Believe it or not, turning your old house into a state-of-the-art “smart home” doesn’t have to be difficult. Despite what you may have heard or feared, you don’t necessarily have to rewire your house, rebuild from the ground up, or start with an all new property. In fact, if you have a wireless router, you have all of the tools you need. Here are some helpful tips for turning your home into a smart home.
1. Automate What You Can
A smart home is designed to make your life easier by eliminating many of your daily burdens. To accomplish this, a smart home should be able to think and act for itself – at least to a degree. This is made possible with home automation systems, like those by ADT. Made up of many different home automation products, like smart thermostats and self-locking doors, home automation systems can take on many different shapes and sizes. Ultimately, they are a reflection of the homeowner’s needs and wants. Look into the type of system that works for you and your family, and automate your home so that it works for you.
2. Connect Your Appliances to the Cloud
Everything from refrigerators and dish washers to washing machines can now connect to the Cloud. This is the Internet of Things in action – everyday devices that are connected to the Internet for improved usability and convenience. Upgrade your old and tired appliances with smart appliances, and you will see an immediate change in the way that you interact with your home. If you’re at the grocery store and are unsure what you need, you can check the contents right from your phone. Or perhaps you loaded your clothes into the washing machine but forgot to hit the start button? No worries, you can start the load from your desk at work with Samsung’s smart laundry machines and smart home adapters.
3. Embrace Modern Media
For Millennials, Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu are the modern equivalent of the traditional big broadcasters. If you want a home that is set up to work well into the future, rather than one that is designed for the past, ditch the traditional cable set-top box and opt for a streaming device instead. Whether you go with something small and simple, like the Apple TV, or a smart TV with 4K resolution and a curved screen, you will enjoy easy access to the platforms that are increasingly becoming the go-to source for media.
4. Enlist the Help of Smart Devices
Smart thermostats and self-locking doors allow your home to do much of your work for you. But there are a wide range of home devices that can do the same. From robotic vacuum cleaners like the Roomba to smart home assistants like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, there are a wide range of appliances available that are designed to make your life easier. In fact, some of them don’t even require an internet connection (though internet connectivity can certainly improve their usability). How you use these smart devices is up to you. Go to work in the morning and come home to a freshly vacuumed house, put on music with a simple voice command, or make online orders using your router.
5. Save Energy, Save Money
Being energy-conscious is smart for the planet and smart for your wallet. If you are looking to replace old appliances around the house, consider purchasing EnergyStar-rated appliances exclusively. They are available from most manufacturers and nearly all retailers, so you should find that you have plenty of options available to you. And the benefits are self-evident: You will save money on your utility bills, lower your home’s environmental impact, and may even be eligible for tax credits. What’s smarter than that?
Create Your Smart Home Today
A smart home is within your grasp. Whether you live in a studio apartment in New York or have a 4,000 sq. ft. home in the suburbs of Dallas, turning your home into a smart home consists of several simple steps: Buy smart appliances, home automation products, and energy efficient gadgets. Secondly, connect them to the Cloud, monitor and manage them from your smartphone. Before you know it, you’ll be living in the future you have always dreamed of.