5 simple ways you can begin your smart home automation upgrade

A smart home isn't necessarily the futuristic fantasy of a home full of robots or modern gadgets, it's simply a home that utilises your Wi-Fi network to control things such as your thermostat, security, or other electrical devices. A smart home can also provide you with information, such as what your energy spend is or what is showing at your local cinema. You can automate these devices so that things happen even without your presence or use voice control to ask them to perform tasks as you need them doing, it is completely up to you. Read on to find out how to go about upgrading your home into a smart home.

Get started with the smart home

It is possible to start small and build up your smart home as your budget allows. The first investment that you should probably make, however, is in a home hub that will act as the control system for your devices. The major hubs out there on the market include Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple Homekit, and Works with Nest. Take a look at the best home hubs for 2019 to help you make the decision as to which one is the best for you.

Setting up everything

The easiest way to start setting up your home automation is to work through specific categories one at a time. You could, for instance, start with lighting. Do some investigation to find out what exactly you would need to build a smart lighting system, which in this example would be smart bulbs and then find products that are compatible with the hub that you have chosen. Remember, that there are experts in home automation out there that can help you create the ideal smart home at any step of the way.

Design and planning

When building your smart home you will also need to pay attention to the aesthetic of your home, in particular where you will place everything. Have a look on the internet to gather ideas from others as to how they have set up their smart homes. You could always read our post about keeping up with the latest interior designs as well.

Smart home privacy explained

The downside of transforming your home into a smart home is that it is inevitable that you will end up sharing data with tech companies. They might use this data to target advertising towards you or they could even sell it onto other companies. You might wish to think about the types of data that home hubs could collect and you might best mitigate this.

Smart home security

It is always possible when we add home automation into our lives that there will be someone to take advantage of it. They could, for instance, use your Alexa to order goods from your Amazon account or hack your smart security system to gain access to your home. Hacks are usually linked to the security of the Wi-Fi network which your devices are connected to. You might, therefore, wish to spend some time ensuring that your network is as secure as can be.