Entryway

The entryway — specifically the door — is the first place to start automating your home. With a smart door lock, you'll get extra peace of mind from the remote locking, specialized codes, and more. You can set it up so the lock senses whenever your smartphone is near and locks or unlocks the door accordingly. And if you connect it to your smart security system, you can set it so that your security system is armed once the door is locked.

And if you add a smart video doorbell to your home, you can also check on who approaches your home from anywhere and remotely talk to them through the speaker, which is helpful if you get a lot of deliveries!

Pro Tip: Add entry sensors to the windows and door and always be alerted to any movement!

Living Room

When it comes to the living room, you can do many things with smart automation, including automating your lights, smart vacuum, speakers, and smart TV.

• Smart Bulbs: last 10x longer than regular bulbs, use 8.5 watts of electricity, are easy to install, and let you change the color, brightness or dimness, and lighting schedule. You can set up rules to switch on the porch or path light as you come home.
• Smart Vacuum: Set it so the smart vacuum only runs when you're out of the house, so you don't have to deal with the noise.
• Smart Speakers: Helps control the entertainment through voice-activated commands or your smartphone.
• Smart TV: Operate TV through multiple options, including voice command and smartphone usage, so you don't have to worry about losing the remote.
• Smart Shades: Keep the room perfectly shaded by setting up a schedule or automating it to close whenever there is light.

Kitchen

The kitchen is another great room to add smart technology. With a voice-activated speaker, you can operate other smart appliances with just your voice. You can also add to your shopping list and have your phone remind you what you need when you're in the store, play music, make phone calls, check the weather, ask questions, and play games.

Voice Control

Voice control is typically thought of as a luxury item for the home. It serves as a personal assistant for completing basic household activities. But, it can also translate well into business use!  Here's how:

Individual Offices: Spoken control devices make it simple to alter the temperature and lights, take notes, ask for an online search, and make phone calls with a single voice command. There's no need to waste time switching tasks and risk losing concentration.

Conference Rooms: Let's imagine you're in charge of a meeting that includes several technology devices such as laptops, projectors, lighting control systems, and possibly more.

If your business automation has voice control, you can adjust the lights and start your presentation with a simple voice command. With this technology handling the heavy lifting, you can concentrate on making a great first impression, no problem. Just imagine the effect when the lights go out, and the presentation begins at your command!

Climate And Lighting Control

In an office space, there are always some people who prefer it cold, while others prefer it warmer. It can be difficult for businesses to please each employee. But, thanks to smart technology, it's now a lot easier. Employees can now manage the temperature in the office, saving money and energy.

What is an Integrator?

Smart home integrators are sub-contractors that are experts in the field of smart home automation. Smart-home integrators are required in order to create a smart-home system that can match a homeowner’s expectations for technology that works consistently and without constant adjusting. You can pay an integrator to design and install smart-home systems that take a house to the next level of technology, much like you can hire an electrician to wire your home or an HVAC specialist to design and install heating and cooling systems. The right integrator will help you map out all your needs and align them with all the stakeholders’ goals like an architect, interior designer, electrical consultant, etc.

Enhanced Network Security

Each gadget you add to your house, particularly those with remote access, creates a new network port. Integrators not only strengthen your overall network security by including firewalls and encryption solutions during your automation installation, but they also collaborate with trusted manufacturers who have proven security protocols. They will also be able to consolidate remote features onto a single system, reducing the number of access points for cyber-attacks.

Some professional integrators even offer remote monitoring software to help maintain your home’s network health and performance. If a glitch in the network or a security breach is identified, your smart home professional can notify you of the issue, and they can often fix the issue remotely before you even notice there is a problem or any of your data has been compromised.

More Efficiency

If you simply want one aspect of a smart home system like whole-house audio, installing that project on your own could take a really long time. Trying to do a more comprehensive, personalized system that includes security cameras, motorized shades, outdoor entertainment, climate control, and lighting will be a multi-month DIY project. On the other hand, a professional integrator knows how to build your smart home more quickly and precisely. They’ll do it right the first time, and you’ll be pleased you’re not flicking through an instruction booklet in annoyance. They’ll also ensure that you don’t have too many problems down the line – and if you do, they’ll be on call to come back and help out. When you work with a qualified professional, you’re never left on your own.

Automation Expertise

An integrator’s benefits don’t just stop in the home. They can also help set up your office building’s automation better than your IT department could. Much like in the connected home space, office technology is ideal for serving as the core for your business and building systems. An integrator can help program your system to know when the building is occupied, who is in the building, and control lighting and door access, among other items. And if security is a concern, your integrator can work with your IT to setup up a secured network that can be accessed by your staff yet is still serviceable by the integrator for possible future updates.

Self-Monitoring vs. Professional Monitoring

Before we dive into why you should get a home security system, first, you'll need to decide whether you want to monitor the system yourself or pay extra for a professional service. While self-monitoring is cheaper, you won't be able to monitor your system 24 hours a day actively — it's too easy to miss something, especially if you're sleeping.

With professional monitoring, the service works round the clock and constantly keeps track of your home's alerts. If an emergency does occur, these trained professionals know exactly how to respond, including which emergency service to contact. And since these alerts come from a professional source, the emergency response times are faster.

Bye Bye, Burglars

Of course, one of the main reasons to get a home security system is if you're worried about a burglary. But did you know that burglars are less likely to invade your home when there are obvious signs of a security system, like yard signs, outdoor cameras, etc.?

Eighty-three percent of burglars look for signs you have an alarm, and over half say they will give up their plans when they see one. And if they do attempt to enter your home, with security motion sensors on the windows and doors, you'll know the instant someone tries.

Pro Tip: For an even more significant burglary deterrent, tie in bright lights and loud alarms whenever a security alert goes off.

1. Begin with a Consult

The first step towards your custom solution is a consult outlining the scope of your project. This is where you discuss what you want out of your smart home. Do you want the lights to be location or motion activated? Do you want never to have to worry about locking your front door?

During this process, you'll figure out how many rooms to include in your custom solution, what technology you'll need, and which smart home solution is ideal for your family and budget.

2. Designing the System

Once your custom installers have an idea of what you want out of your smart home, that's when the real work starts with professional designers and engineers. They come together to formulate a system that includes the technology you want with budget and time frames.

Every custom solution needs a well-thought-out design and plan as it makes the rest of the process easier. This plan includes the wiring infrastructure, hardware location, user interface management, and how to blend the equipment with your home design.

3. Managing the Project

With the initial plan in place, the next step is probably one of the more important ones: managing the project. This involves setting clearly defined parameters for all those involved in your custom solution, such as architects, engineers, designers, and contractors. That's a lot of people and components to keep track of!

Lifestyle & Goals

One way to start thinking about what you need in your smart home is to consider your overall lifestyle and goals. Walk through your house, take notes about your daily routine and figure out what can be automated. It will give you a better sense of what your home can look like, fully automated. Do you want to never have to worry about house keys or codes? Do you want your home's thermostat to always be optimized? Have complete surveillance both in and out of your home? You may want all of those things. However, just because there are dozens of options for automation doesn't mean you'll need or want to use them all right away.

Rather than starting with a whole system, you can start with one that controls only a specific home feature like your security, entertainment, thermostats, etc. And that way, you can get scalable home automation systems that let you expand on the system when you want to. But, identifying your overall goal will guide you in effectively selecting your home automation system. This is also the time to establish your budgets.

Functions & Controls

Next, you'll want to choose a home automation setup with controls that are suitable for you. Hardware-based, software-based, or a combination of the two are the three primary types of home automation control centers.

• Software is designed for people with more complex home automation needs.
• Hardware is best for simple systems with manual controls.
• Hybrid systems are ideal if you want to utilize triggers to automate events such as motion-activated sensors and conditional events such as a thermostat that sets a room temperature at a specific time of day.

From there, you can pick a system that has the new innovative functions and includes all of the exciting, high-tech features, such as remote control, smartphone app, and voice control, among other things. If a system requires an app, you should also check if it is compatible with your devices.

After finding a compatible system, double-check that it has all of the features that assure ease of use and efficiency.

Setting Up Boundaries

What is geofencing? It's a location-based technology that uses GPS, RFID, Wi-Fi, or cellular data to trigger a pre-programmed action when a mobile device enters or exits a virtual boundary set up around a geographical location. Basically, it uses your location to trigger specific actions on smart devices and controls once you've entered or left the virtual boundary you created.

Geofencing is controlled and managed through a Z-wave powered smart hub or panel and combines all your smart devices and controls into one cohesive network. You can set triggers for your lights, security system, smart plugs, GPS trackers, thermostats, door locks, electronic devices, smart appliances, sprinkler systems, and in-home sound systems. That's your entire home!

Keep Cool & Bright

With warmer temperatures on the way, you have to stay on top of your home's utility bill. And if you already have a smart thermostat, you're on the right track. But it can be better.

When used with geofencing, you can set it so your thermostat automatically raises the temperature a few degrees when you leave the house, which helps you save on energy. You can also program the thermostat to lower the temperature once you've reached the boundary of your geofence, so your house begins to cool when you arrive.

As for lights, you can do something similar where your porch lights and interior lights automatically turn on, so you don't come home to a dark house. While you can do that with ordinary smart home automation, this way, you don't have to fiddle with timing and schedules — it's all based on where you, and your smartphone, are currently located!

Types of Lighting

Before getting into anything else, you’ll want to determine which type of lighting you need for your home: wall lighting, landscape lighting, or security lights.

Wall Lighting 

These modern outdoor wall lights flank doorways and can be mounted anywhere there is a wall and wiring. Others integrate into your home’s exterior or have style features to accent your space. Some produce ambient light, while others provide more directed light. Most outdoor wall lights will be rated for their particular exposure to the elements, so make sure you pay attention to the UL rating. An outdoor wall sconce will not only help you find your keys, but some designs wash walls in uplight and downlight to help emphasize your property.

Landscape Lighting 

This type of lighting includes path lights, deck and step lights, and recessed ground lights.

• Path lights are meant for pathways but can also be used for water features and gardens or home perimeter lighting.
• Recessed lights are meant to blend in with your landscape, so you only see the light they emit, not the fixture itself.
• Deck and steps lights are a more permanent style of lighting that is installed directly into the steps and/or decks outside your home to enhance safety and design.

Security Lights

Security or safety-based lighting includes flood lighting, recessed lighting, and path lights. These lights can have a dual purpose in that they are for security but also add curb appeal. Typically you can program these lights to turn on and off with the sun, activate with movement, controlled by a switch, or even a smart home hub. And you can find options that are solar-powered, battery-powered, or hard-wired.

UL Ratings

Each fixture will be given a UL grade depending on its weather resistance. These UL ratings indicate which outdoor areas are most suitable for your fixture. It’s important that you understand what you’re buying.

Light Up Your Home — Automatically!

If you have smart lighting in your home, there's a lot you can do with it, especially when it works in tandem with other devices or motion sensors. This way, you can have your lights turn on during specific actions or at particular times. For example, you can:

• Set a rule for your lights to turn on when your security alarm goes off to scare away possible intruders.
• If you have a late schedule, have your lights turn on after punching in a specific code in your smart lock, lighting up the path to your bedroom, and automatically turning off!
• Turn off the lights with a single tap on the app or create a timer around when everyone in your home goes to sleep.
• Set up night lights to turn on whenever you get up in the night and keep them dim.
• If you get up for work while it's still dark out, set it so your lights turn on and imitate the soft glow of sunrise to start your day better.

The more connected your home is, the more you can do with your smart lighting!

Breath of Fresh Air — Whenever!

When it comes to smart thermostats, there's more to it than simply programming your home's temperature. While fine-tuning when your HVAC system turns on is always helpful, you can also integrate it with your smoke detector or smart shades. This broadens your horizons, letting you do any of the following:

• Sync your thermostat with your smoke detector, so it knows to turn off your HVAC system if it detects smoke and keeps the smoke from circulating in your home. Less chance of smoke inhalation!
• Always know if the AC is running, even if you're not home, and turn it off remotely. Or set up a timer to get the AC or heater running before you get home from work.
• Program your smart thermostat to turn off whenever your windows are open for more than 15 minutes to let in natural air.
• Set it up so your smart thermostat is off when your smart shades are open to reduce your energy usage.

The more you use and adjust your thermostat, the more it learns and makes adjustments to suit your preferences!

Forgot to Lock Up? Don't Sweat It!

If there is someone in your home that never remembers to lock up when they leave, smart locks are your savior! No more running to get to the house or asking your neighbor with the spare key to lock up for you — you can lock it yourself remotely and do so much more, like:

Benefits of Smart Lighting

The benefits of smart lighting extend beyond the ability to adjust your lights automatically or remotely. There are here are several plus sides to having smart lighting, such as automation, energy savings, and so much more. You’ll discover that there can be more to lighting than just flicking on a switch, and we’ll show you just what we mean.

Automation & Setup

Smart lighting can be integrated individually or collectively. You can set timers to turn off the lights at a certain time, or you can program your lights to turn on and off when you’re not at home, simulating your presence. The fixtures of smart lights are the same as those of regular light bulbs, so there is no need to worry about complicated installation. Simply remove the old one and screw in the new one to install them! Use your app or device to connect them to your home, and you’re good to go in a matter of minutes.

Save Energy

Depending on how you set up your lights, you can get notifications about left on lights, so you can turn them off. Meaning there will be no more waste of light and a significant reduction in energy use, resulting in lower CO2 emissions. So, you can power your home while being eco-friendly. Also, smart lighting has a much longer average lifespan than standard lamps, so you don’t have to replace them as frequently.

Even though smart lighting is more expensive upfront, it will save you money in the long run. Smart lights use five times less energy than normal bulbs, and the ability to dim your lights can help you save even more money on your energy bills. Remember, the less energy your lights use, the better for the environment they are.

Mood Creation

Smart lighting also provides a more pleasant ambiance by detecting various aspects in a room and adjusting to those factors. Most smart lights also offer features that allow you to adjust the color or intensity so you can create a great movie atmosphere, work environment, or just a relaxing space.

At a Glance:

What is Ambient Lighting?

Benefits of Ambient Lighting in Your Home

How to Implement Ambient Lighting in Your Home

What is Ambient Lighting?

TV

Have you ever noticed how many TVs get installed over fireplaces? It’s not because people necessarily wanted to put the TV there. It’s because the fireplace is typically designed as the focal point of the room and it just ends up making sense to put the TV right above it. Many are fine with that, but some others think that having a big black rectangle at the room’s primary focal point is not the most desirable aesthetic choice!

Fortunately, the industry has come up with several ways to dress up or hide the TV completely:

• Digital Art ‒ Some TVs have a “digital art” mode that can make your TV look like a painting, family portrait or whatever image you want to show off. Some even come with a light sensor to make the art respond to your room’s lighting in a way that makes the art look more natural.
  
  
• Mechanized Lifts ‒ There are dozens of options that make clever use of automated lift mechanisms that can hide your TV in a myriad of ways. An Art Lift allows you to hide the TV behind a real piece of art that can slide up or sideways to reveal the TV when you turn it on. Other motorized lift mechanisms can raise your TV up out of a cabinet or have it descended from a hiding place in the ceiling. You can even have the TV pivot left or right towards the viewer.
  
  
• Recessed TV ‒ You may not really care about completely hiding the TV, but you would like the installation to be a little sleeker. In that case, you can have your builder frame out the wall so that there is a pocket for the TV to be installed into. This creates a clean and flush appearance from the front and side.

Speakers

Having the ability to play music anywhere in the house or yard is one of the most requested features we get. While a set of floor standing speakers might make sense in a home theater or media room, other rooms can have great sound too without the speakers being a prominent visual feature.

• Architectural Speakers ‒ Most people are familiar with in-wall and in-ceiling speakers. What you may not know is that you can get them in a smaller form factor that closely matches the size and shape of your recessed lighting. This makes the speakers really blend in. There are even in-wall and in-ceiling subwoofers that can provide some added bass without the big black box on the floor.
  
  
• Invisible Speakers ‒ If you really don’t want to see the speakers at all, invisible speakers can be installed during the construction phase that perfectly blend into the wall. They are mudded and painted over, just like the drywall, so even the sharpest eye can’t see them.
  
  
• Custom Soundbars ‒ Adding a soundbar to enhance TV audio is extremely popular these days. But a lot of soundbars look like an afterthought rather than part of an integrated system. But they don’t have to. Many manufacturers provide soundbars in custom lengths that perfectly match the width of your TV for a clean, purposeful look.

Lighting Control

A smart lighting system isn’t just for convenience. It can enhance the look of your home as well. Lighting control systems can be programmed to remember lighting “scenes” that recall specific lighting levels for a room or the whole house. You can have all your lights set to just the perfect level for whatever mood or activity you want and recall it with a simple button press.

“Centralized” lighting control systems take things even farther by reducing your banks of light switches (sometimes four, five or more in a row) and consolidating them into a single, elegant keypad. Often these lighting keypads are available in a variety of designer colors and textures to perfectly complement your décor.

At a Glance:

Motion Sensors

Voice Activation

Timed and Scheduled Lighting

Switch or Keypad Control

Smartphone or Smart Remote

At a Glance: 

What is Home Automation?

Lighting Automation in Your Home

Installing Home Lighting Automation

Find a Certified Home Lighting Automation Installer Near You

Scheduling Scary

By day, your house is brightly lit, the shades are up, and the lights off. But as the darkness of night starts to draw near, your system automatically adjusts your lighting and shades to the schedule you set. Your guests sit there, a gasp, as they find themselves draped in the perfectly controlled and lit Halloween setting, they now find themselves in.

Even better, having it set to go by itself can also be used to scare, as well. You could schedule blinds to go up and down during a Halloween party, or use an app to control the lights and turn them on and off as people enter and exit certain rooms. Flickering lights are sure to add some spooky atmosphere to any shindig you throw, and you’ll be able to do it all from the palm of your hand!  That’s some high-tech Halloween scaring, right there.

You are probably wondering how one takes their current lighting and shading system and makes it set for such scares, though. That’s what we’re here for! Give us a call today, and we’ll walk you through all of your integration options for lighting and shading.

Dementor Dimmers

There’s nothing Halloween-y or scary about regular, plain, boring, light switches. But dimmers? Now, those have potential for sure.

Dimmers come in a whole array of styles and possible switches, giving you something that will match whatever you are looking for to fit your home. They also save you money compared to traditional light switches.

Increased Efficiency

By helping you make sure lights are off when not in use, lighting control systems save you energy and money. You can set different lighting levels for different scenarios, such as cooking, reading, or watching TV.

Lighting systems allow you to control your use of light when and where you need it; light sensors can even measure the brightness of the outside light and adjust interior lights accordingly, ensuring that just the right amount of energy is used.

An Added Layer of Security

Paranoid that potential intruders will know you’re miles away and helpless to their attacks? Lighting control systems can set “vacation scenes,” turning lights on and off throughout the day or night to make it seem like someone is home.

They can also automatically turn on outdoor lighting at night so there are never any dark areas, and can use motion sensor technology to show when people are near your home.

Aesthetics and Design

Having large groupings of 2 or more light switches together can take away from the design of your home and create a lot of wall clutter. With a lighting control system that is designed while your house is being built, you can replace those large banks of switches with a single elegant keypad which can control individual lights, scenes (multiple lights together), and even other devices like the volume for music in the room or channels on a local TV.

Whether you are a bustling and busy family in a giant house, or a couple just starting out with their tech-savvy starter home, smart lights can play a vital role in the overall look, feel, and interactivity of the place you call home. 

Spice up your next backyard party or make it easier to relax with these devices for your Springdale, AR, home

The summer heat is still going strong in Arkansas, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay cooped up inside with the air conditioning at full blast. There’s always your backyard or neighborhood pool, but that’s hardly the only way to have fun outside. There are several technologies for your yard to make your summer more exciting or help you relax, whatever your mood. Here are three ways Springdale, AR, residents can add new dimensions of outdoor entertainment to their home.

Smart Lighting Can Lower Your Energy Consumption

There’s no getting around it: the summers in Fayetteville and throughout Northwest Arkansas are getting hotter and hotter. That means a big impact on your HVAC system.

So how are you expected to keep your energy usage low? After all, less reliance on your thermostat could result in a few sweaty Sunday afternoons.

Instead, why not look for other areas to save – like automated lighting. In this blog, we’ll explore how you can get the most out of your system while saving.

Ready to learn more? Just keep reading.