Home automation isn’t exactly new — just think back to the first garage-door openers or the first home security systems. But today’s home automation is more innovative and practical than ever before. From thermostats to surveillance cameras, it’s all automated. Here are some products on the market sure to make your life a little easier.
Smart Thermostats
Nest is a smart thermostat that keeps your home cool or warm — but also keeps it safe, all while saving energy, too. As you use the system, the smart thermostat learns your preferences and programs itself according to your usage patterns. Say you like to turn down the thermostat at night. Nest will pick up on this habit and automatically turn down the air. And when it comes to saving energy, Nest does the job. The thermostat controls 50 percent of your energy bill, so why not save.
By ditching a non-automated thermostat system, according to Nest, you could save between 10 percent and 12 percent on your heating bills and up to 15 percent on your cooling costs. Plus, the smart thermostat can even detect when you’re traveling and control the room temperature while you’re gone to save energy. Additionally, Nest can keep your home safe, as it will automatically send notifications to your smart device, alerting you if your home has some unwanted visitors. The five-year-old technology will only improve, and it's likely we can expect to see these new types of thermostats come standard in homes.
Geofencing
Simply put, Geofencing is a virtual barrier. While this new technology is not yet common practice in everyday life, it's quickly catching on and being applied to home automation. For example, parents can receive alerts when their kids arrive home from school or when they leave a designated area. How, you ask? GPS signals from devices, like the Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone, do the trick.
In addition to Geofencing, Trusted Places, a feature available on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, bypasses the need to unlock a phone or device while at home or other secure places. Geofencing can also be used to keep track of devices and electronics in your home. Systems can be used to send notifications if a device is stolen or taken across a predetermined boundary.
Automated Lighting
Automated lighting has come a long way since the days of the clap-on, clap-off “Clapper.” Instead of clapping your hands, all today's technology requires is the swipe of your finger. And there’s more to automated lighting than simple on-and-off controls. Philips Hue is a leader in automated lighting — and for good reason, too. The wireless LED lighting system has many options from which to choose.
Users can control the ambient light in their homes according to the time of day. Philips Hue also features white light for reading or productivity, in addition to dozens of other options that can set the mood for a night in watching movies or dinner with friends. This smart lighting system comes fully equipped with bulbs, a control center called The Bridge and smart controls that make it easy to control the lighting whether you’re home or away.
What other automated systems have you used for your home? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments(3)