Smart Home Beginners Guide

From Walt Disney to Frank Lloyd Wright, visionaries have long dreamed about what a “home of the future” could look like. While there’s still plenty of room to grow – no flying sky mansions yet – in many ways, the future is indeed now, and it’s very exciting!

Smart home technology is the closest we’ve come yet to The Jetsons, and it’s no longer the exclusive domain of hobbyists and tech wizards. It’s more ubiquitous, affordable, and easier to set up than ever.

What Can You Control With a Smart Home?

Smart home devices are incredibly diverse. Some things you can control with your setup include, but are not limited to:

• Lights: Philips Hue bulbs are a great example: they can be set up to change color or temperature at certain times, or controlled from your phone so you don’t have to get up.
• HVAC: smart thermostats like the Nest or Ecobee can detect when you’re home or away and adjust temperatures accordingly, maximizing efficiency.
• Entertainment: you’ve probably used a universal remote…but what if it could dim the lights, lower the blinds, and turn everything on with the touch of a button? Smart homes make it possible!
• Locks: want to let a housesitter or delivery person in while you’re away? Maybe you want to integrate fingerprint recognition into your lock system? Devices like the Kevo make it easy.

How Do You Control It?

When you buy a computer, you usually make two choices: Mac or PC. While some things are interchangeable, the platforms are (generally) very different and don’t play well together. Smart homes use similar standards, and unfortunately there are a lot more of them!

Most smart home owners will want to only have one or two platforms in their setup so that they can be managed from one or two different apps. Some smart home devices use open standards like Zigbee, and some platforms like Samsung SmartThings offer broad compatibility…but it varies significantly. So when building your setup, you basically have two choices:

• Build your home around features you like. What’s most important to you? Maybe you want fine control over lights, or to have a thermostat you can control with your voice. Find one or two smart home features that matter most, buy devices for them, and then build around that.
• Build your home around a platform you like. Maybe you already have an Alexa for music, or use Apple devices for work. In that case, pick out items for your Smart Home that are compatible with your existing devices.

Want your custom home to be ready for home automation? Absolute Construction can help! We recently built a high-efficiency smart home that lets you control everything digitally, from the lights to the shower temperature. Contact us today!