At first, high technology was only something that you could find in your personal computer. But these days, it’s oozing out into everything else, including our homes.
In this post, we take a look at some fun ways to automate your home, helping to save you time and energy. Check out our ideas below:
Automatic lighting
Commercial enterprises have been using automatic lighting for many years. However, it’s only recently that the price for such systems has come down enough to make it worthwhile for the home.
The way these systems work is actually pretty simple. Just like their commercial counterparts, they have motion and heat sensors that can detect whether there is someone in the room. If the movement or heat goes away, the light turns off again.
You can fiddle around with settings. For instance, you might have a 2-minute delay between exiting the room and the light turning off.
Automatic heating
Heating is another home utility that you can automate. These work using smart thermostats. Instead of just switching the heating on when the ambient temperature falls below a critical threshold, these devices consider whether you actually want the heating on in the first place or not.
For instance, if you’re not at home, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to put the heating on in your absence. Likewise, if the temperature falls at night, you don’t necessarily want your boiler firing up.
Automatic garage doors
Imagine if you could just drive up to your garage and the doors would just open for you. Well, according to brands, such as Southern Doors Ltd, that’s now a real opportunity.
How these systems work depends very much on the vendor you go to. Most require you to keep a dongle in your car that activates the garage door on approach. You might also use a remote control or even rely on a sensor. The point is this: with an automated system, you don’t even have to get out of your car – your garage does it all for you.
Automated home maintenance reminders
You could use a calendar to remind you that you need to sweep out the gutters or clean the oven, but with a modern home assistant, that feels a little passé. With Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa or Google Home, you can simply ask your device to remind you that you need to carry out maintenance when the time comes.
Automated locks
Lastly, you might want to consider automating your locks. When you do, you can ditch keys and let yourself in using nothing more than your phone.
The way smart locks work is, again, quite simple. You start with a regular lock attached to a Bluetooth sensor. You then download the companion app and install it on your phone. Once you’ve verified your identity, you can hold your phone up to the sensor to open the door. In some cases, you can just connect to the internet and unlock your door from anywhere: great when you want to let the maid in while you’re at work.
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