A home automation system can involve switching off electrical appliances like air-conditioners or refrigerators when a desired temperature has been reached, then switching on again when the temperature has crossed a certain value. A home automation system can also be used to secure a house from burglars by sending alerts to the nearest police station and the homeowner in case a trespasser is sensed.
Home automation design and installation can run the gamut from extremely simple, DIY projects to highly complex systems that require expert-level knowledge of electrical engineering and computer software and hardware. Depending on your home automation needs, you may be able to set up a simple home automation system on your own, or you may decide to choose from a number of manufacturers for individual home automation systems or whole-house systems.
Before you decide on the way forward, you’ll want to choose which features of home automation are most important to you. In general, the primary categories of home automation are security, HVAC (heating and air conditioning), energy usage monitoring and control, lighting, entertainment, and outdoor sprinkler systems. For homeowners who are interested in controlling all of a home’s systems, many manufacturers now offer products that connect to a home’s electrical grid and wireless network and control all of these systems via an in-home hub and, in many cases, a digital dashboard accessible via computers and wireless devices from anywhere with an internet connection.
The simplest home automation design and installation approach is to use plug-in automation control. This design involves small control hub boxes that plug into wall sockets and then communicate with appliances and lighting to determine when they’ll turn on and off. Homeowners can also control entire rooms or areas of the home via these hubs using a remote control, and in some cases, the boxes can pair with a home’s wireless network and be controlled and programmed via a computer, smartphone or other wireless device.