The world wasn’t too sure of the smart home concept when it first became a thing. Some 15 years ago, smart home devices were few and far between. Those that were available did not necessarily work so well. It didn’t help that you needed a technology background to get them set up. How things have changed since that time.
Not only do we have better devices these days, but we also have what is known as smart home control. What is a smart home control? According to Vivint, it is the ability to control all of the connected devices in your home no matter where you are. It is done with mobile apps and smart home hubs.
Here is the question: is it worthwhile? Does smart control give you enough to justify the investment? Ultimately, you get to make the call. But here are ten things you can do with smart home control:
1. Control the Temperature
Modern smart thermostats can basically be programmed and forgotten about. The best on the market can artificially learn and self-adjust as needed. For maximum control however, you would want a thermostat that can be manipulated remotely. Smart home control offers just that. You can override programming whenever the need arises. It is a handy feature on those days you have to work late, or you bring a sick child home from school early.
2. Turn Lights On and Off
Do you remember those old mechanical timers that used to turn the lights on and off? You can do the same thing with smart home control. You don’t even have to rely on manually set timers before you go out. Just bring up your app to turn one light on and another one off. When you arrive home to a dark house, turn all the lights on with the tap of a finger – before you get out of the car!
3. Control Your Security System
It is not unusual for home automation companies to combine their systems with home security. You get the best of both worlds. With smart home control, you also get the ability to control your security system from anywhere. If you leave home and forget to turn it on, just bring up your phone and swipe to arm it. Later in the day, you might have out-of-town guests arriving for a visit. Disarm the system before they enter the house.
4. Lock and Unlock Your Doors
Speaking of out-of-town visitors, wouldn’t it be nice if you could lock and unlock your doors to let them in? You can with smart home control. Just let your visitors know to text you when they arrive. You can unlock the front door with your smartphone. They get in the house, and you didn’t have to leave a key under the doormat. And by the way, you can do the same thing for your kids. They will not have to carry keys to school.
5. Monitor Your Security Cameras
Are you among the many American consumers that have turned to video surveillance to protect your home? If so, smart home control lets you monitor those cameras around the clock into security cameras by HoneyOptics. Bring up your exterior camera to check the front door. Take a look at the rear camera to make sure no one is in your yard. When the kids arrive home from school, monitor their activities as they move through the house. You will know they are safe until you get home.
6. Monitor the Front Door
One of the more recent devices introduced to the home automation market is the video doorbell. This fantastic device combines a video camera with an on-board audio system – complete with a functioning doorbell. Why? So that you can monitor the front door whether you are home or not. Smart home control lets you see who just rang the doorbell. You can talk to that person as well. Best of all, they don’t need to know where you are. You could be home or a thousand miles away.
7. Open and Close the Garage Door
How many times have you left home and forgotten to close the garage door? Probably more than once. This wouldn’t be a big deal except that open garages are a burglar magnet. With smart home control, you do not have to worry about that. Just pull out your phone and swipe. The door will close by itself. And if you need to open it later so that your neighbor can borrow your lawnmower, that’s no problem either.
8. Control Functions with Your Voice
If your system has a smart speaker, you can use it to control your automated devices with your voice. Tell the smart speaker to turn on the lights in the kitchen. Boom! It’s done. Tell the system to lock the front door and it will obey your command. Voice control is one of the most exciting aspects of modern smart home technology.
9. Get the Sports Scores and Weather
Speaking of smart speakers, they do a fantastic job of fetching the sports scores and the weather forecast. Just ask a question and let your smart speaker do its thing. It is actually pretty amazing to witness firsthand.
10. Control Your Home with Geofencing
Thanks to the GPS technology built-in to all of our phones, we can now combine smart home control with geofencing. Simply put, you can program your home automation system to do specific things based on your location. Program your system to automatically turn off all the lights and lock all the doors as you pull out of the drive. Reverse the process when you pull back in. With automation, you will never have to worry about that stuff again.
There are even more things you can accomplish with smart home control. This list is just the start. Best of all, expect smart home capabilities to improve as time marches on. The more we learn about the technology, the closer we get to making our homes as smart as we are.