fbpx

Best 17 Actionable Tips To Get Started With Your Smart Home

Home automation can help you gain more time in the day. Simple voice instructions or controlled by a smartphone app keep the ball moving after it’s set up. You’ll be living in a smart home in the twenty-first century before you realize it. Here are some helpful tips to get you started with your smart home:

1)Find The Dead Spots in Your Home

The best way to connect all your smart devices is through WIFI. As more devices get connected to the networks, this can get overcrowded quickly. Dead spots are referred to areas that may have a weak signal or no connectivity. To prevent disconnection between devices, use a WiFi analysis tool to discover the “dead spots.”  

2)Get Used to Using Voice Commands

After acquiring your first Alexa device, it may feel a bit strange to talk to an object. But you will soon get used to it and become your standard routine. Alexa and other smart devices will quickly become a member of the family as you start interacting more with them.

Voice command smart technology tips
Happy young woman controlling smart home devices with a voice commands and smart speaker at home. Concept of a smart home and managing wireless devices remotely

3)Get Your Family Onboard

Any hardware or automation you create should be easy to operate in ways that anybody in the home can use it. Verbal commands and automation programs should be kept simple that your family should never be frustrated or confused.

4)Plan Things Out From The Beginning

When you first start developing your smart home, you usually only have one or two gadgets, but they can soon add up. As your collection grows, it brings an increase in creativity. Unless you’ve planned things out, you’ll have several devices controlled by multiple rules, and it becomes challenging to remember what you’ve put up where.

5)Avoid Battery Powered 

Choose to connect your smart home devices to a consistent power source whenever possible. When just getting started with a smart home, you might be tempted to choose battery-operated smart devices. However, as you add additional devices to your collection, battery upkeep can become a genuine annoyance. 

6)Smart Thermostats Are The Safest Option

Heating and cooling make for over half of a standard household’s energy bills. Smart thermostats are supposed to eliminate a significant portion of this cost. The money you can save depends on your current habits. Still, a smart thermostat is one smart device that will ultimately pay for itself.

7) Rely on Help From Communities

Online communities are a great place to go if you have questions regarding your new smart technology. SmartThings, Philips Hue, and Ecobee are just a few popular devices with their fan bases. When you join the club, you’ll encounter more than just casual admirers. You’ll find all sorts of experts, and you’ll probably get ten different answers to each query.

smart home community birmingham

8) Keep Your Personal Information Private

Buy from companies you know and trust. Examine self-hosted options first to guarantee complete control over your data. For example, security cameras that record locally and do not require a subscription cloud service. 

9) C-Wire Is Ideal for Smart Thermostats

Smart thermostats with a large screen and a WiFi connection consume a lot of electricity. The thermostat can obtain electricity from the cables using a c-wire without interrupting the HVAC system. You’re asking for a headache if you don’t have a c-wire. But don’t worry, it’s not a difficult problem to tackle.

10) Name Your Smart Devices

When it comes to controlling all of your smart gadgets, make sure to appropriately name your smart devices or areas of use. Proper labeling will assure less confusion as to what device goes to which room.

11)Leverage Alexa’s Routines

The Alexa app is gradually becoming the popular choice of tool for automation. Routines play a significant role in this. 

Routines allow you to start a series of actions with only one voice command. Alexa routines can also be triggered by a motion sensor, thanks to its latest update.

12)Keep an Updated Password List

You’ll end up with a lot of passwords if you buy a lot of smart home equipment. Use secure passwords for each device and follow appropriate security practices. Passwords won’t be used as often once you’ve connected to your network. Make a list of all of the passwords and keep it somewhere safe.

13) Keep Your Firmware Updated

It’s tempting to ignore the annoying notification to update that appears every time you start the program. DO NOT IGNORE!! Firmware upgrades are necessary for security, bug corrections, and the addition of new features. If you can’t do it on the spotkeep in mind to update when you have more time.

14)Choose a Hub According to Your Level of Expertise

The Alexa platform from Amazon is simple to learn and utilize. You’ll quickly discover, however, that it’s confined to quite basic automation. On the other hand, a home assistant like Control 4 has a significantly higher learning curve but enables more complex custom programming. Finding the proper hub is usually compromised by decisions between ease of use and the flexibility to develop complicated automation.

The Samsung SmartThings hub, for example, is an excellent blend of both. It has an If/Then type app that is simple to use. Some add-ons allow you to build custom code for the tech-geeks.

15) Hardware Can’t Be Improved On the Spot, But Software Can

If you insist on becoming an early adopter, at the very least, make sure the item is well-built. Hardware constraints will remain with a product for as long as you use it, notwithstanding software changes.

16) Something Greater Is Always On The Way

New smart home goods and new versions of previous smart home goods are released regularly. Some are concerned that a thing they purchase now will become obsolete tomorrow. My advice is if a smart home gadget answers your problem and is reasonably priced, you should take advantage of it. A good company will maintain its products up to date so that they may grow with you.

17) Someone Else Has Likely Written a Blog Post About It

You’ll inevitably try to automate something and come up short. Do a Google search before fumbling around with the app or spending hours attempting to develop your solution. You’re likely to come across someone else who had the same idea as you and had written about it in a forum or blog.

smart technology tips for all users
Beautiful young parents, their cute little daughter and son are using a tablet and smiling, sitting on sofa at home

Final Thoughts

There is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes a smart house. A smart home, in general, employs smart gadgets to automate and control household processes, commonly via mobile apps and voice commands. Convenience, security, entertainment, and energy efficiency are four advantages of smart homes that save money and time.

There are endless ways to automate your house, ending in overspending on smart devices you don’t require. We recommend beginning with one or two smart devices and gradually adding more. If you don’t know where to start, reach out to us. We are here to help.

Share this post with your friends