Basics of Smart Home Automation
Whether you are just now thinking about getting your first smart device, voice assistant, or a new toy – we got you covered. This list of smart home tips will help beginners out who want to get their feet wet, but will also help those long time smart homes veterans.
1. PLAN YOUR SMART HOME BEFORE BUILDING IT OUT.
It’s a good idea to plan out how you want your smart home to be laid out. You’ll want to answer a few questions:
- What is my Budget?
- What are my Goals?
- What smart devices/non-smart devices do you own
Do you want to only automate a section of your home, are you trying to solve a specific problem, and will you expand into more things in the future?
Perhaps, automating your kitchen is your main priority or your study.
If you have a hint or a feeling that you may be interested in something else, make note of it. Thinking about smart fridges in the future or maybe some new smart lights – just keep it in the back of your head.
2. CREATE A LIST OF EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO AUTOMATE
One thing that I think anyone who is getting into the smart home automation world is they should create a list of everything that they want to automate.
Do you want only Security Cameras? Or Video Doorbells? Or do you want to go all the way and automate everything? Make note of the brands too if you already have that picked out.
This is an example:
- Smart Security Alarm System
- Video Doorbell
- Smart Lights, Fan & AC’s.
Next, You’ll want to make sure that they are all compatible! That’s right, these bad boys may be able to communicate with each other. I have a fantastic recommendation tool to help you with this task which I’ll go over later. Stick around
3. SECURE YOUR SMART HOME
You want to make sure that you secure all your smart home devices and your Wi-Fi network to protect yourself from hackers. Some easy ways to do that are to rename your Wi-Fi network name and to change your default passwords this way it makes a lot more difficult for hackers to get access to your devices. A few major ones are:
- Change WiFi name
- Change all default passwords
- Create another WiFi network and separate your devices.
4. STICK TO ONE BRAND
If you’re a beginner to smart homes and home automation, then it might be a good idea to just stick to the same brand. Their smart bulbs work fantastically in the app together with their other line of products (Hub, Switch, Outdoor Light, etc.).
5. PLACE VOICE ASSISTANTS IN GOOD OPEN POSITION
Position your voice assistants in good open positions like in your kitchen or somewhere with a lot of open space to not have any interference. You don’t want to have a lot of objects blocking your voice assistant or it’ll be annoying when Alexa doesn’t hear you.
Another tip is not to place them near other voice assistants and mute them when you are not using them.
6. DON’T CONNECT TOO MANY DEVICES TO YOUR WIFI
Seeing as the future Smart Toaster will need to connect to your WiFi too, many smart devices require to as well. Many of these devices can only connect to a 2.4GHz network, which can quickly become crowded.
Crowding your WiFi network with a ton of smart devices can cause slower speeds and slower download speeds. This is where utilising Hubs can come in handy.
This is mainly advice is for the less non-technical people (No offence). But for those that are willing to try, or have more experience, can try things like installing a new router, using another Guest network, or other means.
There are plenty of other ways around this but I just wanted to throw this out for people who aren’t that technical.
7. LEARN AND TRY OUT IFTTT
IFTTT stands for If This Then That.
This is great for creating routines and hooking up smart devices that aren’t natively compatible with each other. It really opens the door and lets you control multiple devices from one place but it does require a little bit of like work but nothing too complicated.
Example:
- You tell Google Assistant to “Get Into a Christmas Spirit”
- Your Christmas Tree Lights Turns On
- Christmas Music starts playing
- All the other lights dim
This is all possible with IFTTT. It really is up to your imagination on the limits it has.
8. SAVE MONEY AND GET A SMART THERMOSTAT AND BULB
2 of the biggest ways to save money through Smart homes and home automation is getting a smart thermostat and/or smart bulbs. They can really help you save energy on your electric bill. Smart bulbs are usually LED and are considerably more longer-lasting.
A smart thermostat is more efficient and gives you more control over your home.
9. GET A SMART SWITCH INSTEAD OF SMART BULBS
So one thing that I see a lot of beginners do or make a mistake his they buy 5 or 10 smart bulbs for one room when an easier solution to this would just be to do the legwork and install a Smart switch or smart dimmer. This way you can control multiple bulbs with a smart switch.
10. CHECK THE SMART COMPATIBILITY
Wouldn’t you be upset if you bought a MyQ Garage Opener and you thought it would work with Alexa but it didn’t? Well, that can happen.
Before buying smart devices, check out if they are compatible with each other.
11. DON’T OVER COMPLICATE WORKFLOWS IN IFTTT
It’s really easy to get caught up in IFTTT. You can easily spiral into automating the silliest things. While this can be a great tool, just be mindful not to over complicate your workflows in IFTTT.
Only Automate things that are useful and have a purpose. If something is blatantly not meant to be automated, there’s no point in trying to do so.
Try not to have too many hops or steps or chain effects either. A simple workflow is always the best.
12. BASIC SAFETY
When handling any sort of electronics you want to make sure that you are careful. Here are some examples:
- Installing a Video Doorbell – Make sure you turn off your breakers
- Plugging something into a Smart Plug – Make sure its not an AC Unit
Make sure that you stay safe. If you are using something like a smart plug, make sure you are reading up on the correct AC/DC voltages specifications. Believe it or not, people have actually left Amazon reviews with images that they blew their smart plug up because they plugged in an AC unit into it. That is way too much power to be flowing through that little dinky smart plug.
13. ALEXA SKILLS
Check out Alexa Skills! A lot of people don’t even know these exist for their Alexa devices. All Alexa Devices can use Alexa Skills. Just download the Amazon app and enable Alexa Skills.
There are a bunch of awesome Alexa Skills that let you play trivia games or other cool stuff.
- Alexa Find my Phone
- Question of the Day
- Trivia Games
- Ambient Noise (help you sleep)
15. GET A SMART SMOKE DETECTOR
Getting a smart smoke detector can be the last thing on someone’s mind. But did you know there are Smart smoke detectors?
Isn’t it annoying when the battery in your smoke detector goes out? That loud sound that just won’t stop.
16. ADJUST SMART BULB COLORS TO WHICH MOVIES YOU WATCH
One of the cool tricks about using Philips hue smart bulbs is that you can actually set the lighting to go along with the movies that you’re watching your TV
Not too many people know about this, check out the Hue Sync app from Philips. You can even sync your smart lights to your music and games!
17. USE VOICE ASSISTANT TO MAKE CALLS
So you can actually use your voice assistance like Alexa or Google Home to make phone calls! Many people tend to not know this or forget.
This could be great if your hands are full maybe you’re doing some laundry or other chores. As long as your accounts are synced up to your contacts you can actually just say “Hey Google, call Mom “and the call will go through via Wi-Fi.
Pretty neat.
18. USE AMAZON DEVICES TO MAKE VIDEO CALLS TO EACH OTHER
One of the awesome things about Amazon Spots/Shows is they can video call each other! You can even enable the Drop setting so they don’t have to answer. It may sound creepy but if you have young kids at home without any adults or a senior relative, this is a great alternative.
19. USE VOICE ASSISTANT TO SET ALARMS OR REMINDERS
Most people only use Alexa or Google to check the weather, but if you’re in a quick rush, use your voice assistant to help you out.
When I’m busy running around and I want to jot something down, I just ask Alexa to remind me to do something or I set an alarm. Pretty handy.
20. SETUP SECURITY CAMERA TO SHOW ON YOUR TV
There are just a few products of security cameras that you can use to display on your TV! Whatever security camera you get, make sure you check first.
This is an awesome feature if you’re watching TV and hear something weird outside your home.