Nowadays, smart homes are popping up left, right and centre. Every day there are new additions to the long list of features and capabilities of smart homes, so it’s no surprise that plenty of households are choosing to upgrade their home. That being said, the cost of the process is considerable; so, knowing the features available, and evaluating whether they’d be worth the investment for your home, is important
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Remote access
For most, the remote access features are the selling point of a smart home. You can control your heating and cooling, check security cameras, turn lights on or off, and lock your doors from anywhere, which comes in handy more often than you might think. And, as we’ve mentioned in earlier blog posts, remote access of your locks, lights and security system is particularly helpful while you’re away on holiday or if you’re renting your place out.
On top of all that, there’s a ton of little features that you’d probably never even think of. Ever been out and about and suddenly wondered if you left the iron on? Or a hair straightener? If you’re anything like us, you probably made the whole trip home only to find out you were worried over nothing, and you had already turned them off.
Regardless, you’d obviously need peace of mind that your home wasn’t going up in flames while you were away. However, if your home is fitted with certain smart features, you can turn off your appliances remotely, which will save you that extra trip, as well as all the anxiety that comes with. Plus, you can get your coffee machine programmed to have your coffee ready for you in the morning, or have your Roomba clean the house while you shop for groceries.
Smart Homes: Integrated technology
Within smart homes, your technology all over the property can be programmed to run on one big network. Notably, this means an advanced audio system, where you can play music on certain speakers throughout your house. Plus, you can customise presets such as ‘movie night’, ‘sleep’, or ‘away’, where aspects such as the lighting, heat settings, blinds, and entertainment systems are programmed to your liking, and can even be activated by your voice.
Say, for example, you make a movie night preset, where the temperature is a little warmer, the lights are low, the blinds are drawn, and the entertainment system turns on. When you’re ready, you can say “activate movie night”, and all those aspects will come into play. Plus if you’re away on a trip, you can give the impression that your home is still occupied; turning on the television and lights at certain times, which will aid in deterring burglars.
Improved security
Now, as your local locksmith, we might be a bit biased, but we think the security aspect of smart technology is the most exciting of the lot.
A lot of the features mentioned above play into making your smart home safer. Remote access to the locks and security cameras are an obvious one, and we’ve already mentioned why being able to make your home appear occupied reduces the risk of theft.
Having smart locks is an added level of security for your home. Traditional locks are more familiar and therefore easier for burglars to surpass, whereas the technology involved in smart locks is often foreign to most thieves, and will be able to prevent them from entering your home.
Not to mention, while traditional keys are easy to copy, and replacing or re-keying your locks can be a hassle (unless you choose your beloved local locksmith, Hashtag Locksmiths), digital locks can be unlocked with an access code, and if the code is compromised, you can easily change it yourself.
Investing in Smart Home Technology is a big decision that should be carefully considered before entering into that world. However, there’s no denying that smart technology is a game-changer for home security. To chat about your best course of action for your home security, call the experts; your local locksmith, Hashtag Locksmiths.