Since the Stone Age, humans have made tools to make their lives easier. In the age of the internet, there are amazing new ways of adding convenience and comfort to our lives. Home automation simplifies and streamlines many ordinary tasks.
Are you looking for ways to add comfort, convenience, and efficiency to your home life? Keep reading for 8 super cool home automation ideas for streamlined living.
1. Smart Home Security
Home automation integrates well with your home security features. Not sure if you set your alarm before you rushed out of the house for work? Use an app on your phone and check.
If you forgot, use the app to arm your system. Need to turn the system off and unlock the door for your kid who forgot her key? Use the app to disarm the system and unlock your smart door!
Do you have a kid sneaking out the window at night? Put sensors on the window and an alert comes to your phone if he opens the window.
Security cameras around the perimeter of your home detect movement and send a notification to your phone.
2. Artificial Sunrise
Do you have trouble waking up in the morning? Automated lights ease you into your morning instead of a clanging alarm.
You can also set automated window shades to rise as the lights come up. Need a little more noise to get you going? Program some music or the TV to come on too.
You can automate a light switch several ways even if the light doesn’t have a neutral wire.
3. Dimming the Lights for Better Sleep
As the sun goes down, your body secretes the hormone melatonin which signals your body it’s almost time for sleeping. Artificial lights and computer screens emit blue light that disrupts melatonin production. This makes for a less peaceful sleep.
Counteract this sleep disruption by automating your lights to start dimming as the sun goes down. Stay off computers and screens for at least an hour before bed.
You can automate your WiFi to shut down an hour before your normal bedtime. This gets everyone off the screens.
Some kids are early risers, but they may be too young to read the clock. Solve this problem with an RGB smart light.
Program the light for red during the hours the kids should be in bed. Program the light for green when it’s okay to get up. Now the kids know if the light is red, they stay in bed!
4. Music and Entertainment
Imagine walking into the house to your favorite tunes. You can automate stereo systems, TVs, and other entertainment around the house. Automate to the touch of a button or to voice commands.
Do you watch the same program every evening? Program your TV to turn on to your channel when you get home.
Do you lose your TV remote a lot? Program a light switch to send a signal to the remote when you tap it three times. The remote beeps so you can locate it.
5. Climate Control Automation
Heating and cooling automation are great for saving energy and reducing your gas and electricity bills. Set the temperatures based on time and season.
If you’re gone at work all day, set the heater or AC so they won’t run as much while you’re gone. Set them to automatically come on when you get home.
Going on vacation? Set the temperature so the AC won’t run on high the whole time you’re gone.
Forgot to program the AC when you left? No problem. Use an app on your phone to set it remotely.
Many home climate automation systems measure energy consumption so you can set your systems to save energy.
6. Smart Garage Door for Safety
Here’s a great safety feature for your garage door. Get a smart garage door opener that opens on its own if it detects high levels of carbon monoxide. Make sure it also sends an alert to your phone.
You can also automate the lights so they come on when anyone steps into the garage.
All modern garage doors should open if they sense something in the way of the door. This protects young children from getting crushed underneath the door.
If your garage door is old, check to make sure it has this capability. If it doesn’t, add a sensor to your garage door immediately.
7. Laundry Reminders
Do you forget the laundry in the washing machine only to find it hours later, smelling of mold? Automate your washer with a power consumption sensor.
You can use a smart plug that measures consumption. When the dryer turns off, power consumption goes below two watts, triggering the sensor. You get an alert to your phone so you’ll remember the wash!
8. Leak Detection
A water leak can wreak thousands of dollars of damage to your home in only a few minutes. With smart water sensors and a smart water valve, you can mitigate the damage, even if you’re not at home.
Put a smart water sensor anywhere there’s potential for a leak, like the washing machine. Put one under the refrigerator if you have a water dispenser. You can also put one near the hot-water heater.
If the sensor detects a leak, it sends an alert to your phone. Use a smart water valve on the water shut-off, and you can turn the water off from anywhere with your phone.
Great Ideas for Home Automation
Home automation is no longer a science-fiction fantasy. You can automate your home for ease of use, efficiency, and cost savings.
From home security to water leak detection and everything in between, there’s so much you can do with automation.
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