Is Home Automation Right for You?

Just as you scroll through your social media feeds to get updates on friends and family members, in an automated home you can check up on your home from wherever you are, all with the help of a smartphone. Home automation not only allows you to remotely control smart devices (i.e. those with computer chips that are wired for the internet and are therefore a part of the internet of things), it also empowers the devices themselves to turn on and off automatically based on your choices or behaviors.

Altogether, a fully or even a partially automated home is convenient, energy efficient, and in some cases can help safeguard your home. Still, there are some downsides to go along with these many benefits. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest pros and cons, examining just which kinds of automated devices may be worth the investment.

Home Automation Pros

1. Energy Efficiency

In the old non-smart home days, if you wanted your house warm in the winter when you returned from work, you had to keep the thermostat high all day long while the house was empty, wasting copious amounts of energy along the way. An automated thermostat can be programmed to turn heat and air conditioning up or down based on the time of day or whether or not it’s a weekend or weekday. Even smarter thermostats will adapt based on your behavior -- behavior you may not even be that aware of yourself.

Similar behavior-based automation can be applied to lighting and even to automated blinds, which can be raised and lowered based on the time of day (and therefore, in accordance with the sun’s position). Sprinkler irrigation systems can also be scheduled accordingly, so that you’re watering only at the times of the day when doing so will keep the maximum amount of water in the ground rather than evaporating.

The remote nature of an automated home is also great for energy efficiency. If you don’t want to warm or cool your home on a schedule, you can instead do so yourself as you prepare to leave work. And if you ever forget to change the temperature or turn off the coffee maker when you leave, all you have to do is pull out the dashboard on your phone and make the adjustments you’d like to. If you have smart power outlets, you can turn those off remotely so you don’t have what’s called “vampire power,” which refers to the leaking of electricity out of unused outlets or into electronic devices that are off.

Altogether, these features lead to fantastic and eco-friendly energy savings.

2. Remotely Monitoring Your Home

When you’re worried about what’s happening in your home while you’re away, remote monitoring is a good way to keep those concerns in check. This is especially so when combined with a good automated security system, which you’ll be able to turn on and off remotely. Some automated security systems also come with cameras installed inside and outside of the home, so that you can really see what’s going on.

Outside of the security system, automated locks can be monitored and closed remotely if you forget to do so before you leave. Automated blinds can be scheduled to lower and raise at different times of the day and lights can be programmed to switch on and off at scheduled times. Changing the look and feel of your house from afar will help make it appear as if you’re actually home.

Of course, such systems are not foolproof. Just as many people have been shown to undertake riskier behaviors when wearing a seatbelt in a car or a helmet on a bike, it can be easy to let the comfort that automated security systems provide lead to a downfall in vigilance. In truth, you’ll still need to use good common safety sense in conjunction with these systems. You will never, for example, want to raise your automated garage door when you’re still many streets away in case a burglar is waiting outside of it, or take other similar risks due to a sense of security.

What’s more, no matter how strong the digital security measures taken, controlling your home over the internet is always a risk because of hacking. That may not matter for controlling your lights or blinds, but you’ll care a lot more if someone hacks into your video monitoring system and can see what’s happening inside your house. You can somewhat mitigate these risks with strong password protections and vetting your automated security provider to ensure they use the most secure technology.

3. Convenience

It’s simple but it’s true: one of the best things about home automation is just how convenient and efficient it can make your life. Want to block out more of that morning sun so you can snooze longer but don’t want to get out of bed? Just push a button to change the position of your automated blinds. Want that mug of coffee to be ready for you when you wake? Program that preference into your automated coffee machine. Want the house to be cool by the time you’re finished with your marathon run? An automated thermostat is where it’s at. The convenience of an automated home can’t be beat.

Home Automation Cons

1. Complexity

In cases where automation is more of a bell and a whistle than something that is functional, it can over complicate an otherwise simple task. You might, for example, like the idea of controlling the light in your bedroom with a smartphone when you’re far away, but when you’re in the room, it is often just easier to flick the light switch. That’s why it’s important to think out exactly what kind of automation you really desire in terms of your investments.

2. Expense

Home automation can be expensive, especially if you want as smart of a home as humanly possible. However, those expenses are coming down as the idea of, and demand for home automation grows more popular. Additionally, you don’t have to automate your entire home. Instead, carefully research the kinds of automation that will have the most impact for you and your home, and stick with those.

3. Incompatibility of Systems

While you can certainly automate different elements of your home at a time, you’ll still want to be able to control them all from within one platform. The problem is, not all smart devices use the same technology, and therefore they don’t all work with the same platforms. However, the rise of centralized control systems like Zigbee and Z-Wave have started to address this issue. You’ll just want to take care in researching automated systems and devices to ensure they’ll talk to each other.

So, what’s worth automating?

That’s up to you and what you decide matters most. That said, given all that we’ve just discussed, it seems that lighting, security systems, window treatments, temperature, and irrigation systems are all worth the initial investment. If you have a limited budget to work with, you might want to choose one area (such as energy efficiency) to concentrate on at a time and work your way up from there.

Good luck, and happy automating!