HOME AUTOMATION TECH GUIDE
Home automation unites the various technologies that power your daily life. It not only makes these devices work together, but it makes them easier and more convenient to use. As opposed to having several standalone systems that don’t communicate, home automation makes everything cooperate in seamless fashion.
As your local custom integrator, all of us here at Smart Automation Solutions want to educate you on the many benefits of home automation. We want you to be able to explore all the various options we offer and see what they can bring to you and your family. And we’ll walk you through the process of how we can make your home life easier and more connected than ever.
Audio & Video Entertainment
Instead of having a bunch of remotes that all go to different systems, with home automation your entertainment devices can be made to work with each other as part of your overall smart home. Seamlessly bring together your TV, satellite, Blu-ray player, and surround sound as part of your home automation system. Whether you are using voice or app control, you can turn on your TV with one simple command -- and that same command can also adjust your lighting, shades, and thermostat to “movie mode,” as well. And with a whole-home audio-video distribution system, you can watch any A/V signal on any TV in the house, even on hidden drop-down TVs or mirror TVs that can also work in conjunction with the rest of your smart home.
Climate Control
Home automation is all about bringing together the various technologies in your home in an easier and more intuitive way. An automated climate control system can not only make sure that your house is always at your preferred temperature, but it can also help you save energy and money on your heating and cooling bills. Unlike a traditional thermostat, smart thermostats let you control the temperature of your house from your smart phone, wall mounted touch screens, or even your PC. Working as part of a smart automation system, you could have the temperature set to lower every time you leave and lock the front door, or vice versa. When combined with smart shading solutions, they can work together lowering shades when the temperature reaches a certain set point to reduce costs, such as in the winter to retain heat.
Lighting Control
Integrating your lights with an automation system only expands their capabilities. You could have all the lights in your house turn off with a simple “All Off” scene or set lights to turn on and off at random intervals for a “Vacation” scene. Trying these scenes into a home automation system allows for lights to turn on in conjunction with other events, such as the front door being unlocked.
If you are building a new home or remodel, a centralized lighting control system can help you get rid of the giant rows of switches and dimmers that take up wall space throughout your house. In-wall touch screens or keypads can replace those, giving you better looking control and eliminating wall clutter throughout your home.
Lighting Fixtures
Tunable white LED lighting gives you the freedom to control the color temperature of your light’s output. This is important, especially for human-centric and circadian lighting, which refers to how the human body interacts and functions with the light around it. There are many benefits to being able to control this type of lighting. For example, science shows that blue light can hurt and disrupt sleep cycles, so limiting the blue hues in your lighting prior to bed time and instead focusing on warmer light tones can help you get a better night’s rest and fall asleep easier.
As for color, RGB color fixtures can help you create and control the lighting atmosphere for your home, giving you an infinite range of color lights to pick from. High-voltage and low-voltage LEDs can also allow you to further customize your home’s lighting to your needs, such as having high-voltage LEDs for outdoor areas that require bright lighting.
Motorized Window Treatments
Motorized shading takes the time-consuming task of raising and lowering blinds/shades and streamlines it, making it a process that you can easily control with the tap of a button. Shading control can work along with your smart lighting to give you perfect control over your home’s atmosphere, whether you are sitting on the couch or relaxing in bed.
There are several types of shading systems available. You could opt for battery-powered options, which work along with your existing window shades. Unlike traditional blinds, these smart blinds and shades are cordless. Wired blinds are also an option. Smart blinds and shades come in many styles, fabrics, and colors, giving you the choice of which blinds you want – you may be able to use your own materials, as well. If you are looking for something to control draperies, a smart drapery track system can also manage drapes in both new construction and retrofits. Motorized window shades are also flexible enough to work for special window applications, such as skylight windows, bottom up, angled, or curved windows, as well.
Network/Internet
All your automation efforts are going to be dependent on one vital feature of your home: your internet connection. Think of your network like the backbone of your house – everything needs its support in order to function. That’s why it’s important to make sure you have a router and network that can handle a lot of devices. Depending on the size of your house, you may want additional access points and hard wired ethernet ports to support high bandwidth streaming of 4K quality footage and high-resolution audio. Want some more info on how networking can help your smart home?
Pool/Spa Integration
No longer is your backyard just an outside area devoid of technological advances – smart homes have expanded to include your yard, pool, and even your spa. Turn on the hot tub on the car ride home, manage your pool jets, waterfalls, and lights from anywhere, and even automate filtration and pumps. It’s the best thing to happen to the great outdoors.
Security & Surveillance
Automated security systems can give you much needed peace of mind while improving control of your home security. Whether you want security alerts on your phone, live surveillance feeds, or just the ease of locking your front door with your cell phone, there are multiple levels of smart home security, individualized for your specific needs. These include alarm and remote monitoring, surveillance cameras, smart door locks, smart doorbells and intercoms, and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. When put together, the individual systems create an impenetrable network of devices that work in conjunction with each other to automatically increase your security efforts.
User Interfaces
Your home automation controller is your window into the world of home automation. Instead of having a remote for every part of your home, bringing everything under one automation interface streamlines your entire home. With the ability to control your home automation system from any controller, computer, or keypad, you’ll never waste time trying to remember which remote is for climate control and which one handles the entertainment system again. Whether it’s your security system, your music, your lights, or your thermostat, you’ll have constant control. And with the addition of voice control, your control options are expanded even further.
Remote Monitoring & Service
Once we finish with the installation, that doesn’t mean that our work is done! Our job is to continue to give your home the support needed to continue to function flawlessly. With remote support platforms, we can manage and troubleshoot your entire system remotely. If anything isn’t working as it should be, let us know and we’ll be on the situation as soon as possible!
Planning for Technology/Next Steps
Think home automation is right for you? The team at would love to help! Contact us online or give us a call at
If your project is new construction, it’s helpful to come with the names of any systems you want to work with, names of systems you’ve owned in the past, and the name of the builder and/or architect you are working with. This helps us to know what you owned in the past and what you did or didn’t like about said system so we can design the perfect home automation system for you.
If your project is a retrofit, it would be helpful for us to know if you are working with a remodeling company or handling everything yourself, as well as the scope of the project, such as if you are taking down walls or OK with cutting holes in walls.
No matter the size of your project, we’re looking forward to helping you make your house an automated home and can’t wait to hear from you. Get in touch today, and let’s get started making your home smarter than ever!