Basic Requirements for Home Automation
While it is true that home automation may be achieved by using wireless sensors in combination with appropriate receivers and transmitters, including a PC for Internet control, there are still several physical conditions that must be met for these gadgets to perform. These conditions will allow the employment of the wireless control systems that you will need to automate your home for easier use and to save energy. Let’s check them out.
What do you Need for Home Automation
The prime essentials for automating your home is the hardware and circuitry. Without home automation, our lights are controlled by manual switches. If you are planning to remotely control the activation and deactivation of the lights, as well as their power consumption, then you need to first make some revisions, such as:
- Replacing the manual non-dimmer switches with programmable switches, preferably with dimmer control if you are looking forward to automating further by using an Internet interface. Even before the Internet control system is activated, you will be able to program the switches manually to attain energy savings. Make sure that the switches have provisions for Internet control.
- Replace your ordinary bulbs with dimmable types.
Controlling your Home Automation
Compatible Automation Controllers can be used to leverage your preferred dimmer switches. This is a wise future investment for your home automation, since it is capable of controlling your lighting via the Internet, and it would be a good idea to match your programmable dimmer switches with this type of home automation controllers.
Another important matter to anticipate is replacing the manual climate control or your HVAC’s manual thermostat. Like the programmable lighting switches, there are programmable thermostats available as well, which can either regulate your HVAC by themselves or be combined with a compatible power adapter to link to your PC’s LAN to control your HVAC settings online. Installing a standalone programmable thermostat with Internet capability is a smart way to anticipate future total home automation. While still waiting for the right time to fully automate everything in your home, these thermostats will serve the right purpose of saving energy. When it is time for you to fully automate via the Internet, you will find these thermostats ready for this purpose. Of course, you should also look forward to acquiring necessary addenda (such as sensors, power adapters, etc.) to theses gadgets, to make them function with your home automation.
You may also have thought of remotely controlling your doors’ lock mechanisms. This needs physically changing your manual door locks with programmable doorknobs by Smart Home USA. This wireless keypad lever lock, when combined with Z-wave technology gateways, enables its remote control capabilities, and with an Internet connection, you will be able to send commands the doorknobs using your wireless phone or PC.
Modifying your Smart Home
Perhaps not all parts of your home automation system require electrical or mechanical modifications on existing installations, but there are a few that need to be modified, like the items discussed above. In case you need to alter some items, it would be best to do the revision or adaptation one at a time. Anticipate that the switches and other levers you are installing now will be linked to a central automation controller. Do it one at a time to enjoy the fun of home automation, not spending a considerable amount of money, effort, and time on a single installation. Enjoy the fulfillment of being able to automate one appliance now so you could enjoy another one later, and so on.
In Summary
Please note that our examples above were presented with three different home automation technologies (Insteon, Z-wave, and Proliphix), and they may not function as well together—although each individual automation hardware is an excellent tool. It is better to consider only one controller technology/hardware in a home automation system; nevertheless, there is automation software that can integrate different hardware technologies into one home automation system. You can visit Smart Home, Smart Home USA, and other online stores for appropriate gadget brands and compatibilities.
