Smart Home Gift Ideas: The Gift of Time
More time; fewer mundane tasks. In today’s hectic world, anything you can do to simplify responsibilities and shorten your to-do list is a good thing. Imagine if you never had to run an errand again. Convenience is king, and popular technology is making our lives more and more convenient. Grocery deliveries. Alexa. Mobile check deposits.
Part of the ongoing technology development is smart home devices. These devices are part of the Internet of Things, or devices that can share information directly and be controlled via technology.
Make Your Home Smart
The biggest impact of a smart home: convenience. Think of the many, many things in your home that could be automated and easy to control no matter where you are – with just the sound of your voice or one button!
The list is practically endless:
- Smart Lighting
- Smart Thermostat
- Smart Security system
- Smart Window shades
- Garage Door Opener
- Smart Home Theater
- Wellness Solutions
- Smart Sprinkler Controller
- Smart Door locks
- Appliances
How it Saves You Time
How do all these devices save you time, if they work the same as they always have, just with more technology? Well, there’s the secret. They can work together, and they can work via automation. Here’s our Top Five list of convenience factors:
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Hands-free. You can use virtual assistants such as Alexa, Google Home, and Siri from any Apple device to direct the smart home technology. Simply say “Turn the dining room lights on” and voila! Lights will go on. No walking over to the switch, no logging in to your phone, just a few words.
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Far away. You don’t have to be in proximity of smart home devices to control them. Drove away half an hour ago and can’t remember if you turned the alarm system on? Just check your phone, or voice-activate it to be sure. Want to turn on some lights while you’re away in Disney so it doesn’t seem like your house is unoccupied? Turn a few on each day.
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One place. This might sound like you’ll need to add 14 apps to your phone and have a username and password for each, and open them one at a time to make this work. Still more convenient than walking all around your house, but kind of annoying. However, smart devices can be integrated to connect and be managed through one interface (i.e. one app). It’s similar to a universal remote functionality.
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System learning. Smart devices will learn over time from behavior patterns. If you always walk in the door from work at exactly 5:20 and turn the lights on while turning the thermostat up, over time your smart lights and smart thermostat will automatically adjust to your schedule. Do you turn the coffee pot on as soon as you turn your alarm off in the morning? Your coffee might soon be ready and waiting the moment you step out of the shower without you having to run downstairs.
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Combine tasks. If you tend to do a few things in your home together, this can be a game changer. At night, do you go around and turn off all the lights? Lock the doors, arm the security system, turn your sound machine on, along with your reading lamp and morning alarm? What if you could do all of that simultaneously without moving. You could get in bed and say a few words. With Alarm.com, you can customize a “scene,” to automatically complete many of the things you would normally do at one time. These can be activated with a button from your smart phone or with your voice using a digital assistant like Google Home, Alexa or Siri. Think of how much more time you would have to sit quietly instead or wandering through the house!
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Avoid disasters. Many smart home devices can alert you to a problem. A water sensor will send an alert if you have a plumbing leak. A thermostat can let you know if your HVAC isn’t working to get to the right temperature. Your smoke alarm can let you know if its battery is running low. You’ll be safer and fix problems as soon as possible with a smart device. And who knows what additional “disasters” will be avoided in the future as more appliances and devices are integrated into smart home packages.
While an array of devices is available in the market today that you can buy and install yourself, to truly get the most from your smart home, consider consulting with a BSG professional. Our experts will help to ensure that all the devices you are interested in not only work, but work together. If you want to make your smart home work as hard as it can for you (more time! Fewer annoying tasks to take care of! Put your feet up and enjoy), get in touch with BSG and request your free smart home consultation.
