We have all been there before. Old movies showed the future by portraying everything as automated and automatic. From having a virtual assistant who literally starts a conversation with us to having voice-activated and movement-activated switches to make the house do other things, Marty McFly painted a clear picture of what we want the future to be.
A few decades later, here we are in the year 2020. We do not have flying cars and hoverboards yet, but by the looks of it, a few more decades and we might actually be getting rid of airplanes.
However, switches are starting to become a thing of the past much faster than we have anticipated. Tech giants like Apple and Google have been working exceptionally hard to provide a more convenient and accessible way of controlling our home systems.
If you are still reading this, that probably means that you are interested in converting your house into a smart home that you can control using mostly your phone. Let’s get started!
Attention To Location
Converting your home can and will cost quite a sum of money. Accessories, gadgets, appliances, switches, and other smart items are great investments, but only if we are planning on keeping them for a long time.
Given that thought, the first question we need to ask is where we will set up our smart home. You have to decide if you want to convert your current home or see yourself moving out soon into a better city, area, or even just a better house around the block.
If it is the former, you can proceed to the next topic because that means you must be happy and content with where you are currently residing. If you have decided to go with the latter, you can check out BMA for more ideas and concepts.
Instant with an Assistant
Mainly, we have two major assistants to choose from, which would be Apple Homekit and Google Assistant.
Existing smart home owners highly suggest that people base their choice between Apple and Google, depending on the main gadget that they prefer using. If one is mainly an Apple user, go with Apple Homekit. If one uses mostly Android-based gadgets, then go with Google Assistant. However, keep in mind that some appliances, gadgets, and other stuff are exclusive to one assistant only.
Eyes to Accessorize
One of the dilemmas when it comes to smart home conversion is not knowing what to buy first. The majority of people are still starting to understand the dynamics of a smart home, so it only makes sense that we start with the small stuff. Buying smart accessories is an excellent way of doing just that.
Smart vacuum robots and smart plugs are good first buys. You can pair your smart vacuum robot with your phone and manually tell it to start cleaning your house while doing something else. If you do not want to worry about getting your floors and carpets vacuumed, you can simply set a schedule for the days and times when you want your vacuum to start cleaning without the need to set it daily.
Smart plugs, on the other hand, would let you automate when your appliances turn on and off. You can completely schedule when you want to use your air conditioning unit.
Smiting the Lighting
Once familiar with smart accessories, the next step is to automate your home lighting. Smart bulbs are more convenient than you might think. Imagine having all of the light switches in your house on your phone. You can turn any of your lights on or off by toggling or even just using your voice.
Think that’s impressive? You no longer have to worry if you had left the lights off when you left the house because of geofencing technology. The lights will turn off as soon as they detect that you have left the premises.
Thank Thee for Handsfree
Time is the most valuable resource in the world today. Time alone can make you money in some cases; therefore, saving time is a vital thing. One of the best ways to save time is multitasking -doing more than one thing at a time. Having a smart home can help you do just that with effective handsfree technology.
Turn on your TV while cooking dinner by merely saying, “Turn on the kitchen TV.”. It saves you the hassle of having to wash your hands and look for your remote. Switch your lights on and off using nothing but your voice. You can even command your smart home platform to play your favorite music just by commanding it.
Takeaway
Change is the only constant thing in this world. Society is racing into the future with smart homes, saving them both time and money in the long run by making running tasks more efficient. Be ahead. Worry less and do more by starting your conversion into a smart home now.
