You’ve probably thought about it. If it’s possible that you could ‘control’ your home from a remote or your smartphone. Well, that’s kind of a thing these days, it’s called having a Smart Home.
So yes, to answer the burning question in your mind, it is possible to control your home with your smartphone. And here’s everything you need to know about that:
From An Ordinary to a Smart Home
Think about how cool it would be if your curtains could draw themselves, or you answer the doorbell without getting off your couch. Other than the fact that it could potentially make us lazier than we already are, certain aspects of a smart home are worth it.
What you should know is that a smart home consists of multiple smart devices installed within. There are three outcomes of such technology in your home:
- automation
- energy saving
- home security
That’s true. Smart devices are not only useful for the mere fact that they automate things around the premises, but that certain features within certain devices contribute to energy savings and act as an add-on to your home security system.
Controlling Your Home with Your Smartphone
How are smartphones and ‘controlling’ your home correlated? So here’s the thing. We already mentioned that a smart home consists of smart devices within it, right? Smart devices come with smartphone apps that are downloadable onto our phones, tablets, and laptops.
Through their mobile apps, you can control these devices from practically wherever you are. Doesn’t matter whether you’re 10 feet away from the device, or in another state within the country – you’re always connected to the smart device.
But in addition to having control of smart devices from our smartphones, oftentimes, a lot of these are even compatible with voice assistants. You just have to configure the settings from their app!
First Things First: Internet Connectivity
A precondition, however, of operating a smart home is that it requires around-the-clock internet connectivity. Now, why is that?
We said that even if you’re in another state within the country you could access your smart devices from your smartphone. But what plays a big role here is that these devices must be connected to the internet to carry out their functions in real time.
Any sort of lag or disruption in the internet connectivity can cause a delay in whatever command has been set for the device to carry out. For instance, your smart lock wouldn’t immediately lock the door if there are problems with the internet at the time – and that’s a bit of a risk.
Get the Right Internet Plan
So what can you do to avoid any internet connectivity problems, to begin with? It really depends on our internet packages. Finding the right internet plan that can support smart devices alongside our usual usage of the internet is very important.
For that reason, you must opt for internet plans that offer unlimited data and have high speeds. That is because these two are the main factors behind good internet service. People tend to overlook a lot of features by just focusing on the price of the internet plan – and that’s where most of them end up suffering.
A lot of the time, just because an internet plan was cheap, we end up running out of data because there’s a limit to the package or even suffer from slow speeds while multiple devices are connected to it.
One Solution: Smart Router
We know what you’re going to say. A smart router would only be an added burden on the internet service, right? Wrong, a smart router is there to make your internet plan useful.
So here’s what it would do. Smart routers are capable of covering larger square footage with seamless connectivity. And they can support multiple devices at a time – without hindering speed performance for any.
Besides, these devices also feature smartphone apps from where you can restrict access to certain devices or set an allotted time for them to be connected to the Wi-Fi.
Is It Really Worth It
Is it really worth it to go through the trouble of automating your home just so you can control things from your smartphone? Well here’s the thing, it doesn’t take much work when it’s down to installing and setting up smart devices in your home. It takes about a few minutes at max, and not all devices are wired – some even have battery-operated variants. The main thing is the investment such a project would require because automating your home isn’t exactly cheap.
It really just comes down to the internet plan that you subscribe to. So before you plan on taking up this project for your home, maybe browse through some internet plans by some providers in your area. Click here to check what’s available.
There are many smart home automation technologies available that allow you to control your home with your smartphone.
Here are 5 popular technologies that allow you to control your home with your smartphone:
- WiFi: Many smart home devices, such as smart plugs, lights, thermostats, and security cameras, use WiFi to connect to your home network. You can control these devices using a smartphone app that connects to the same WiFi network.
- Bluetooth: Some smart home devices, such as smart locks and speakers, use Bluetooth to connect to your smartphone. This allows you to control them directly from your phone without the need for a hub or bridge.
- Zigbee: Zigbee is a wireless communication protocol that allows smart home devices to connect and communicate with each other. Many smart home hubs use Zigbee to connect to devices such as smart lights, sensors, and locks.
- Z-Wave: Z-Wave is another wireless communication protocol that allows smart home devices to connect and communicate with each other.
- Infrared: Some smartphones come with built-in infrared (IR) blasters that allow you to control devices such as TVs, cable boxes, and soundbars that use IR to communicate. You can use a smartphone app to control these devices directly from your phone.
