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.

Have a Geek Meet

If you’re more on the anti-social side, maybe going out to a geek-fest isn’t your thing. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun! Play nerdy games with your fellow geeks or online. This might be a perfect day to go back to a good old game of “Dungeons and Dragons.” Or join the relevant Watch party on Facebook or any other nerdy event you are interested in. You could also join an online discussion about your latest movie or show obsession with your fellow geeks.

And if you want an in-person meet-up with some friends, you can do that too. Maybe you’ll binge-watch your favorite anime or watch a marathon of Marvel films. Alternatively, you might spend the entire day playing your favorite video game. And if you can’t spend the whole day geeking, you can still take some time to show off your new projector or your home audio system you just added.

Geekify Your Home

Don’t feel like your home really showcases your inner or outer geek? Take the chance on this Geek Pride day to rectify that. So if you’ve been thinking your video game setup needs some work, it’s time to go for an upgrade! And while you’re at it, you can completely transform your home theater experience with a custom solution that matches your geeky soul. You can even take the opportunity to geekify your backyard patio with an outdoor theater setup—the choice is yours!

Perhaps you’d want to use your creativity and set up some home automation lights to recreate Harry Potter scenes or as the backdrop for your next cosplay. It is Geek Pride Day, so why not get techy with it!

Get Creative

If you’re a sci-fi lover, you know what a tricorder is, but did you know that with home automation, you can almost have the real thing? The tricorder was the pinnacle of efficiency and simplicity. It was a small machine that allowed access to an almost infinite amount of sensor data and automation. Like how a smart home hub or app is, nifty isn't it?

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!

In the Wall or the Ceiling?

One of the easiest ways to hide your audio is with in-wall or in-ceiling speakers. Both speakers are recessed into the sheetrock with a mounting bracket, but while the grilles are still noticeable, you can paint those the same color as the walls. And you don't have to worry about the wires since your installer will run them for you.

With in-ceiling speakers, you need to take care of which rooms you put them in since sound travels. So, if you have a young child, having in-ceiling speakers in the room above them might make it hard for them to stay asleep.

Pro Tip: Make sure to choose speakers with full enclosures to minimize sound reflections and keep your sound pure.

Cloak of Invisibility

Have you heard of invisible speakers? They work just like in-wall or in-ceiling speakers, except they don't have exposed grates. Instead, you plaster over invisible speakers, and they stay hidden entirely inside the sheetrock. But don't worry about the quality of your sound — these are designed with superior audio!

The beauty of invisible speakers is that you can also install them within recesses about the size of canned lights so that they blend in with your light fixtures. No matter how often your guests look around, they won't be able to find where the sound is coming from!