What Happens to Your Smart Home When The Power Goes Out?

A power outage is annoying in any home, but have you ever wondered what happens to smart homes during one?

Will your smart home lock you in if your home loses power?
Will you still be able to unlock the garage door?
Will your security cameras stop functioning?
Will everything turn into chaos once power is restored?

These are valid questions and since power outages can’t necessarily be avoided, it’s important to understand what happens to your smart devices when the power goes out.

This article will help you uncover what occurs during what some might describe as a nightmare for smart homeowners. However, once you are done reading, the possibility of a power outage will no longer seem that daunting.

Smart Homes and Power Outages

It wouldn’t be presumptuous to say that home automation is becoming a must-have consumer technology. In fact, there are approximately 175 million smart homes in the world and the numbers are rising.

Since smart homes and devices are the way of the future, it’s critical to be prepared for this reality. After all, how can you control your smart home devices if you do not understand them? Some devices may remain operational without power and others will stop working, so you need to learn about these scenarios before you find yourself in one.

Let’s dive deeper into the effects that a power outage would have on the most popular smart devices.

1. Smart Locks

Smart door locks make life more convenient by allowing you to lock and unlock the door, keep track of who enters your property, and more from your mobile device. 

A smart lock is one of the most important features of a house. Therefore, these devices are battery-powered or come with a battery backup so that the locking mechanism works as usual even during a power outage. In fact, some smart locks even include a keyhole to secure extra protection in case of any sort of outage. 

Having said that, it’s pretty self-explanatory that remote functions that require an internet connection will not be available during a blackout.

If you want to find out more about this, check out our article on everything you need to know about smart locks for home security. 

2. Smart Lights

A cornerstone of smart home devices, smart lights can be remotely controlled, usually from an app or voice assistant. From automating the lighting schedule to employing LED smart bulbs, these are just a few of the advantages of a smart home lighting system.

That being said, while these lights are smart, they are essentially the same as any other lights during a power outage, meaning they will go off.

However, what matters is what happens after the power restoration. After all, you don’t want to be woken up in the middle of the night when the power problems are fixed.

While some smart lights will stay off until you turn them back on, some have a “Power Loss Recovery” setting which means that the bulb returns to the last mode it was on before the power outage. 

Pretty convenient, right? 

3. Smart Security Cameras

Thanks to smart cameras, you can record footage, watch live videos, and even receive real-time alerts when you are not home.

Since they are usually connected to the internet, some smart cameras will stop working during power outages. On the other hand, there are also smart security cameras that come with a battery backup and even local recording options.

These smart cameras are ideal during short power outages as there is no lost coverage. Nonetheless, a loss of internet service means losing the ability to view remotely.

4. Smart Thermostats

Not only does a smart thermostat take into consideration the season, the time of the day, and the temperature, but it also adjusts the temperature inside based on whether you are home or away. It can also offer you information on your energy use. What’s not to love about smart thermostats?

That being said, there are some thermostats such as the Nest Learning Thermostat that continue functioning even when the power dies. This smart device includes a rechargeable battery that is charged directly through the cooling or heating system wires. So, the Nest Thermostat can last for up to two hours during a blackout. 

However, if you live in an area where power outages happen regularly, it would be smart to invest in a generator instead of relying on battery backup. 

5. Smart Garage Doors

Having a smart garage door means that you can control your garage door via a mobile device. From receiving notifications when the garage door opens and closes to pre-setting an opening schedule, smart garage doors will make your life easier.

The question, however, is whether they will make life more complicated for you during a power outage.

The good news is that most garage doors have a backup battery, so they can still work. Even in the worst-case scenario, when the batteries eventually shut, the doors can be operated manually. 

Bottom Line

Smart homes may be the way of the future, but that doesn’t make them bulletproof. 

Is this a reason to give up on smart devices altogether? No way. After all, smart home devices make your life easier and some of them might even work when the power goes out. 

Smart homes might not be so different from regular ones during a power outage, but they sure are for the rest of the time. 

So, are you ready to turn your home into a smart one? Then, book a free no-obligation consultation with us.