A smart home refers to a home armed with heating, lighting, and electronic devices that are connected to a common network and can be controlled remotely by a smartphone or computer.
These homes are also termed “connected homes”. For instance, your home’s lights, audio speaker, security cameras, locks, appliances, thermostat, and more are all connected into a common system being controlled by a smartphone or a dedicated remote control.
This way, smart home automation lets you leverage high-tech functionality and luxury that was barely an idea in the past.
You must be eager to make your home smart, especially if you are a beginner. But switching to a smart home might sound costly and stressful at first, but do the advantages often outweigh the hassle and price? Here we will go through the advantages and disadvantages of setting up a smart home to find if they are worth your investment.
Ensuring Convenience for Everyone:
When you install thermostats, smart lights and plugs, and other smart home devices, you empower your house with a great deal of convenience. It doesn’t mean that you are too lazy to get off the couch and turn on a light switch. Rather, it is that you have given yourself the option of not going to the light switch.
We all look for a certain level of convenience in our lives. People generally don’t require light switches and electricity. Yet, you don’t often hear that electrical lighting is all about laziness and people should switch to candles instead. Smart lights and other smart tools are just an obvious extension of that progress.
When you watch your favorite TV show or a movie, only to realize you would prefer the lights to be turned off or dimmed, you will appreciate the “facility” of making that happen without having to disturb your film-watching experience. Similarly, the first time you monitor your property while you are away, you will appreciate the convenience of smartphone-connected—CCTVs.
If you have to ever guide a family member on operating a complicated home theater system, you will have peace of mind knowing that they can command a voice assistant device such as Alexa to do the job.
Convenience might be a luxury, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need it at all. Smart homes ensure the comfort you might not otherwise have, and thanks to tendencies, they even ensure peace of mind as you don’t have to worry if you have closed the garage door.
Helping You Overcome Daily Problems:
A smart home can help you solve your daily problems. In this scenario, we would like to give an example of asking a kid to remind their grandpa of medicine, only to watch those creating tantrums.
With voice assistance, you can interact with everyone in the home, no matter where everybody is, via the intercom facility.
Google Broadcast is an amazing tool in such a scenario. While the messages ring in every speaker across the home, Google Assistant delivers the response to the originating speaker. You can also use those speakers to play music across the home.
Using voice control for your lights and plugs helps solve some issues, too. For instance, your kids can command the voice assistant to turn off the light, eliminating the risk of touching the dangerous plugs.
Besides, it would be a great help for people with disabilities. You can also integrate smart sensors to make lights turn on and off on their own when you enter or leave a room. With just a few smart gadgets, your smart home can ensure independence and flexibility.
Save Money:
If you wake up only to find that every light in the house was not turned off, then you have discovered a problem that can be solved by a smart home.
The more family members in your home, the challenging it can be to educate all of them to do sensible things, like turning off the lights or TV when they are not in use.
If you have kids, that challenge gets maximized.
It would be best if everyone in the home learned about and value the importance of energy conservation, but we human beings tend to forget and ignore it. So, any extra bit of assistance to overcome that ignorance is most welcome. With basic routines, you can program plugs and smart lights to turn off when the gadgets or equipment are not in use, or even during the day when everyone is at school or work. This way, it lowers your energy bill.
Even if are likely to turn off the gadgets when they are not in use, smart plugs can still minimize your energy use. Even when the plugs are turned off, many appliances still consume power. For instance, today’s game consoles eat up more power than other appliances when turned off because they are running updates in the background.
Reinforcing Home Security:
When you integrate security and surveillance features in your smart home, your home security just gets better. There are many options here—only a few dozen of which are currently being used. For instance, home automation systems can connect CCTVS, automated door locks, motion detectors, and other security gadgets across your home so you can activate them from a dedicated remote control or smartphone app before leaving the house or going to bed.
You can also get security alerts on your various devices depending on the time of day an alert turns off, and monitor activities in real-time whether you are at the office, on the run, or in your bedroom.
What are the Disadvantages of Smart Home?
The smart home also comes with some downsides. Cost is often one of the biggest concerns associated with smart home installation. That’s why it might be beyond the budget of some homeowners. A Reliable internet connection is downright essential for a smooth operation. If there is no Internet, you won’t be able to access and control your system, especially from distant locations.
And in case of a problem with the smart home system, you cannot simply approach an electrician or handyman to get it fixed. You will have to rely on the professionals. The smart home concept might not be suitable for all homes.
Our Verdict—Are Smart Homes Worth Your Investment?
Despite having some disadvantages, smart homes are worth your investment for a number of reasons. In fact, the benefits of a smart home outweigh the disadvantages of owning a smart home. Smart homes can ensure convenience, solve issues you regularly deal with, even save you money. Above all, it reinforces the security of your house.
However, make sure to get in touch with a smart home vendor or professional in your region. Ask everything that bothers you about smart home installation.
