What’s So Smart About Smart Homes?

We’re proud to offer smart home services to the people of McKinney, TX. Smart home technology is the latest trend in home comfort and convenience—one of the best things to come into homes since the refrigerator! People with smart home technology have an easier time managing their monthly bills, staying comfortable, and managing systems all around the home.

People without smart home technology, however, may be a bit baffled by the term. So today, we want to tackle some of the questions you might have if you’re not sure that a home can really be “smart.” Check out how you can work smarter, not harder, in your home with this new technology, and call us when you’re ready for an installation.

A Smarter Way to Manage All Your Home Systems

First, you should know how exactly a smart home works. Typically, there is a hub installed, something that connects to the Wi-Fi and allows for the remote connection of a number of devices and parts of your home. You can connect to multiple outlets around the home, the lights, garage doors, and various systems around the home.

Why would you want to do this? There are several reasons. Have you ever left the home and gotten the feeling that you left on the oven, lights, or AC system? Ever worried that you didn’t lock the door? With smart home technology, all you have to do is open your phone and check!

An app on your phone or tablet allows you to check which systems are on or off. You can control the lights, unlock the door for the house sitter, close the garage door, and much more. It just depends on what you add!

Smarter Home Comfort

A primary reason many people invest in smart homes in the first place is to control their heating and air conditioning systems. Heating and air conditioning uses the highest percentage of energy in many parts of the US. With a smart thermostat from Ecobee, Nest, or Nexia, you can install an app that allows you to monitor temperatures in the home, so you won’t waste energy heating or cooling an empty house.

You can create a schedule for the week right from the app, so that it adjusts for the most efficient temperatures ahead of time. You can choose to delay scheduled settings or turn up the thermostat sooner. With some devices, you can even monitor energy use to learn to make smarter changes!

A Smarter Way to Save Money

Smart home technology is an investment, but one that can help you to save in the long run. With a smart home, you don’t have to worry about wasting energy by leaving on lights, televisions, and AC and heating systems. You can even avoid potential robberies!

Smart Surveillance and Safety Measures

Some smart home devices include the option to monitor your home with surveillance cameras you can check from anywhere. Video-enabled doorbells help to ensure you don’t answer the door for anyone suspicious. You can also turn on security lights or check to be sure you didn’t leave the garage door open.

Some devices even allow you to control the locks on the door. Residents have to enter a code on the door to unlock the home, and you can choose a unique code for each person. That way, you can see when the kids are coming and going, whether the house-sitter showed up that day, and whether there has been any suspicious activity. You can unlock the door for a guest from afar, and make changes to the codes from time to time to increase security.