What You Need to Know to Get Started with Home Automation
We live in a world of nearly unlimited entertainment options, and every day we’re bombarded with ads for devices meant to improve and simplify our lives. And yet how often does a piece of technology actually make your life more convenient, and how many times have you been frustrated by equipment that’s not working correctly?
If you’re a homeowner living in Maui or other nearby areas of Hawaii and you’re fed up with the technology in your home, consider investing in smart home automation. By linking your various electronics and creating a system in which they can work with minimal input, you can take back control of your devices instead of letting them control you. We’ve put together this guide to show you how it all works and what Control Freaks Hawaii has to offer.
SEE ALSO: Check out our smart home demo to see all the ways automation can improve your life
WHAT IS SMART HOME AUTOMATION?
At its most basic level, smart home automation is the process of taking the electronics in your home and linking them to some sort of programmable control device. This can be as simple as installing motorized shades on your windows to as complex as distributed audio and video throughout your entire home, even outdoors.
What you want to keep in mind as you get started with this process is that even if the devices involved are complicated, the experience of using them should be as simple and intuitive as possible. The goal is to simplify your life and make things more convenient for you when you’re spending time at home. So no matter whether you opt for a DIY project like a wireless audio system or want to jump straight into an elaborate home theater setup, make sure you end up with a system that results in fewer headaches for you.
HOW TO GET STARTED
If you’re new to home automation, the prospect of ripping out all the wiring in your walls to install a complicated A/V system may be a bit intimidating. A good project to start with is lighting control. It may not sound like much, but lighting control offers tremendous benefits at a relatively low cost.
Lighting control systems involve replacing your current light circuits with a series of dimmers and switches that are all linked together. These new circuits can be directly connected through the wiring or be linked wirelessly.
Once the new devices are installed, you can control the lighting levels in any room or throughout your whole house from a central control interface, usually a touchpad. The use of dimmers instead of binary on/off switches allows for greater control over how light affects the mood in a room, as well as offering greater convenience. You can create lighting presets for certain moods or occasions, adjust any individual light from anywhere in your home, and turn off all the lights with a single button press when you leave for work.
TALK TO A PROFESSIONAL
Once you’ve got a handle on lighting control, you can weigh installing more complicated systems in your home. But no matter what sort of systems you opt for in your home, we strongly recommend you have a professional integrator design and install everything.
Why, you might ask? Like we said before, smart home automation involves complex components, and you want someone with experience and expert knowledge to make sure everything works as it should. We’re passionate about simplicity at Control Freaks Hawaii, and we’ll work with you to find the perfect automation system for your needs. To learn more, call us at (808) 874-8019 or visit us online.
