Steps on How to Pick a Home Automation System

A smart home system isn’t necessarily for high-end homes. Here are some tips in putting automation into your home.

You may have seen the homes of famous celebrities on lifestyle shows. Their so-called smarthome, with remote controls for the lights, heating, and cooling, wireless alarm system, home theater system, and even window curtains, have truly amazed us. Though home automation may appear pricey, it doesn’t necessarily mean that only celebrities can take advantage of its futuristic features. Here are some tips on putting up your own home automation system without breaking the bank.

First and foremost, as a reminder, each individual system, such as the lighting, home security systems, home theater system, and heating and cooling, is a subsystem in a general home automation system. As much as possible, install your automation system when your home is still in the building or remodeling process. By doing this, you can save money on rewiring and remolding needed for your system’s peripherals.

Steps

1. Come up with ideas. Go online or check lifestyle magazines and see what’s new and available in your area. You may also look at yellow pages and price shop on services of a Contractor, Plumber, Painter or Electrician.

2. Brainstorm on what you’d like to automate. You may just start small, maybe with just the lights. From there on, you can expand by adding other functions. Aside from lighting and heating and cooling, security cameras for home can be linked with your home theater system, giving total control on your fingertips.

3. Know your budget. Prices can range from a few hundred dollars for a basic system to thousands of dollars for a more sophisticated whole-house automation system.

4. Be sure that the system you’ll go for will work with your existing furnace and other electrical appliances. You may, however, need to change your light switches, alarm and thermostat controls.

5. Position the master control panel in a convenient location, where everyone in the house has easy access to.

6. You may go for a system that utilizes powerline or radio frequency controls if you’re automating an existing home. These can save you money from extra wiring installation for controls. However, these systems tend to be less flexible than systems that function with low-voltage wiring.

7. Pick a system that you can monitor and control remotely. These modern innovations that you’ll surely benefit from can give you the power to shut down the house as you leave and check its status when you’re away. Remote access can usually be achieved through the telephone or internet-based controls.

8. Wireless controllers are also available. Present controllers are usually touch-screen and are programmable. These controllers make perfect sense, especially for senior citizens and physically challenged individuals, since they work anywhere in the house.

9. Partner your system with an uninterruptible power supply to maintain convenience even if the power goes off.

10. If you’re planning to pair products from a variety of companies, be sure that they’re compatible with each other. Choose a system that gives you maximum flexibility.