Home automation technology provides maximum control of your living space to make life safe, comfortable, and more convenient. In fact—with 42 million homes currently using automated devices in the U.S.—upgrading to a smart home is now accessible and affordable.
But how does home automation work? We’ve covered the basics for you below.
Home Automation Works as One Complete System
For any automated home to work, smart devices must first connect to the internet so they can communicate with each other via WIFI. Once connected, homeowners can then check, control, and automate these devices.
Components of Home Automation
A standard home automation system has three main components: sensors, controllers, and actuators.
Sensors are used to monitor changes in your home environment like motion, temperature, humidity, glass breaking, smoke and carbon monoxide. Automated motion sensors share device information so you can adjust device settings to your preferences and send mobile alerts letting you know of detected variations.
Controllers are the devices—smartphones, tablets, personal laptops, or the control panel keypad— used to access your home’s automation system. Controllers also send and receive messages about the status of automated features in your home.
Actuators refer to light switch dimmers, valves, or pushbuttons used to control the actual function or mechanism of a home automation system. Actuators are programmed to be accessible from any controller.
What can be Automated?
From thermostats to doorbell cameras to light dimmers, there are plenty of home automation devices available for you to choose from. Other popular equipment includes:
- Temperature and climate control
- Home security
- Indoor and outdoor lighting
- Fire and carbon monoxide monitoring
Why Should You Care About Home Automation?
Home automation technology provides plenty of innovative features that all homeowners can benefit from, including (but not limited to):
Control from anywhere. Home automation lets you control and monitor your devices remotely to make life easier. Simply use an app on your smartphone to control settings for your devices from a different room or state and set the right home atmosphere.
Increased safety. Leaving the garage open or forgetting to lock the front door can threaten the safety of your home and family. With home automation, you can program your smart devices to automatically complete tasks that keep the house safe or let you know if you forget to lock up. Adding 24/7 professional monitoring to your smart home security system also gives extra protection.
Savings through energy conservation. Did you know that, in addition to conserving energy, home automation can help you save on utility bills? In fact, installing a smart thermostat saves homeowners up to 12% on their annual energy bills. From turning off the lights when they are not in use to programming temperature settings that will not heat or cool an empty home—home automation helps you save money and conserve power, while reducing your carbon footprint.
Convenience. With easy access to automate your devices, you can set and schedule automated tasks around the house so you can focus on other things. Here’s some examples:
- Automate your home security system to arm every night at 8pm; then disarm each morning at 6am.
- Set indoor lights to switch on automatically at night if no one’s home.
- Access real-time video feeds of your property while away on vacation.
- Check the temperature of your house and/or adjust the thermostat settings.
- Lock or unlock your doors without getting up.
- Open and close your garage door from anywhere.
