Make Your Home Technology Work for You Using Connected Smart Devices
There’s no denying we live in a time of rapid technological change. Our smartphones are miniature computers in our pockets, and household appliances are increasingly coming equipped with Internet access. And yet for all of the advances we’ve witnessed in recent years, managing our home electronics can be a time-consuming headache. This is where smart home automation comes in. If you’re in the New York City area and are feeling overwhelmed by your home technology, let Elevated Integration show you how automation can help you take control of your devices.
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START SMALL
While automation can encompass everything from multi-room audio systems to security cameras that provide real-time updates to your phone, you don’t have to jump straight into more complicated projects. If you’re unsure of where to start, a good place to begin is lighting control.
Put simply, lighting control involves streamlining and centralizing the various light switches in your home into a centralized system. Instead of having to get up every time you want to adjust a light or fretting about whether you left the lights on in another room, lighting control systems let you control any light from a tablet or other device while telling you what lights are on where. This gives you control, convenience, and flexibility with your home lighting. Another benefit is the ability to create presets for different situations. For example, you can create an “Away” setting that turns off all of the lights with a single button press, or a vacation setting that turns lights on and off throughout the day to scare away would-be intruders.
LEVEL UP
If you haven’t been scared off by lighting control, a more complex but equally valuable automation project is whole-home audio. This involves installing a network of speakers to allow for seamless audio streaming anywhere in your home from any source you want, and the audio can follow you from room to room. If you add whole-home audio to your home theater or other video outputs, you can save some money by centralizing your various feeds, eliminating the need for multiple cable boxes or similar devices.
Another mid-level project to consider is smart home security. Forget keys and deadbolts; instead, why not install indoor or outdoor security cameras that automatically alert you if an incident occurs? You can also add smart locks and smart doorbells to give you more information on who is at your front door and greater control over who gets in. If you need to let someone in and you’re not at home, you can verify who it is, let them in remotely, and then remotely lock the door behind them when they leave. Nothing is more important than your safety and that of your loved ones, and smart home security is a great way to gain added peace of mind.
COMBINE AND CONQUER
The true power of smart home automation is in combining multiple systems in different ways to give you greater control. If your lights, smart locks, and security cameras are linked, you can press a single button to turn off the lights, lock the doors and turn on your cameras as you head off to work. If your lights are tied in with your audio-video devices and you’ve installed motorized window shades, you can dim the lights, turn on your TV, and draw the shades without leaving your couch. The more devices and systems are linked, the greater convenience for you.
These are just a few examples of how smart home automation can benefit you. To learn more about how Elevated Integration can help you take back control of your home technology, call us at 212-634-9091, email us at getelevated@elevatedintegration.com, or fill out our contact form online.