Home automation is the process of making a home-owner’s life easier by automating tasks and activities. It can be as simple as turning on your AC before you get home from work, or as complex as using an app to sense when someone has entered a room and adjusting the lighting accordingly.
Why should you consider buying a smart device?
Thanks to advanced connectivity technologies and other available advances in smart technology, a smart home brings added functionality and convenience. The impact is two-fold. One, you can control your home remotely from a phone, tablet, or computer. That allows you to do things like turn on the fan when you’re running late and leaving the house in the morning, or control your lights to fade to warm colors when you’re on the couch in the evening. Second, smart devices allow you to monitor, control, and interact with all of your home’s electronic devices.
One great thing about smart technology is you don’t need to have a large budget to get started. All you need is a few sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, and ambient noise, and a smart hub that connects to all of your devices.
Which devices are best for home automation?
For home automation to work, you need a wide variety of gadgets. The devices, that are used in the process, are known as “controllers”. Here are the home automation controllers you will need to connect with each device in your home.
Raspberry Pi 3
This is probably the most popular choice for home automation. With its price tag of Rs. 26,290, you could buy a million Raspberry Pi and never be able to get enough of it. The incredibly affordable price tag coupled with the various capabilities of the Pi makes it the de facto option for those starting out with home automation. What makes the Pi great for home automation is its ability to work with cameras.
This will allow you to set up webcams in various places in your home.
How to automate your tasks
To ensure an effective, easy and efficient home automation system in your home, you need to first understand and master the basics of a home automation. Here are the key things to know to get started:
Home Automation Basics
– Most electronic equipment today can be controlled by a central control system. These devices are generally wired to form a system.
– Sensors can be used to detect the number of people present in a home, temperature and humidity, etc.
– Control these devices remotely by means of an interface.
– There is a good chance you will find gadgets that can do what you want.
– There are many internet-connected devices that can be used to get started.
– Different types of remotes and their functions
– Home automation products can make your home life easy.
Automating using an app
When you download an app such as Sonos, Nest or Wink, you’ll need to make sure that your device is running properly before you get started. For most devices, you will need to connect them to your Wi-Fi.
Once that’s done, the app will create a new gateway for your automation. This is the main hub where all your devices will connect. Within the Sonos app, you will need to open the “System” tab. Select “Z-Wave” and follow the on-screen prompts until the Z-Wave network is set up. Once it is, you should see your Z-Wave network listed under “Discover Devices” in the app.
Once you’ve connected the devices to the Z-Wave network, you should be able to control the devices using your phone or tablet. If you have not already created an account, you can sign in by entering your email address.
Automating using smart devices
There are several different ways you can automate your home, but the two most popular choices are using a digital assistant (i.e. Amazon Echo or Google Home) and smart home hubs. These are typically a box you plug into the wall and install within your home, which connect to an internet connection and offer cloud-based technology that allows your devices to talk to each other.
Think of it like Google’s (GOOGL) Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa (AMZN). Each can make calls and answer questions, and can do things like adjust your thermostat, adjust your lights, turn on your favorite music, and even help you make a dinner reservation or call you a ride.
Basically, the possibilities are endless.
What are the benefits of home automation?
One of the biggest benefits is time management. This can save you time by managing the loads of work you are faced with every day, and allowing you to spend more time on activities that truly make a difference to your life, such as exercising or spending time with friends and family.
Home automation also brings many more advantages to a home owner. By automating the devices in a home, one can protect their things and save valuable energy by avoiding using too much power. It can also allow you to set times to switch off household appliances when you’re not around, and even avoid using your oven altogether by pre-heating the oven, and pre-heating your slow cooker.
We’ve put together this guide to help you get started with your own smart home.
What are the disadvantages of home automation?
One thing to be aware of with home automation is the increasing cost associated with it, unless you buy into a DIY automation system. In 2016, about 55% of the U.S. population in the age group of 35-54 owned a home automation system, while about 50% owned one in 2015.
What are the advantages of home automation?
Home automation is all about being able to save time and energy on household chores and keep your home protected. Many home automation apps that help you to get your home automation set up have features that allow you to monitor and control your home’s security, temperature and other home control systems.
Viomi Alpha(S9)
Startup Viomi Technology brings out the best of consumer tech and brings it to your home. The Viomi Smart Electric Multi-function Robot Vacuum Alpha(S9) is no exception.
This automatic vacuum has an accurate control of spray and water use, avoiding leaking and water damage for quickly collection of the floating soil, dust, hair, debris, etc. on the ground. It is a robot vacuum that can empty itself and deliver a 30-day hands-free cleaning experience, which works seamlessly with the dust bin, swiftly absorbing dirt into the disposable dust bag. This self vacuum cleaner offers up to 30 days of hands-free cleaning with auto dumping station that can carry 3L dust bag. Once the dust bag is full, the machine will give you a notification after which you can simply remove and throw away the disposable dust bag. In addition, the 2-in-1 Dust Box(300ml) and Water Tank (250ml) comes with an electric controlled water pump. The robot can sweep, vacuum, and mop together. The intelligent Y-type mopping integrates AI smart algorithms, which can simulate manual cleaning and two-way cleaning with higher cleaning coverage.