According to market research company IDC, the global smart home market will grow by 31% in 2018. More and more people are adapting to smart home technology. Thus, awareness of it is getting widespread. And, many people are asking how to get started with a smart home.
The same research firm expects that 2018 will see total sales of 642.9 million smart home devices. They also predict that as many as 1.3 billion devices will be out in households by 2022.
What makes people interested in learning how to build a smart home system? Problems such as burglary and waste of energy are prevalent. And, more and more homeowners are becoming aware of these problems. There is also an increase in the availability of the technology that cares about how to get started with smart home.
Here are the components that will answer your question about how to get started with smart home:
How to Get Started With Smart Home: The Devices
Smart home devices are probably the basic unit of a smart home. These smart home devices work together to serve common goals. Knowing how to use these devices is one of the first steps on how to build a smart home system. Those goals are to help you in protecting your home and conserve energy.
Some smart home devices cannot work without another device. While some devices may also work without another device. Thus, some systems in your smart home could be independent or dependent or semi-independent. Knowing these systems is one of the first steps of how to get started with smart home.
- Surveillance Cameras. These devices are essential in how to get started with smart home and they will serve as your smart home’s eyes. You will have lots of uses with cameras, so make sure you will have these devices in your home.
- Motion Sensors. Motion sensors have been used in both security and automation. They could be used to detect unrecognized movements. And, they could also be used to automate devices such as smart light bulbs.
- Smart Lights. Smart lights are a step up to your ordinary lights. They could be controlled remotely with an application or any other way. They could also be automated using motion sensors. With these features, they are a match with how to get started with smart home.
- Smart Lock. Smart locks can be remotely locked or unlocked. They could also connect with the wifi. With that, they could update you through a smartphone app. Like traditional doors, they come in different types. You could have it on a deadbolt, doorknob, and handles.
- Smart Garage Door. Smart garage doors are becoming popular components of smart homes. Smart garage doors can be automated using geofencing. With geofencing, the garage door will open up automatically. It opens as it detects your phone within the geofence, taking it as an indication that you are approaching home. This makes them an important part of how to get started with smart home.
- Smoke Detectors. Smoke detectors are also an important step in learning how to get started with smart home. They would be a central component in your home’s fire prevention system. As the name suggests, they could detect smoke that could be an indication of a fire breaking out.
How to Get Started with Smart Home: Control
One of the essential aspects of home automation is control. A smart home cannot be called as such if it cannot be controlled by the homeowner. Knowing how to control a smart home is one of the advanced steps in knowing how to get started with smart home.
There are many ways in which you can control your smart home. Knowing which way you prefer to control it is also a step in knowing how to get started with smart home. Here are some of the devices or platforms that would help you control your home.
- Virtual Assistant. Virtual assistants are having a surge of popularity among the smart homeowners’ community. They are now widely available through platforms such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Virtual assistants such as Apple’s Siri is also present in smartphones.
- Applications. Nowadays, smart devices now come with applications. These applications are now serving both iOS and Android. One such example of smart home app is the Vera Mobile application. Apps allow you to control your smart devices through the Internet. Learning how to maximize the smart home app is an advance step in how to get started with smart home.
- Remote Control. Remote control is another way of controlling devices around your smart home. This way is similar to the remote control you use with televisions.
