In today’s world, everything is getting ‘smart’. From your phone to the light bulb in your bedside lamp, dozens of new devices are launched onto the market every month. A ‘Smart Home’ may seem just another buzzword, so why should you bother? Keep reading and you’ll find out.
• Free your mind
• You deserve it
• You’ll love it
• Save money
• The future is now
Free your mind
Focus on what really matters
How busy is your everyday life? A full-time job, a long commute, elderly parents or children to care for… a lot of activities may fill your schedule. Not all of them are created equal. Time spent with your loved ones is a cherished one, but how enjoyable it is to put the blinds down every night? What about checking every window before going on a weekend trip?
With all that’s going on in your mind at any given moment, do you really need to think about tweaking the thermostat every couple of hours to get the right temperature?
Home automation means that you can change all these things with the touch of a button, or on a set it and forget it basis. In some cases, you don’t even need to think about it at all: a smart thermostat with geo-fencing can turn your heating on and off automatically when you leave or return home.
You may be in a situation where you can’t do much to change your commuting time, but dipping into home automation can gift you extra time in surprising ways. Getting rid of routine activities that take two to five minutes each may not seem a big deal, but they quickly add up. Even only ten minutes a day give you about 60 extra hours per year: that’s more than a week of a full-time job!
With personalised scenes, you can trigger several actions with a single touch
Protect your home and family
One of the primary reasons why people turn to home automation is increased safety and security. Your thoughts may go immediately to security cameras, but there’s more to that. In the UK alone, around 650,000 house fires were caused by hair straighteners or similar appliances left on. Did you ever worry about your daughter’s hair curler? According to the Head of Communications at Electrical Safety First, ‘one in 12 women have left a beauty appliance switched on at some point or other’, why take the risk?
Smart plugs can turn off unused appliances automatically. Moreover, they let you control lights and devices from the comfort of your smartphone. Forget about traditional timers that always use the same patterns: next time you are on vacation, you can randomly switch on different lights, the TV and so on to simulate the presence of people. If you desire even more peace of mind, you can install a video doorbell system that allows you to answer the door wherever you are.
Access your security cameras from your iPad
You deserve it
Start the day off right
Did you ever wake up earlier than expected on a Sunday morning because you forgot the curtains opened? Smart blinds and curtains can be controlled by simple buttons or pre-scheduled to adjust light and shade to your liking, depending on the day and time.
We would all love extended weekends, but Monday mornings don’t have to be traumatic: in a smart home, you can wake up to the sound of your favourite music, with your desired lighting and your bedroom temperature just right.
Technology tailored to your lifestyle
Relax and unwind
Fast forward to dusk. You had a long day and just want to take a bath and have some quality reading time. You come home to a pre-heated bathroom, ambient lighting and chill-out music. The floor lamp behind your sofa can be voice activated and your favourite book is on the coffee table.
Maybe you have children and you need to wait after dinner for that coveted couple time. With your central control unit, you can check that all windows are closed, the front door is locked and the alarm on. Another simple touch and the curtains close, the lights go off and the TV turns on: it’s time for a movie.
If you want to take it one step further, all you need to do is ask for a dedicated home cinema: from acoustical design to the choice of theatre seats and ceiling mounted speakers, down to the finest details, our experts are happy to craft you a completely personalized and immersive experience.
You’ll love it
Meet everyone’s needs
When it comes to home automation, there’s really something for everyone. Your smart home will adjust to your needs to guarantee your family the most comfortable experience possible. You won’t need to go close the blinds because the sunlight is glaring on your screen, just to hurry up and open them again ten minutes later because it has gotten too dark. No need to fight over who’s going to answer the door, since you can do that from the comfort of the sofa. No more blame-game about who forgot the window open and let the cat out. And speaking about your pawed friends, you can have smart pet feeders to make sure they have enough food and water.
Get the party started
Relatives and friends will love to come visit you and your smart home, so make sure you’re ready to party. To grant easier access to your house, you can generate temporary virtual keys for your guests (or simply let them in from your smartphone, while you keep an eye on the cake).
It’s time to entertain them: you can create a custom pre-set with party lighting and a dedicated playlist, or even get a wireless music zone where people can stream their favourite music via Bluetooth.
Having many people in a room is going to raise the temperature: that’s where smart climate control will come in handy, automatically lowering the heating or turning on the air conditioner.
Save money
It costs less than you think
There was a time when a smart home was a luxury only rich people could afford. Well, it’s not like that anymore. Surely, the sky is the limit and things can easily go out of control if you don’t set a budget beforehand. However, with all the different technologies on the market, there are smart solutions to suit every pocket.
Rather than an expensive whim, you should think about it as an investment. Especially if you are thinking about selling your home at some point, having smart appliances can really make the difference. According to a 2017 survey by T3 Sixty, more than four in five respondents (on a total of over 3,000 brokers and agents) said that Smart Home technology streamlines a home sale. Nearly four-fifths of them said that buyers are willing to pay more for Smart Homes, the most desirable features being security, energy management and entertainment.
Let’s cut those bills
It comes at no surprise that energy management is one of the top reasons why people choose home automation. Ever heard about ‘phantom energy’? Unless they are unplugged, many appliances keep drawing (limited amounts of) power. Altogether, it is estimated that this energy accounts for about 10% of the total electric usage. Besides increasing safety, smart plugs can help you get rid of this waste.
Ever came back from a short vacation to find out that you had left some lights on, or had forgotten to disable the thermostat’s timer? Distractions like these won’t impact you if you have a smart lighting system and a smart thermostat that you can control remotely. Moreover, by automatically optimizing your home temperature and avoiding wastes (for instance, detecting when a window is opened), smart thermostats contribute to an overall saving of 10+% of your bills.
The future is now
It’s not science fiction
When they hear of home automation, many people can’t help but think about futuristic scenarios. As British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke said, ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic’. This has always been true: how do you think the public reacted when the first set of automatic sliding doors was installed in 1960? That’s the thing with progress: appliances once deemed unbelievable are now part of our everyday life. Smart homes are not the next blockbuster movie, they’re where all your neighbours are going to live in a few years.
Don’t fall behind
Home automation is here to stay. In 2016, Houzz surveyed over 100,000 homebuyers. Nearly half of them (45%) reported having installed at least one smart device during renovations. More recent research commissioned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC revealed a 33 percent year-over-year increase in the number of Americans having smart home products in their home. Other markets may be slower to catch up than the U.S., but they’re going to get there. You can choose to be an early adopter or to be late to the party.
Given the speed at which the market is evolving, it’s easy to lose track of all the available technologies. That’s why you should enlist the help of professional installers. You can certainly buy smart devices yourself, but the outcome is not guaranteed: they may be smart, but not necessarily get along well. Moreover, since each one of them will likely have their own controls (be it an app or a remote controller), things can get complicated pretty fast. Advanced Integration will make sure you get a personalised, aesthetically pleasing solution with easy-to-use, unified controls.
Get in touch to book a visit to our demo apartment installation!
