Best home automation tip: keep it simple! Are you working on your new house or planning a renovation and looking at ways to automate your home? Great idea! Home automation makes your house more sustainable and comfortable. But before you enthusiastically eliminate all your light switches from the construction plans and automate your garden sprinkler system to turn on every evening at 8:00 p.m.; know what you should avoid at all costs when it comes to home automation, what is downright unsafe, and discover the most overlooked, yet essential WiFi point.
Garden sprinkler system
Best home automation tip for outside: let’s start with something simple. Having your garden sprinkler system automatically turn on at 8:00 p.m. on hot, sunny days sounds convenient right? However, imagine hosting a barbecue, and forgetting to turn off the automated activation mode of your garden sprinkler system… While it may be refreshing on scorching days, your guests might not appreciate the unexpected shower. On regular weekdays outside of vacations, an automatic sprinkler system is undoubtedly useful. But during holidays and weekends, our advice is to simply activate your sprinkler system with a single tap on your phone.
A WiFi access point in your garden?
And speaking of the garden, many people believe it is unnecessary to have an extra WiFi access point installed in the garden. However, nowadays, houses are so well insulated (including the windows) that WiFi coverage doesn’t extend beyond a meter outside the house.
Absolutely unsafe
Since we’re enjoying the outdoors, here are a few examples of poor home automation choices that are absolutely unsafe to automate:
- Pool Cover System – It may sound appealing to be able to remotely close the cover of your pool while you’re on vacation. But what if you close it remotely, and the neighbor’s kid decided to take advantage of your absence to go for a swim in your pool? Or what if a cat is scrolling on the cover when you open it? It is extremely unsafe to open or close something without having a clear view of it especially when the area considered is lacking proper ventilation. Therefore, a pool cover system should only be automated under strict conditions: there must be a switch nearby to operate the cover instantly and/or a sensor and camera should be connected. If these conditions aren’t met, your pool cover should not be integrated into your home automation system.
- Sauna Control System – Automating your sauna control system, being able to activate it remotely is unsafe for the same reasons. Even if the user case is deemed safe. When you’re not physically present, you can’t guarantee that there’s nothing or nobody inside the sauna.
- Car Lift Operation – Controlling your car lift remotely may sound fun, but the same principle as mentioned above applies here: If you don’t have a clear view of it, you can’t ensure that nothing or no one will be in its way when you activate the car lift. Therefore, this is a no-go for home automation specialists as well.
Best home automation tip: Keep it simple
When it comes to the best home automation tip inside your home, there are some aspects you should carefully consider before thinking, “I’m going to automate everything; it’ll be fun!” Not everything is equally practical. As I always say: if my grandmother comes to visit, she should be able to operate the house without me having to explain everything.
Switch options impractical
My advice to customers when it comes to the best home automation tip: keep it simple. Nowadays, many home automation panels offer switch options or an activation button that you can place on your coffee table to trigger certain actions. For example, option 1 might turn on the lights, option 2 turn lights off, option 3 turn on the lights and television in the living room, option 4 turns on the radio, and so on. And pressing the button once activates the lighting, while pressing it twice activates the air conditioning. Based on our extensive experience, I can assure you that you won’t remember all those options. There’s simply no logical structure with eight options. In everyday life, people tend to forget them. Not to mention your guests.
No light switches not a good idea
Sometimes, when people enthusiastically embrace home automation, they no longer want any light switches on the walls at all. It’s important to realize that if your controller ever has an issue, you won’t be able to control your lighting anymore if you got rid of all your light switches. Moreover, we are creatures of habit. We prefer the lights to be on before we enter the house or to turn on as soon as we step inside. Sensors can certainly help with this, but as creatures of habit, we like to be able to be in immediate control ourselves. Again, the best home automation tip: keep it simple.
Best smart home tip to keep it fun
This summer, as you plan and dream about your new home or upcoming renovation, certainly think about home automation. It undoubtedly makes your house more sustainable and comfortable. But keep your home automation simple and don’t forget a WiFi access point in your garden to fully enjoy all its benefits safely.
