7 Benefits of Home Automation Systems
What is Home Automation?
Home automation ties into the concept of the Internet of Things, as it is the act of making ordinary objects such as home fixtures and appliances automated in a way that they can be regulated and controlled via your smartphone.
Home automation is not just the act of investing in a few smart home appliances, it is also engaging in a fully-integrated smart home hub filled with items such as automated sprinklers, light switches, thermostats, windows, doors, security cameras and much more.
At this point, you may be asking yourself how exactly does home automation work?
Home automation companies take ordinary home appliances and improve their technology to be able to connect to wireless home automation software.
By doing so, home appliances are now virtually able to do the thinking for you, as they are capable of adjusting to your routine habits in order to provide you with the optimum comfort and security you need.
Control your home with a swipe of a finger or a simple voice activation. The sky is the limit in finding ways to customize your home to increase efficiency and, believe it or not, save you money.
Home Automation System Benefits
Benefit #1 – Comfort and Convenience
Home automation systems are able to be regulated both in your home and while you are on the go via your mobile phone. You no longer have to rush home from work to make sure you remembered to lock the front door or to turn off the oven.
Going on vacation? You no longer have to rely on your neighbor or relatives to watch over your home. Driving home from work on a hot summer day? Pure convenience is now right at your fingertips.
Benefit #2 – Saves You Money
Although switching your home appliances over to automated appliances sounds rather expensive, the transition has proven itself to be worth it, as the money it will save you, in the long run, will often pay for the appliance itself.
Programmable thermostats have the ability to adjust to your routine habits, be timed to turn on only during certain hours of the day, and be adjusted via an app or voice activation to provide you with ultimate comfort and efficiency.
A typical programmable thermostat costs between $100 – 200. They say that on average, homeowners spend $600 on A/C a year.
Meanwhile, companies such as Nest explain how utilizing a programmable thermostat has the ability to save homeowners up to $180 a year on A/C. This would mean that the thermostat would pay itself off in as little as 1-2 years!
Benefit #3 – Energy Efficient
Being able to control and regulate home appliances such as your sprinklers, lights, and thermostats on a more convenient and granular level allows you to be less wasteful and more energy efficient.
Now you can time your thermostat to be on only when you are home. Have your sprinklers on only on hot days. Or have your lights on only when you are in the room.
Smart home appliances were not invented just to look cool, they were created to enrich your lifestyle by making tasks more convenient and efficient.
Don’t remember if you left your lights on before heading off to work? Double check using your smartphone.
Forgot to turn off your A/C before heading off on vacation? Use your smartphone to turn it off prior to boarding the plane.
Benefit #4 – Security and Peace of Mind
There is no doubt that being able to control and regulate your home surveillance via your smartphone is absolutely convenient. Especially if you are out of town, or your children are temporarily home alone.
Security cameras, however, are not the only form of security that the home automation industry has to offer.
Automating your lights, doors, and windows can greatly increase your home security in a number of ways.
Out of town for the week? Schedule your front porch light and a few inside lights to turn on at a certain time in the evening to reduce the chance of crime.
Don’t remember if you closed your garage after leaving for work? Have some peace of mind knowing that you can shut it using your smartphone.
Forgot to lock your front door while rushing to take the kids to school? Lock it using your smartphone.
Benefit #5 – Time Saving
Home automation is not only energy efficient, but it is also time efficient. Everyone’s schedules these days are packed to the brim with events and tasks to take care of. To the point where we hardly have time to sit down with our families and enjoy a meal together.
Make time for the things that matter by saving time closing windows, locking doors, and turning off lights all throughout the house.
In a hurry to get out the door? Shut down all of your home appliances at your fingertips and never skip a beat.
Benefit #6 – Accessibility
Home automation is not only convenient and efficient, but it is also extremely considerate of those who are physically impaired.
Homeowners can now set-up their home in a way that makes it easier to turn on the shower, get up the stairs, turn off the lights, and much more. This is a breakthrough solution for all lifestyles.
Benefit #7 – Positive Resale Value
Spent all of this time and money setting up the perfect automated smart home? It will surely not go to waste, as the smart home trend continues to be on the rise.
More and more households are educating themselves on the benefits that home automation has to offer and would appreciate moving into a home that is already set up and ready to go.
Want to take your home automation with you when you move? Luckily, many smart home products these days do not have to be hardwired and can, therefore, be seamlessly transferred and enjoyed in your future residence as well.
Future of Home Automation
Home automation is still a rather new concept in society. It was not too long ago when turning on your lights or opening up your blinds via a remote was a breakthrough in technology.
Now we have thermostats that adjust only when you are in the room in order to save you money, provide comfort, and promote energy efficiency.
As you have seen, the sky is the limit when it comes to home automation features and capabilities. There are products available at all price ranges that are able to cater to your specific needs.
Who knows what kind of home automation ideas will emerge in the coming future.
It is possible that the majority of new homes will come with built-in home automation to provide added value to homeowners.
Best Home Automation Systems
Now that you have learned about the benefits that home automation has to offer, it is important that you consider the one major drawback that the industry is currently facing.
With all of these diverse home automation products and companies, come their own apps needed to regulate each of them.
This means that a homeowner that has a fully-integrated smart home could possibly have at minimum five separate apps downloaded on their smartphone in order to control each appliance.
Not only is this inconvenient, but it also takes up a bunch of memory on your phone.
After recognizing this issue, companies such as HomeID came up with a solution so that homeowners can regulate their smart home products from a single application as opposed to having to switch between several at a time.
The following explains the features of some competing home automation systems.
There is no saying exactly which is the best home automation system for you, however, we hope this will act as an excellent guide to understanding what some of your options may be.
Competitor #1 – Home
The Home app is put on by Apple. It is a connected smart home app that allows the user to regulate all of their smart home appliances via any IOS device including an iPhone, iWatch, iPad, or Apple TV.
The goal of this app is not to populate the software of a number of smart home apps into one app. Instead, Apple has qualified over 50 smart home appliances into their “HomeKit” that are completely compatible with the functionality of their Home app.
Regulate lights, locks, thermostats, fans, and much more with the swipe of a finger or with the help of Siri.
The Home app allows the user to set up their home automation functions at a granular level.
Accessories are populated into specific rooms that are labeled into the app that allows you to easily monitor items the way you would like.
There is also a setting where you can set “scenes”, meaning you can set up protocols that are typical to your everyday routines. For example, you could have a leaving scene that automatically closes the garage, doors, and windows that will lock the doors and activate your security system.
One major benefit that the Home app is able to leverage, is the fact that so many people already have Apple products and are considered to be very brand loyal. Regardless of if they have utilized the Home app before, homeowners are more likely to trust this brand over many competitors.
Another benefit is that the system is more likely to be seamlessly compatible, as the app is only able to be used on IOS devices and with accessories that are already set up with the app. A downside is the only way to be able to regulate your accessories while on the go is if you invest in a 3rd or 4th generation Apple TV.
This could be an expense that not all homeowners prefer or are willing to endure. Another downside is in order to set up automation and user permissions, you need either a 4th generation Apple TV or an iPad with IOS 10.
Competitor #2 – SmartThings
SmartThings is put on by Samsung and is a similar approach to Apple’s Home app. This system too relies on a hub such as the Apple TV to be able to regulate your appliances while on the go.
Samsung has also created a series of smart appliances that are compatible with their app. However, Samsung did not limit their app to only be compatible with their own products.
They were sure to add compatibility with several other brands as well. The SmartThings app allows the user to separate appliances by location in the home and also allows you to set up routine automation similar to the “scenes” mentioned in the Home app description above.
This app is available via the App Store, Google Play, and the Windows store and is, therefore, less exclusive than Apple’s Home app. Although it is obvious that both SmartThings and Home act to make households more comfortable and efficient, SmartThings seems to focus their message more on how their product can help solve a problem.
SmartThings wants to help families increase their security and avoid disasters from happening. Their site allows you to purchase a convenient SmartThings starter kit that includes the hub, a power outlet, motion sensor, multi-sensor, presence sensor, and motion sensor. All of these sensors work in conjunction with the app and any of your smart home appliances which make it easy for you to learn how to automate your home.
With these sensors, you are able to monitor your household and will be sent notifications on your smartphone if anything out of the ordinary occurs. These include notifications for avoiding theft, fixing a water leak before it gets worse, tracking your children’s’ whereabouts, and much more.
One major downside to the SmartThings model is the fact that you have to purchase a hub to be able to regulate your smart appliances while on the go. The Apple TV approach in this aspect is much more convenient and fulfilling to the user, as it is multi-functional, known, and may already be owned by the homeowner.
The SmartThings starter kit is nearly the same price as purchasing an Apple TV. The perks of the starter kit, however, is that it has the motion sensors which adds a lot of value in terms of home security.
Samsung is able to benefit tremendously by selling a connected smart home app that is integrated with their very own smart home appliances that people are likely to trust tremendously given their known brand.
The best way to sell a product is to make it obvious as to how it can help the customer solve a problem.
SmartThings did an excellent job of doing this, as it did not focus on the glamor aspect of having a smart home, but rather the security and ability to monitor your household.
Competitor #3 – Home Connect
Home Connect appears to be one of the up and coming connected smart home apps. They utilize only select Bosch Home Appliances to work in conjunction with their app.
One major perk of their app is that it works via Wi-Fi or cellular data, as opposed to a hub. This model already seems much more affordable in nature.
This app also has a section for recipes to keep the homeowner engaged. A major downside to the app is that it currently only compatible with a few Bosch products.
They also seem to still be developing their approach and do not mention much about how this can solve a problem for the homeowner.
HomeID Integration
HomeID is a SaaS that aims to enrich the lives of homeowners by providing a platform that allows you to take control of the comfort and security of your home.
HomeID does not only provide a connected smart home portal, but it also allows you to track your home inventory, home and product warranty, home maintenance, search for licensed contractors and more.
Our connected smart home portal currently works in conjunction with Nest and Rachio products. It utilizes Wi-Fi or cellular data to be regulated.
HomeID can be accessed via your smartphone, tablet, or your computer. HomeID wishes to provide the tools you need to provide the ultimate comfort, convenience and security to your home.
Although we are only currently working in conjunction with Nest and Rachio, our connected smart home portal is currently being developed to be able to be integrated with just about any smart product available.
Stay tuned for updates!
HomeID Testimonials
- “I have my entire family using the same HomeID account. We all have our own favorite features. My husband uses it most for his maintenance, I use it to track our important home files, and my son is most interested in the technology side of it.” – Gina Williams
- HomeID is like the Google of licensed contractors. I search there for any home repairs I need to get done and have never been disappointed.” – Jerry Katsner
Get Started with HomeID!
HomeID is absolutely free! You have nothing to lose. Give it a try today to see how you can gain better control of your household. We are on a mission to providing the most comprehensive and beneficial home management tool for homeowners to use on a daily basis. Track your home inventory to ensure that you will never suffer from a loss or emergency. Hire licensed contractors that you can trust to perform quality work on your home. Regulate your smart appliances all from one connected smart home center. Working a full-time job and raising a family is far from easy. That is where HomeID comes in to provide you with the ultimate peace of mind whether you are sitting on the couch or off sunbathing in Hawaii.