Steps for Choosing the Best Home Automation System
When people decide they are finally ready to automate their homes, the number of choices can be overwhelming. Some of the reasons to automate your home include better security, energy savings, and improved efficiency and ease of use of all of your devices.
Some Things To Consider Before You Get Started
The most important factor before starting the home automation process is understanding what you expect to gain from automating your home. Ask yourself questions like if you are trying to improve your home's security, make your home more energy-efficient, or get things done more efficiently while you're away from home. Understanding these things helps you realize what you will need, such as an excellent sim card in your system to ensure constant connectivity.
As you begin to answer questions like this, you will soon realize that the number of different hardware choices and technology available are virtually limitless. Another factor you will start to recognize is that costs for everything you want can vary quite a bit.
Understanding What a Home Automation System Is and What It Can Do
The phrase home automation system is relatively generic and can mean different things to different people. For most people, a home automation system will include items such as window and door sensors, garage door controls, control of sprinkler systems, control of both lighting and temperature, and things like automatic door locks.
You may be the type of user that wants to get automatic door locks and an alarm system to keep you safe. You may also enjoy features such as turning on your coffee maker or your television from a different room. Maybe you are the type of user that wants to be able to control their home even when they are not in the house.
What To Look For in a Home Automation System
An excellent place to start building a home automation system is to take inventory of the things already in your home. See if any devices already in your home will work with an automated home system.
For example, you may already have a thermostat that you can control through an app. This device may be a great candidate to be a part of your new home automation system.
Once you've done that, start making a list of what you would like to do with a home automation system. One trendy thing people would like to do with a home automation system is control lighting. If this is what you want to do, you have to ask yourself if you want to swap out all light switches for a new one or install an entirely new lighting system.
What System Are You Going To Use To Control Everything
A central piece of software that acts as a bridge between you and all of your home devices is at the heart of any good home automation system. While there are a virtually endless amount of systems on the market, three of the biggest include HomeKit by Apple, Alexa from Amazon, and Google Assistant from Google.
These systems are more than robust and large enough to handle practically any home automation setup. Quite often, the choice of which system to use comes down to user preference, but also the number and type of devices available for each can be a deciding factor.
If you are someone that already has several Apple devices that you use, maybe HomeKit would be a good choice for you. Conversely, if you already own a speaker from Amazon, perhaps your best option would be to add to that with products that will work with Alexa.
The most important thing to remember is that a home automation system should make your life easier and more convenient at its heart. Make sure you understand what you expect your results to be before you head out to build your home automation system.
