Making Your Home Smarter?

We hear it all the time. My home is a smart home. So what exactly constitutes a smart home? Having spent twenty years in the Security and Smart Home industry, I will do my best to provide a little clarity. First, let's make sure that everyone understands that the concept of a smart home is undefined and changing every day with new technology being developed. The idea behind a “smart home” is that the systems within the home like security, heating/cooling, security cameras, and audio-video work together to provide a seamless interface with the end-user. Seamless is the keyword here because getting all these systems to work together and continue to work together all the time without any problem is more difficult than it sounds.

In my opinion, if you are in the market to make your home smarter, a good starting point is to look at what is the most important technology on the list then making that the foundation for everything else. I put life safety at the top of my list and security systems are underutilized technology for keeping your home and family safe from threats like fire, carbon monoxide, combustible gas, low temperature, and water. Yes, smart speakers are cool and great to talk about but when we think about where to spend our dollars, my recommendation is to make sure the life safety technologies are robust and comprehensive first. 

Currently on the market, are professional quality security systems that provide life safety, intrusion protection, and smart home automation that are comprehensive and get this….they can be installed by the homeowner without difficulty. Yes, you heard me correctly. Technology has advanced to the point where doing it yourself is easily possible with the right DIY vendor. This is a huge change from just a few years ago, the days when large trucks would roll up to your home unloading installers, tools, wire, and equipment. 

Now, with the onset of pre-programmed security and home automation available through e-commerce, purchasing security systems with life safety devices, intrusion sensors, cameras, and smart home automation devices is not only easy, but it is also smart. You can also have professional monitoring included with the purchase of these systems through the appropriate vendor. Look for a vendor that makes a point of offering quality equipment with a focus on ongoing customer service to answer questions and help you work any issues that come up as you expand your smart home components.

Smart home automation is only going to get better with technologies continuing to improve. Combined with e-commerce purchasing and direct fulfillment, the consumer will be the big winner. Pricing for automated systems in the home is getting lower while purchasing and installing these products continues to get easier. With a little planning and prioritization, making your home smarter and more automated can be done without the need for technicians and added professional labor expenses.