What is home automation? And how does it work?

“Enjoy an easy and stress-free life with a high-end home automation system that automates all your repetitive tasks.”

As we are rapidly making a transition to the 22nd century, more and more electronic devices are becoming intelligent, intuitive and integrated. Imagine coming back from a vacation. Your home knows when you are just a mile away. It automatically turns on the lights, disarms the home security systems, opens the garage and the thermostat becomes operational. Welcome to the era of Home Automation!

What is home automation?

Home automation is an advanced technological feature that allows electronic and automatic control of household appliances and activities. Home automation is basically orchestrating the best smart home devices in such a way that they work in tandem over one common communication channel.

Thereby, giving users total control of all the connected devices and make them function according to their lifestyle and needs. Find out more about how home automation will veer in and turn your life more sophisticated, easy and peaceful. Also, how you can automate your home using the best smart home devices in UK.

Domotics, better known as home automation, is a perfect culmination of hardware and software technologies. It enables control and management of home devices through a universal remote or by triggering a chain of automatic events. A home with an in-built home automation system is called asmart home.

Internet of Things and home automation

IoT or Internet of Things is a system of interconnected and inter-related electronic devices that collect and transfer data over a common network without human intervention. Thus, IoT based home automation allows the user to control, monitor and manage different home appliances/devices either automatically or by using a universal remote.

For example, smart light bulbs can turn on and off via an app on your Smartphone. Your home security systems get triggered the moment you turn off your lights at bedtime. The security camera and burglaralarm system are activated alongside. These smart home solutions can be accessed from anywhere whether you are in the home or travelling across the globe.

Why do you need home automation?

Domotics, better known as home automation, is the most advanced technology that gives life to your home by making it intelligent. The key advantage of going for home automation is the comfort and convenience it adds to by automating routine and repetitive tasks.

As these smart home solutions can deal with several operations (lighting, temperature control, home security and so on) simultaneously, this, in turn, saves time and frees up the homeowners to perform other tasks. Home automation makes your life easy, simple and more accessible.

Home automation is just not one technology, it’s more like an integration of numerous technologies to create one coherent system. As every aspect of the home can be automated, just imagine and it may be done!

Let’s scroll through the advantages of home automation.

• For a future-ready home

Whether it’s simplifying the everyday tasks, home security or getting yourself entertained in your smarthome theater system, home automation makes your life more connected and accessible. Enjoy a fluid and unified home experience when these smart assistants turn your home into a fully integrated and easy-to-use system.

• People with disability

Home automation is a blessing in disguise for people living with a disability. Be it a voice-driven smart assistant or a pre-programmed smart device, home automationenhances their ease of living by giving them additional independence to perform routine tasks.

• Elderly and kids at home

Elderly people need more assistance with home living as they grow old. Smart home systems can also help the elderly to retain their independence by enabling them to perform a multitude of tasks from the touch of their palm or voice.

You can easily keep an eye on your toddler or pre-schooler child from your workplace by watching him/her in real-time through smart security cameras and giving additional voice commands.

Home automation makes your beloved-at-home feel your presence even when you are not present physically.

• Comfort

Home Automationhas become the new normal in today’s world. Smart home systems no longer remain a luxury but have evolved into a major necessity. Be it home security or a smart lighting kit, people are exploring the search engines for DIY home automation tips.

The best smart home device enables us to upgrade our homes into more comfortable and liveable space. The advanced smart home systems UK facilitate the homeowners to pre-program the thermostats so that the home is always at a comfortable temperature, adjust the smart lights according to mood and play music on home theater speakers while working for home.

• Convenience:

The best thing about ahome automation system is that they need little to no manual intervention. The smart devices can easily be scheduled and accessed through a best universal remote or an application installed in your smartphone, tablet etc. The settings can easily be configured or changed depending on the requirements. When you don’t have to remember to lock the door or turn the lights off, you can easily focus on other important tasks.

• Increased Safety:

Home alarm systems comprising of smart fire detectors, burglar alarm, pressure sensor, motion detectors and other smart home security features can significantly protect your family from a disaster.

How does home automation works?

Every IoT device or smart device is integrated with electronic chips known as sensors that enable the device to get connected through the internet. This makes the device controllable via automation or universal remote control. Automation is when you program or schedule your devices to go on and off on their own. If you want to control your devices from a distance, a universal remote comes into the picture.

Home automation is when multiple smart devices are connected to a single hub such as the apps that come along with them. These apps allow you to control and manage your devices whether you’re at home or miles away. Further allowing you to enable your wireless alarm system, turn off lights, automate door lock etc no matter where you are.

Elements of a home automation system

There are basically three elements of a home automation system. Have a look.

• Sensors (Monitoring):

The sensors integrated within the smart devices monitor changes such as temperature, daylight motion detection etc and send signals to the controllers. This enables the home automation system to adjust as per the pre-set values or the preferences set by the user. The sensors also allow remote monitoring through an app. For example: The users can easily check on the live feed coming from the security camera on the smartphone.

• Controllers (Controlling) :

Controllers are the devices such as your laptop, smartphone, tablet or the universal remote- that send and receive information about the status of all smart devices in your home. The users can easily control the working of smart devices with the help of controllers.

• Actuators (Automation):

Actuators are the switches, motorized valves or motors of the smart devices that actually control the mechanism. These actuators are programmed to be activated or deactivated as per the command from the best universal remote controller. Also, automating these devices enables activating other connected smart devices.

Such as, on detecting a suspicious motion, sensors in smart home security camera would signal the controllers, which in turn will send signals to trigger the burglar alarm.

For complete home automation, consult with the best smart home companies in the UK for the right approach towards getting your home network done. A right home network would enable seamless and uninterrupted working of smart devices.

What are the features of automation systems?

Home automation devices permit you to perform numerous tasks either by a command (voice or click) or automatically. Have a look at some common features of a smart home.

• Thermostat control
• multi-room audio
• Remote controlled lighting control
• Automation of home security systems
• home cinema system
• alarm systems
• smart kitchen appliances
• Real-time video surveillance
• Voice-activated controls
• Personalized home assistant
• Smart plugs
• Keyless entry and doorbells

These were just a few examples of the home automation system. The beauty of these smart home solutions is that they can be personalized to resonate with user’s lifestyle and requirements.

What are the pre-requisites for DIY home automation?

For all the people who always prayed for few more hours in a day, home automation is the answer. For diy home automation, you need smart wiring, the best control systems in UK and high-speed internet connectivity. Once established, you can add as many smart devices to your network as you wish.

• Smart Wiring

Smart wiring is the backbone of your home automation system that lays the foundation of your smart home. Streaming and home security devices, smart lighting kit etc are added later on to the top of this foundation to meet your personalized requirements.

• Dedicated application Control:

Make sure that your controller offers a dedicated app control and is compatible with your smart home OS. This allows you to operate and monitor all your devices even from a remote location. While selecting a controller, you need to be very sure of its scalability as well as responsiveness.

Home automation cannot be achieved in a single day or overnight. The best way is to start small and gradually build your home automation system. With a plethora of IoT (smart) devices being put on the market every day, home automation gives endless possibilities to what you can automate.

Choose only trusted and reliable smart home companies UKfor your dream smart home and take a step towards a thriving and connected life.