If you are just now diving into the world of smart home, you’re in luck — there’s never been a better time to learn and integrate smart products into your home. There are a diverse selection of products and brands — Z-Wave has over 3300 certified products in the ecosystem — that allows you to customize and select products with the right functionality, color, finish and compatibility with other tech in your home.
The most popular question we get is: where do I begin? Before you start looking at products, reading reviews, learning what is possible with different kinds of smart devices, you should ask yourself: what problem do you want to solve with tech or what peaked your interest in smart home?
A great place to start would be with a basic smart home system, which could include hub, a smart lock, smart lightbulbs and a few sensors for your doors or windows. Let's look at what each product can do.
What can a basic smart home system do? For one thing, you're probably exiting and entering your house a lot more frequently this time of year that you did in the dark of winter. Smart locks not only give you the extra convenience of easy access (after all, who among us hasn't dashed out the door and forgotten our house key?) but they also allow you to keep tabs on who's coming and going, even when you're not home. With a smart lock and paired hub, get a notification when the kids get home from school or give the babysitter a personalized access code that only works during specific times of day. Peace of mind for your home and family.
Chances are good that you'll be opening windows more frequently to let in that summer breeze and closing them again when the hot sun keeps us all sitting near the A/C. With Z-Wave door/window sensors, you can see at a glance whether any of them have been left open when they shouldn't. You can also just as easily get a notification on your smart phone if a window is opened when no one is supposed to be home.
Smart lighting, especially on the front porch, is another fantastic way to enhance your home any time of the year. While the days are long and brighter in the summer months, many places start seeing fall weather and shorter days right in early September. But with smart lights, you don't have to remember these things and change the programming to reflect each season. And since the entire process is automated, your porch light will only shine when needed. So you're cutting down on headaches and saving energy at the same time. Bonus!
With a little bit of effort and some affordable and accessible tech, you can easily upgrade your home and improve your day-to-day life, and all of these smart home upgrades are easy enough for even the most timid do-it-yourselfer.
