How To Get Started With Home Automation
Hoping to make your home a little bit—or a lot—smarter? Whether you were raised with the internet or have had to do a lot of Googling to figure out how your phone works, you've certainly heard of home automation ... you may just not recognize it. Home automation can look like smart lights turning on the moment you walk in the door, drapes closing or opening on a schedule, or your favorite playlist turning on throughout the home when you tap a button. Instead of using multiple apps to control everything, you can integrate all of your home automation tech into a single, simple system that's easy to use and manage—with a little help from Abt's experts.
What Is Home Automation?
We discussed a bit of what home automation is above, but to simplify it, a proper home automation system helps you control elements like your home security, shades, lights, music and more. The overriding goal is to give homeowners complete control over their home and, more importantly, ease of use. If something can happen with one button press, it will. Or maybe you prefer a schedule. Instead of turning on individual lights and opening every single drape in the morning, home automation systems from Abt can do it for you. But home automation isn't like a set-it-and-forget-it smart speaker—with these systems, you'll want specialists to help you perfectly plan, install and assist. So, how do you get started with home automation?
DIY or Professional?
DIY home automation isn't really a solution—it often creates more of a problem. If you're trying to build your own collection of smart devices, the issue comes when you try to control them all from one phone. Instead of flipping back and forth between apps on your smartphone, getting started with home automation designed by professionals is the way to go. And you won't have to go it alone. Abt's team of experts is here, and when you choose Abt, we'll service your system for life—whether through software updates, troubleshooting issues or making any additions.
Even better? Most of our tech support is done remotely, making every service call fast and easy. You can depend on the Abt-level service we've become known for, too.
What Does Home Automation Involve?
One of the first things that gets people interested in home automation? Lighting, shades and drapery controlled by Lutron. Lutron is a great first step: with interior lighting and curtains or shades, it's easy to customize your home and to have Abt help program a schedule that lines up with your life. With Lutron, you'll have lights turn on as your alarm goes off, or have your drapes close to keep the sun out and conserve energy as needed.
But before you know everything you want from home automation, we can help with your design. Maybe you're building your home from the ground up, or perhaps you're planning a big renovation. If home automation sounds like something you might be interested in, bring your home plans to Abt—or we'll come out and meet you and your builder or contractor at the build site. Our goal is to get a great look at your home and see how we can best incorporate automation into it to give you the easiest, most upgraded experience possible.
What Can You Integrate Into Your Home Automation?
Whether we're just getting started with your home automation plans or you're still mulling the idea over, keep the following in mind: many of the smart appliances and electronics you already own can integrate into a new home automation system. That includes products by brands like Sonos, Sony and LG. A popular central hub, Control 4, works with thousands of brands. Below are some of the most popular things to adjust from your home automation hub.
- Climate Controls & HVAC
- Whole-Home Audio & Video
- Home Security
- Window Treatments
- Garage Doors
- Irrigation
- Hot Tubs & Spa Systems
Voice Control, Remotes & More
When you're getting started with home automation, you'll want to make sure you can easily access and control your smart features. That might look like a touchscreen panel embedded in your wall, with a friendly operating system that's easy to use. In a home theater or entertainment space, you might want a custom remote. Other options like built-in lighting controls bring that familiarity, while an app on your smartphone keeps everything in one place. Finally, there's the ultimate convenience of voice control: just speak your command and your home automation takes things from there.
Simple Service for the Life of Your Home Automation
No more getting up to turn on the air conditioner? Easy and automatic AV controls? Home automation can look different from one house to another, but the one thing that's constant is convenience. And we're here to keep everything simple. From the initial concept to the complete proposal to deployment and beyond, our team is with you every step of the way. If you run into a problem in a week, a month or a year, we'll help to straighten it out. Even better? We can take care of fixes remotely nearly 90% of the time, and the other 10% of the time, we'll be there to help in person. If you're ready for a smarter space with home automation, fill out our form below and we'll reach out to set up a consultation.
