We all aspire to a welcoming, pleasant, healthy home, whatever the season. A home where technology transcends gadgets and contributes to our well-being. This is where home automation features can make all the difference. Home automation fosters comfort and customisation, offering greater control over our interior and making everyday tasks more straightforward. But do you know all the benefits of living in a smart home? Let’s take a look at the future, today!
What is home automation?
Home automation refers to technologies designed to allow your house to operate autonomously. From communication to energy management and security, home automation features cover an impressive array of uses. Yet one of the most noteworthy aspects of smart homes remains ergonomics, a new generation of connected equipment that places comfort above all else, adding a fresh level of freedom to your daily life.
5 Home automation features that promote better comfort
When choosing to fit your house with a home automation system, the features that promote comfort, security, and energy savings are much more decisive than novelty or technology for its own sake. The initial fascination with connected objects has given way to a more impartial appreciation of their potential. Home automation features transcend “gadgets” to meet the needs of demanding users who wish to implement concrete solutions to improve their daily lives.
This is where the true essence of a Smart Home is revealed. The lights in the hallway come on when you unlock your front door in the evening. Your washing machine turns on during off-peak hours—but only if it’s full. Your heating system automatically turns itself down when everyone has left the house and will come back on about fifteen minutes before the first occupant returns. Your smartphone lets you know that a delivery person has arrived and starts a video call through your doorbell so you can provide instructions or even deactivate the alarm in the entryway only and open the door, inviting them to leave the parcel inside… The possibilities are endless.
As you will have gathered, examples of home automation features improving daily life abound. Let’s take a closer look at how this technology lives up to its promise, offering enhanced experiences at every turn.
1. Home Automation for Your Domestic Comfort
In the world of home automation, features related to comfort cultivate streamlined simplicity. The goal is not to digitise your house from floor to ceiling if it means you have to reach for your smartphone and use an application every time you want to turn the light on or off in a room! On the contrary, a genuinely “smart” home knows to deactivate the alarm system when you get home without any prompting on your part, for example. It adjusts the lighting exactly the way you like it, depending on the time of day or the amount of sunlight. It fine-tunes the heating in every room so it’s always just right for the situation, and plays your favourite song in the kitchen when it’s time to cook dinner. In the morning, you’re awakened by the warm scent of freshly brewed coffee. And, of course, you can change these settings at any time for complete control over your home.
2. Optimal energy management
If your home is fitted with a connected system, comfort is just a starting point. This technology is an unmatched lever for monitoring your energy consumption in real time and optimising usage through smart heating equipment. Smart thermostats, smart thermostatic radiator valves, connected mechanical ventilation, sensors, household appliances… everything is synchronised to help minimise your heating bill without compromising comfort.
3. Household chores made easy
Connected objects—or the Internet of Things (IoT)—are revolutionising everyday life. Your washing machine knows precisely how much laundry detergent to use and selects the perfect programme for the clothes it contains. Your garden is watered, and the lawn is mowed automatically at the most appropriate time. Your cleaning robot vacuums and washes your floors while you’re away, so you won’t even notice it’s there. Even your swimming pool analyses the quality and temperature of the water all by itself, measuring the products and adjusting the thermostat to guarantee a pleasant swim.
4. Valuable Help for People With Reduced Mobility
Another benefit of home automation features is the comfort and assistance they provide for people with reduced mobility and senior citizens. Automated access control, for example, offers undeniable advantages. Having interior and exterior doors open and close with a simple button or voice command allows occupants who have difficulty getting around to regain their independence and feel safe in their homes. They can also use home automation to control various appliances, such as lights, TVs, or a connected doorbell remotely. Even in the bathroom, a tap fitted with motion detectors can make daily life easier.
5. High-End Security and Safety Equipment
Security is one of the most essential home automation features available, and it can make all the difference when it comes to protecting your house. A wide range of connected objects now exist to bring you enhanced safety and complete peace of mind.
This is especially true of smart surveillance cameras, which can show you in real-time everything that’s going on in your home through photos and videos.
Motion detectors are also becoming more reliable than ever. They can even use artificial intelligence to spot intruders without alerting you every time a cat enters your garden.
Smart locks with physical and/or electronic keys that can be revoked at any time give you complete control over who has access to your home and when. Your doorbell sends real-time notifications, and if suspicious activity is identified, you can even communicate remotely with the locks and your alarm system.
Finally, connected smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, smart door and window sensors, smart indoor cameras, and perimeter barrier detectors provide a constant, reliable flow of information to feed the system. And, of course, you can also access the data yourself from wherever you are.