicate the experience of a spa treatment. If your bathroom has space, consider purchasing a standing bathtub in your bathroom design.
Although our past renovated bathrooms don’t feature all smart bathroom appliances and gadgets. The most popular item that most bathroom renovations are standalone tubs or soaking tubs. Check out a few of our bathroom renovations with a standalone bathtub below!
Soaking Tub | Photo Credit – Unsplash
Standalone Bathtub in Greenhithe
4. 21st century toilets
Bidets have been around for a while now, most popular in Japan. Although people see bidets as a luxury product and unusual to have in your home. When thinking of 21st century toilets, there are more products that aren’t bidets. So, if bidets aren’t your thing, don’t worry. There are other ways to smarten up your bathroom.
Smart toilets have motion sensors that can put the toilet seat up or down, depending on your preference. Some toilets will automatically flush on its own once you’ve finished your business. There are also smart toilets that can self-clean. Some benefits of having a smart toilet are that they’re environmentally friendly, reduce the risk of overflowing and some smart toilets can instantly clean themselves. This will definitely add a new element into your smart home. Consider them in your bathroom design.
Example of Bidet in Bathroom | Photo Credit: Reece
5. Intelligent faucets
Smart faucets have been around for a while and some shopping malls have implemented them into public toilets. This is a great idea nowadays as it reduces the risk of and germs and bacteria spreading as those faucets are motion sensor. Consider smart faucets in your bathroom design. Having a smart faucet in your smart home will help lower your water usage and saves energy. Also eliminates bacteria spreading around the house if someone in the family is sick.
6. Design
Want a smart bathroom but on a budget? There are many different ways that you can create a smart bathroom without purchasing all the smart bathroom appliances. You can create a smart bathroom by purchasing small gadgets like a smart outlet to start off with. Changing your bathroom fixtures and fittings is a great way to create a smart bathroom without all the expensive appliances. Consider fittings and fixtures that can make your bathroom look smart in your bathroom design.
Example of a smart bathroom design | Photo Credit – iStock
Check out our top 15 bathroom design trends blog for more inspiration
The History of Kitchen Technology
Kitchen technology has always been in the works since our technology has become more advanced. As it helps reduce the amount of work that we need to do in the kitchen. Since kitchen appliances have been around for a very long time, it’s hard to make changes to making your kitchen smarter. As decades go past, the design and style of kitchen appliances have become smarter, sleeker, and more energy efficient. Over the years there has been plenty of changes to create smart homes technology as well as coming up with smart solution homes to make life easier. Especially more creative ideas for small kitchen design as not everyone has the luxury of having a big kitchen.
High – tech Kitchen Trends
As often stated, the kitchen is the heart of the home. In your kitchen design idea, make sure to spend extra time making sure that the kitchen is perfect for your needs. As it is the heart of the home, we often spend a lot of time in there. Not only does it serve as a place where you cook, but a place where everyone can gather and where you can entertain guests. Or cooking a meal but also feeling included with friends and family. How to design a kitchen that can incorporate all these things? Smart home technology has come a long way and there are now smart kitchen appliances that you can purchase. Incorporate them into your kitchen design idea.
Total Integration and Automation
Due to the pandemic, everyone has spent most of the year stuck in their house. Some may have discovered that their house was lacking a bit in terms of entertainment and caring for their needs. It’s safe to say that we’ve had those days where we just want to be lazy. Having smart home technology can really help with being lazy on those days. Having total integration of your smart home devices will mean that you can control every smart home technology from your phone.
Smart homes NZ will need to have smart solution homes so that your device connected to smart home technology is flexible. Instead of having a full home renovation to make your smart home flexible. You can start small and consider kitchen design ideas to make space for smart home technology. Smart devices can be customised and will become more popular in the next few years to come.
Disaster Preparation
Due to climate change and the constant increase temperature of our planet, can cause natural disasters to happen more often. Homeowners are looking to be prepared for whatever my strike. We’d want to feel safe and comfortable knowing that we can survive instead our homes for an extended period. Which is ironic as many if not all of us have stayed in our houses for months, only leaving for groceries. Having these smart solution homes can help make your house more fun and enjoyable to live in if we were to be stuck inside for a long period of time.
To prepare, people are thinking how to design a kitchen? Sure, you’re current kitchen is fine but if you’re looking for an upgrade, you’d want to start thinking about small kitchen designs or kitchen design ideas based on how big your kitchen is.
Purchasing water storage systems, backup generators for refrigerators, long term food storage areas ad solar water heaters are becoming more popular for the unforeseeable future. Some research says that in the upcoming years. As we move into more of a technology age, new builds will also have some technology integrated into the houses to meet homeowners’ desires.
Self – Cleaning
We love a clean house. But sometimes it can be hard to motivate yourself to clean the house. With smart home technology, there will soon be more smart solution home ideas to make cleaning easier. With touchless appliances, robot vacuums with built – in mops and be able to introduce more voice control integration. That way you can just shout out to your smart device to start the vacuum and the vacuum starts. How cool is that! Especially if you need small kitchen design idea to make your kitchen more interesting. Having self-cleaning appliances are perfect for the lazy days.
Ever since the pandemic hit, we’ve been cleaning more often and sanitising everything. Not only that but we’ve been spending a whole year at home and more cautious around frequently touched surfaces in public spaces. How to design a kitchen that can also help reduce the spread of germs? Having smart home technology can help enable consumers to have touchless access and be able to control stuff straight from their mobile devices or through voice commands. This smart home solution will make your house even more safer during high risk times and more convenient for you.
Going Green
Nowadays, we are trying our best to reduce our environmental footprint. Therefore, resulting in kitchen design ideas that will ensure having a greener kitchen. Having a greener kitchen is expected to be the next upcoming trend for future kitchen design trends. Which you can think about adding in your small kitchen design idea. This is due to having more appliances that will be more sustainable and efficient.
Smart homes NZ requires smart solution home ideas to reduce your environmental footprint by purchasing smart home technology this is more efficient. Although having smart home technology uses power to work, you may be worried about your utility bill going up. But that’s not the case. Using smart appliances in smart homes NZ can help you reduce your utility bill due to them being energy efficient.
Devices to Expect in Kitchens of the Future
As we move more into the future, our technology will only gross and become more advance. Down below we have found 6 high tech that are already here or for the future that will make your time in the kitchen more fun. And what you can expect your smart home to look like in the next decade or so?
1. Countertop Projector
Countertop project has been introduced to the world for the last decade or so but not many people are interested in it. As it’s still in the works and coming up with ways to make it better. Here is just a few reasons as to why you should get one for your smart home technology. This device allows you to control other appliances, scan the thickness of food as well as being able to get tips on how to cook certain items.
Another added benefit is that the countertop project doesn’t take up any counter space as we all know counter space is crucial. It can also help improve your cooking and baking skill. When thinking about your kitchen design ideas, consider having a countertop projector to make your cookier easier. Unfortunately, there aren’t as many options available to purchase from in New Zealand so further research is needed.
Countertop projector can be small which is perfect for a small kitchen design as storage space is super important in a small kitchen design as you’d want to ensure that your kitchen is perfect.
2. Steam Oven
If you’re not a big fan of cooking, you’d love learning about smart solution home idea to make your cooking easier. This is where steam ovens come in. Steam cooking is becoming the healthier alternative to other cooking methods. Like frying or baking. Using the steam oven still provides the same taste as how you’ll cook it normally. This will eliminate the unnecessary oil that pops up when you cook.
An advantage of using a steam oven is that it’s energy efficient and have an energy efficient consumption system. With the steam oven, it can also cook your food faster than regular ovens which also helps you save energy. If you’re having a late dinner, using a steam oven would be more efficient as you won’t have to wait long to cook the food you’d want to eat.
3. Smart Scales
If you’re interested in eating healthy or staring a new diet like going on a calorie deficit. The smart scale may be able to help you out. Not only does a smart scale tell you how much something weighs but they can break down it’s nutritional value. So, you won’t have to search it up as it’s right there in front of you.
In some cases, you can even use the smart scale to weigh your entire meal and get all the nutritional value of it. If set up right, you may even be able to connect the smart scale with your favourite nutritional app to keep track. It’s small and light, which is perfect for a small kitchen design as you’d want to utilise all the space available.
4. Digital Backsplashes
In a small kitchen design, the most important thing is space. And knowing how to utilise the space. Having a digital backsplash instead of tiled backsplashes would prove more useful. Sure, it’s a bit expensive to have a digital backsplash but in the end, it’d be money well spent. This smart home technology can allow you to watch tv, look up recipes and be able to control your other smart home appliances.
Feeling bored of your tiled backsplash? With the digital backsplash you can change it to whatever you want. Whether that is photos of friends and family or artwork. Something that suits your aesthetic or mood of the day. you can. Change you backsplash every single day if you’d life. No need to go shopping and spending more money to change your tile backsplash when you get sick of it.
While this technology has yet to be introduced to the market. Consumers are already doing their research on how well the digital backsplash can benefit them. It’d make following a video teaching you how to make something much easier as you can use your entire backsplash as a screen. For small kitchen design ideas this would be perfection for decoration purposes as you have limited space to decorate as well as still being able to utilise your kitchen space.
5. Smart Oven Hood
Oven hoods play a huge part in making our kitchen functional helps with air circulation and help reduce odours. When you question how to design a kitchen. You’d always want to make space for an oven hood as that is crucial to have in your kitchen design ideas. Smart oven hoods will be able to provide you access with your favourite apps. Even comes with a built in camera so you’re able to live stream your cooking skills and techniques.
Once again, this is perfect for a small kitchen design idea as every kitchen needs an oven hood. So why not get a smart oven hood that is multi-functional!
6. High – Tech Lighting
As we slowly move into incorporating smart home technology in our homes. Smart homes NZ have introduced smart light bulbs and plugs as smart solution homes idea. This is due to them being easy to install and allow for total customization. As our technology evolves more, we’ll be able to control our lighting with our voice.
How to design a kitchen? Consider kitchen lighting as you’d want to make sure that every inch of the kitchen has light and not a dark corner. Consider ambient and task lighting in your kitchen design idea. In the next few upcoming years, windows and blinds can also be adjusted automatically to reduce sun glare, allow sunlight or darken a room based on your needs and activity.
Which Features Matter Most?
As consumers, we mainly only go for smart solutions home that can really benefit us. For example smart lights that we can control via voice command or from our smart devices. Which can lead to number of smart gadgets that don’t communicate well. Also resulting in have dozens of different apps to control your house.
To solve this issue and ensure that you won’t have this problem. Consider purchasing a smart home automation hub that can support all the devices you wish to have in your smart home.
Smart Sensors Protect the Home
There are many benefits to investing in smart home technology. Especially as they’re able to let you know how well they’re functioning and what needs repairing when faulty. Usually we wouldn’t notice if something was faulty unless it starts acting up. This can result in costly consequences.
Smart thermostats are able to provide alerts if your house loses power or if the temperature goes below or above your maximum or minimum temperature.
Having smart kitchen appliances can also help detect any water leaks. Alerting owner about any potential leaks. So you’re able to get it repaired before it gets worse.
How Environmentally Friendly are Smart Homes?
Smart homes have been known to be environmentally friendly with smart appliances as they help lower your water and energy usage. A popular smart technology that helps make your smart home environmentally friendly are smart thermostats. You can adjust the temperate from your phone and smart thermostats will automatically turn off if a door was left open. This can help minimize your carbon footprint.
Another way that having a smart home can help minimise your carbon footprint is having smart lighting. With smart lighting you’re able to control from your phone. This can ensure that you’ve turned your lights off when going on vacation. Wasting electricity and forgetting to turn lights off leaves a massive carbon footprint, so investing in smart lighting helps make your home environmentally friendly.
3 Reasons Why Smart Home Features Increase Your Home’s Value
1. Increased Security
Video doorbells are amazing smart home technology that you can incorporate into your house to increase your home safety and your house value. Having a video doorbell is now becoming more popular as people purchase their first homes. This allows you to see who is it at door from your smart device as we’re more cautious when it comes to opening the front door. While it’s unlikely that a burglar would push past you to enter your home, it’s also handy to avoid talking to door to door salesman.
Video doorbells works with wireless technology as they’re easy to install and provides a two way video and audio communication system. That way you can jokingly deny access to your friends and family.
Not only that, but your video doorbell also works as a security camera so you’re able to see when your package has been delivered. And for many other reasons like being able to see if someone was causing a problem or vandalising your property.
2. Fully Automated Home
Best thing about having one integrated systems that connects all your smart home technology in your smart home is that you’re able to control everything and anything at all times! This definitely creates a huge selling point to buyers as it brings more ease and convenience into your busy lives.
This is where your smart assistant like Amazon Alexa would come into play and be extremely helpful. As you can connect them all to your Alexa and control them from one app. This can work with any smart assistant and is not limited to Amazon Alexa.
Smart home assistants are completely voice controlled once set up and can be voice commanded to control your lights, home media, heating, air conditioner and many more. Not only can your smart assistant control your smart home technology. But it can also tell you information on just about everything. As smart assistants have AI technology, they’re able to learn from interactions and provide you with content that you’ll like.
3. A Warm Welcome Home
Currently, the most popular smart home solution is smart lighting system. They can add significant value to your home as it provides many benefits. Did you know that smart lighting can increase the security in your home? This is due to you activating them to turn on even when you aren’t home to give the illusion that someone is home.
After having a long day, you don’t want to come home to complete darkness. Having smart lights that can activate around a certain time is a great way to be welcomed home to lift your spirits. Especially when you can also control your air conditioning from your phone. You’ll walk into a perfectly lit warm household. Perfect for those cold winter days.
Another benefit of smart lights is that you’re able to customise the light setting. Perfect if you’re waking up early or going to bed late. You’re able to dim the lights so that you’re still able to see but also not wake or disturb anyone else.
Having the help of your smart assistant, you can tell them to turn the lights on and off as you leave an empty room which can increase the value of your house.
Having automated heating systems allow you to pre-set the heating so your house temperature is perfect at all time. This ensures that your home is always warm or cool but also stops you from wasting money and energy heating up your house when you’re not there. Forgot if you turned the heater off or not? With an automated heating system, you’re able to double check straight from your phone.
There are many great benefits to investing in smart home technology as they have your home more comfortable and convenient for you and your family. If you’re interested, look for smart home technology that will help increase security. Creating a warm, comfortable environment and potentially your dream home without the extra costs of having a full house renovation.
Top Smart Devices to Use in Your Smart Home.
There are plenty of smart devices that are coming out nowadays, which gives you as a consumer plenty of options. Though having too many options can be overwhelming. The top three smart devices to install for your smart home is the Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Siri aka HomePod.
Based on our research we have found some advantages of using these three smart devices. Advantages for Amazon Alexa is that it’s easy to use and easy to set up and Alexa has more than 10,000 skills. Alexa can answer anything you ask her although her response might not be the answer you want. Another advantage of Alexa is that it’s compatible with any device. A main disadvantage of Alexa is that you can’t trigger her from your phone and Alexa doesn’t always understand you inquires.
Amazon Alexa | Photo Credit – Unsplash
Google Home or Google Assistant is another popular smart device suitable for your smart home. Some advantages of Google Home are that they’ve proven that their AI is more advance than any other smart devices. A disadvantage of Google Home is that you can only summon it by saying ‘Ok Google”, which can become annoying. Another one is that Google Home also won’t understand your commands and inquires all the time.
Google Assistant | Photo Credit – Unsplash
Lastly, another smart device that is the HomePod which is associated with Apple’s Siri and some advantages of this smart device is that it’s easy to set up because it works directly with your home kit app that is already installed into your phone. A big disadvantage is that this is only accessible via apple products. So, if you don’t have an apple product then the HomePod is not available for you to use.
Apple HomePod | Photo Credit – Unsplash
Further Resources
- Ideas for Bathroom renovations in our bathroom renovation gallery of bathrooms we have renovated in Auckland
- Ideas for Kitchen renovations in our kitchen renovation gallery for kitchens we have renovated in Auckland
- Featured projects and Client stories to see specifications on some of the projects.
- Real client stories from Auckland
