Automation for the Smart Home

Like any system, home automation is available on a variety of levels—from the simple to the complex, the ready-to-install to the professionally configured, the inexpensive to the extravagant. The key to selecting the right approach to home automation is to understand what you want it to do, how it can be wired, and how much you can spend.

Creating a Home Automation Plan

Designing and implementing a home automation system should follow the same steps as almost any home remodel. In order to meet home automation needs, a designer will need to know a little bit about the home and how family members live and function within it. The needs and lifestyles of the family members then drive the design and function of the system, just as they would with any new space. Take the time before you shop to assess your needs and priorities, what you must have and what you can give up.

Safety and Security

Start with safety and security needs. Integrating a security system with the home’s other features can make a home safer and more secure from fire or break-ins. Vice President of Sales and Business Development Ken Fairbanks of SmartLabs, the company that oversees the production of INSTEON home-automation products, describes a fully automated scenario where the smoke detector does its job and sounds the alarm, the lighting system jumps to life and goes into a pre-set “fire” mode and emergency lights illuminate a pathway from the home’s bedrooms to the nearest escape point. “By tying the lighting system to the smoke alarm and creating a fire scene, homeowners enhance the safety and security of the home,” Fairbanks says.

Efficiency and Conservation

Look at how home automation can lower the home’s utility bills. As a first step, thermostats can be programmed to talk to motorized blinds and fans, initiating them as the interior temperature rises—a far less costly solution than running the air conditioning. “Gas and electric bills are increasing, and utilities are all heading north on the price side of things,” says Mike Einstein, a spokesperson for the Z-Wave Alliance, a growing group of companies developing wireless home-automation products and systems. “Controls that conserve energy will be of greater and greater interest in the home.”