Reasons to Automate Your Home Right Now

Automating your home is fun, saves energy, and is a convenient process that makes connecting appliances and devices simple. Who would have thought a person can talk to a speaker to control their lights?  Not only is it simple to do because home automation do it yourself (DIY) products are increasing, but the cost is consistently lowering. Depending on the product, the energy savings make up for the price you paid in the first few years of installation.

These energy savings allow you to spend money on other things you love.

In this piece, we will walk you through the top reasons to automate your home right now!

1. Money Savings

The most common form of saving money in your home is through energy. Depending on where you live, and the climate, electric bills can skyrocket. Think about turning off your lights, taking shorter showers, and even cooking during the later parts of the day to keep the temperature down. Instead of doing those “extreme measures,” you can cut extreme costs by monitoring heating and cooling automatically, use sensors to turn off lights when not in use, and detect water leaks at the proper moment before bursting pipes.

Heating and Cooling

Making up for about half the cost of your electric bill, heating and cooling can be expensive all year around. If you haven’t invested in a smart thermostat already, you may want to take advantage of a WiFi thermostat to gain remote access to control your temperature and increase energy efficiency. Smart thermostats can learn your preference of temperature using algorithms. These algorithms take into consideration motion detection to see if you called in sick for work, or left for a night out. When you are in a certain radius of your home it can automatically turn back on based on the location. These algorithms can also determine your preference of temperature.

Water Leaks

Water leaks can waste hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in damage. From ruining the foundation of your home to essential documents, clothes, and this doesn’t discount lost memories such as pictures, photo albums, and home videos.

A water leak sensor serves to notify you, and even shut-off a water valve, to help ensure a small leak from your pipes don’t turn into a major catastrophe. The sensor or detector can send an audible alert or a message direct to your smartphone and depend on how advanced your system is, even shut off the main water valve to stop the leak.

Some homeowners insurance packages don’t cover damages by water leaks. There is almost a science behind how investigations are done by homeowners insurance investigators to determine if they will cover damage to the foundation or other belongings.

Being alerted of water leaks to save money and detecting them before the pipe bursts is a crucial part of home automation.  Don’t put yourself in the position of having to make insurance claims. Get yourself a water leak sensor.

Lighting Scenes and Schedules

Did you know that upgrading your lights to LED smart light bulbs save time and the elbow grease of changing bulbs less frequently? Not only does a 60 Watt LED light bulb use 75%-80% less energy than a  traditional incandescent light bulb, but it also lasts up to 25 times longer. The light bulb alone causes the headache of having to get a ladder, unscrew the fixture, and unscrew the light bulb. Then, do everything to put it back.

Aside from one single light bulb saving you money, do you ever forget to turn off the lights? Never forget with a motion sensor. When the smart light switch is set-up, install a motion sensor to set scenes in your home. When walking to the kitchen have the lights turn on.

The energy savings alone characterize the benefits of automating your home. But with lighting, you get access to both energy savings and security benefits. Reap the advantages of smart home products.

2. Security

Feeling secure in your home is the most important. Feeling at peace with the mind before resting your head on the pillow at night keeps you ready between the ears for each day. Smart products you didn’t think would allow peace of mind, actually do.

• Lighting – Control lighting remotely from your phone, Alexa or Google Home, Apple Watch, or set a schedule, so lights are on when you get home. No one likes coming home from work or a night out with a pitch black house or apartment. If you’re on vacation, access instant peace of mind leaving a light on during the night to make it seem like someone’s home.
• Smart Doorbell – Becoming increasingly popular are smart doorbells. With the BSG Video Doorbell you can detect motion at the door and send alerts via text message, email, or notification from the app. Other security based perks in the app include dogs barking while you’re away and someone rings the doorbell. Communicate with unknown visitors and much more.
• Security Cameras – The obvious one you are probably waiting for. Smart home security cameras are outdoor devices placed to detect motion and keep your home safe. Get access to live updates, communicate with visitors, and receive notifications through your smartphone.
• Home Security  – If some of these products are too high-tech for you, the other alternatives are motion sensors. These motion sensors are products which grant you the access to be informed while people or even objects set it off.

We all know security is one of the most important things. If products are not both reliable and secure, then what’s the point of using it? Whether it’s lighting, security, or just love the product, smart home technology is both secure and can save you money from break-ins as well.

3. Reliability

A reliable product is a product you can depend on without thinking about it. If you need to consider is a product going to work, then it’s not reliable. Home automation has fought to decrease pricing and increase reliability.

Try being 1,000 miles away from home and someone with a black ski mask knocks on your door. A standard doorbell, will not be reliable to keep your home safe.

The same scenario with a BSG video doorbell presents a crucial difference between a product being reliable and not. The BSG video doorbell alerts your phone, and you can set off the siren or talk to the person to scare them off. Even while the person is at the door and you’re busy having fun, let the automated dogs bark as they press the doorbell. Products being reliable and secure provide convenience to peace of mind.

4. Affordability

Typically, you spend anywhere from 30%-50% more on smart products versus the standard ‘dumb’ products. Since the era of voice integration with smart products, the market is continuing to decrease prices to make devices more affordable while still saving money on energy bills.

Be prepared to spend a little more money on smart products and see the returns in a couple of years.

5. Convenience

Convenience is a major characteristic of smart home devices. From do-it-yourself products, to the more complex products that require a professional, smart products are made for every walk of life. Gamers use lighting controls to set scenes while gaming, artists dim the lights while painting, and anyone can use the video Doorbell. Home automation was created to make life easy and convenient from anywhere.

Next Steps

Determine if you’d instead hire a professional or do it yourself. Do you have time, energy, tools, and other resources to complete the project? Then purchase a product, make sure you have Alexa, Google Home, or another voice assistant, and connect. BSG is your trusted security professional for home automation products, home security and more. Do you have automation products already? Want to show us what you’ve got? Let us know social media!