This post includes important actionable tips that can help you when building a smart home. Of course, there is a lot you can do, but if you are a beginner, it is essential that you make these things a priority.
Check them out!
Table of Contents
# 1 Use LAN as much as possible.
Wireless technology is indeed becoming more common today. However, it still encounters problems typically with range and signals interference. If it is possible, use a CAT6 for LAN access and wire your house. This becomes particularly essential if your home has numerous high-bandwidth devices like remote video surveillance cameras or streaming videos.
#2 Choose LED strips.
LED strips can take your mood lighting to a whole new level. Whether you use it to uplight on crown molding or downlight beds and undercabinet, indirect lighting can truly have a beautiful effect. If the budget permits, you can purchase LED strips directly. However, high-quality ones are usually costly. If your home has large spaces, then you can try do-it-yourself methods.
#3 Know how to use geofencing.
When we say geofencing, we mean a smart home geofence that refers to an imaginary loop around your home area. You can use the GPS of your smart device to activate various actions once you cross the “fence.”
#4 Use Alexa and Google Assistant.
If you are torn between Google Assistant and Alexa, you don’t have to be! You can use these two awesome voice assistants. You can connect all of your smart devices to both of them simultaneously. Then, choose whichever voice assistant is the most convenient for your smart device.
#5 Use smart switches instead of smart bulbs.
Smart switches allow you to use the wall switch as the on-off switch continually. Meanwhile, smart bulbs lose their smartness once you turn off the smart switch. Therefore, if you have to choose between them, hen it’s a lot better if you go with the smart switch. However, if your budget permits, you can always use the two at the same time.
#6 Label your smart devices.
It is essential that you label your smart devices properly if you want to control them the right way. This is to avoid confusion and determine correctly which room you are currently controlling.
#7 Reduce the use of batteries.
As much as you can, connect your smart devices to a stable power source. When you are building a smart home, it’s easy to get tempted to use the easiest and most affordable way to power your devices. In this case, it typically means using batteries. However, if you have multiple devices, maintaining the batteries can be really inconvenient in the long run.
#8 Know more about smart thermostats.
Most homes spend almost half of their energy bill on cooling and heating. Smart thermostats are intended to address that issue. How much you can cut from your expenses will heavily depend on your lifestyle and habits. However, a smart thermostat can greatly help you in saving.
#9 Learn how to use Tasker, IFTTT, and Stringify.
You may already be familiar with IFTTT, but what about Tasker and Stringify? Using smart home devices may be popular but there are still a lot of things we need to know. Explore how to use these scripting apps to make more compound automation and be able to connect smart devices that are not compatible.
#10 Update your firmware.
When opening a certain app, you will sometimes receive annoying messages that recommend you to update. Most people think this is not important and will most likely ignore it. But, it is highly advisable that you don’t. Updates on your firmware are helpful for new features, bug fixes, and security purposes.
#11 Affordable does not always mean unreliable.
Although in many cases, cheap prices mean low quality. But, if you know what you are looking for, there are certain exceptions. Make sure to compare all prices and do some research on the brand. Read some customer reviews and compare the features. There are actually high-quality products that don’t come at expensive prices.
#12 Learn to protect your privacy.
To protect your privacy, you must purchase from brands that you trust and highly recommended. More so, always choose self-hosted alternatives to make sure that you have full control of your data. For instance, pick security cameras that locally record and do not need paid cloud services.
So these are some of the things you need to do when building a smart home. Hopefully, this post has helped you out! Do you have other ideas in mind! We’d love to hear them out! Share them in the comment box below!
