“Smart Home” is a term commonly used to define a residence that has appliances, lighting, heating, air conditioning, TVs, computers, entertainment audio & video systems, security, and camera systems capable of communicating with one another and able to be controlled remotely by a time schedule, from any room in the home, as well as remotely from any location in the world.
You can think of your cell phone or “Smartphone” in a similar way as you would a smart home. From initially just being able to call and text, smartphones have evolved to allowed us to connect to the Internet, send e-mail and instant messages, download and edit files, and all number of other things that all require connectivity. Just the same, the main thing that sets a smart home apart from other homes is that all or the majority of appliances and devices throughout the house are connected and controlled from a central device or set of devices.
Most homes don’t have these appliances and systems built into them, so the most common and affordable approach is for the home owner to retrofit smart products into their existing home. There are also cases where home builders have specific requests from home owners to enable their home to be compatible with smart devices later on. We are able to assist in both cases – new and existing builds.
Smart Home – The Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
- Add Convenience to your Daily Life
Smart products are programmed to specific needs, and smart devices can be controlled from anywhere at any time.
- Customization
The consumers decides what is the configuration of smart devices, based on their own specific needs. There are many smart products on the market right now, and you are able to gradually add different devices to your smart home network.
- Security
Smart home security systems allow you to view the home no matter where you are. The security system can have cameras, motion detectors, locks, etc., and will notify the system owner immediately if something is out of the ordinary.
- Ease of Use
Almost all smart home products can be installed without much hassle, many of them don’t even require you to bring someone into your home. Additionally, if you’re already someone who’s tech savvy, learning how to use most of these products is a breeze.
- Save Money and the Environment
Having smart thermostats, air conditioners, and lighting will likely help you save money on your electricity bills. Many of these products allow you to track your energy usage and expenditures.
Disadvantages
- Cost
Consumers can purchase the products one at a time and it won’t seem like too much, $50 here, $300 there, but by the time the consumers have the smart home system completed, they most likely have spent a large sum of money.
- Slight Learning Curve
For consumers already immersed in technology, converting your smart home will be relatively, but for consumers not so tech savvy, it may make for a lot of time spent learning.
- Reliability
A smart home is extremely reliant on the consumers internet connection. If the connection drops, you’ll be left with a lot of smart products that won’t work. Another factor, wireless signals can possibly be interrupted by other electronics in your home and cause some of your smart products to function slowly or not at all.
Overall
There are plenty of pros and cons to consider when deciding whether you’d like to convert your home into a smart home. Smart homes aren’t for everyone. They can help decrease costs in electricity and utility bills, simplify your daily tasks, and help to give you a feeling of security. But for some people these smart products will simply turn into an economic burden. It’s ultimately up to you to decide.
We are happy to do a site evaluation to assess whether a smart home may be right for you, and assist you in determining what would be required to retrofit your existing home.