Technology has truly revolutionized the way we live. Our homes are no exception. Smart homes have become increasingly popular for their added convenience, comfort, and control. A smart home gives you the ability to control everything from the lights to the thermostat to the security system, check on your pets, and so much more – all from your smartphone. In this article, we’ll discuss a variety of ways you to make your custom home a smart home.

What is a smart home?

A smart home is a house that uses internet-connected devices to enable homeowners to remotely monitor and manage all the appliances and systems in their home. This includes lighting, security, climate control, entertainment systems, and more. 

Benefits of a Custom Smart Home

Increased Security

When you build a smart home, you benefit from increased security. Smart home systems integrate with security cameras, motion sensors, and other devices to better protect your home from intruders.

Automated Lighting 

Smart lighting systems can be programmed to turn on and off at certain times of the day or night, or when you leave a room. You can even control your lights from your smartphone when you’re on vacation or out of the house for any reason. This can provide added security, allow you to check in on pets, and even save you money on your energy bill.

Custom Comfort

Smart homes can be equipped with smart thermostats, which can be programmed to adjust the temperature and comfort settings of your home based on the season, time of day, or your individual preferences. Smart thermostats have so many features and settings that you can completely customize and control your home comfort wherever you are.

Enhanced Entertainment

With a smart home, you can enhance your entertainment systems. You can integrate audio/visual equipment like TVs, speakers, and streaming services for better entertainment.

Remote Access 

Smart homes enable you to remotely control every system that’s connected. So, when you’re away from home for whatever reason, you can easily check in, adjust the temperature, turn on the TV, view your security cameras, and much more.

Designing Your Custom Smart Home: Room by Room 

There are so many ways that you can make your home smarter. We’ve put together some ideas for your custom smart home design.

Entry

Imagine never having to worry about whether or not you locked the front door. Think about what it would be like to never have to be locked out because you forgot the house key. That’s the feeling you get that comes with outfitting your front door with a smart door lock. Some smart locks look just like deadbolt locks but they’re Bluetooth or Wi-Fi capable. Others have touchscreen keypads for a more high-tech look. Either way, you can set a lock code and control your lock remotely wherever you are.

Pair a smart lock with a doorbell camera and your entryway is super smart and super secure. No matter where you go, you can access the camera and control who has access to your home.

Hallway

The hallway is a good spot for the thermostat. In a smart home, that means a smart thermostat, of course. While they’re not new technology, they’re always getting better. A smart thermostat is one of the cheapest and simplest ways to make your home smarter.

These thermostats allow you to program your heating and cooling to use less energy, monitor humidity, provide energy consumption reports and recommendations, and much more. They not only make your home smarter but they also make your home more energy efficient.

Kitchen

In many homes, the kitchen is a common gathering place, making it the ideal spot to put a smart speaker or smart hub, like Amazon Alexa or Google Nest. These gadgets let you operate other automated devices throughout your home using voice control. Plus, they’re quite handy on their own. You can use them to create grocery lists, set timers for cooking, and play music for cleaning. 

Another cool device for the kitchen is a smart fridge. A smart fridge enables you to see what’s in your fridge in real time. Some smart fridges will even provide the expiration dates on all your groceries. These refrigerators are so smart, they’ll keep track of their own maintenance requirements and let you know when it’s time to change the filters. 

Living Room

The living room is another major gathering point in any house. You might place another smart device, like an Echo Dot, in here to listen to music or control your house. Other smart features to include in your living room are smart bulbs, smart TVs, motorized shades, and a robot vacuum. 

Smart lightbulbs last longer than regular bulbs, consume less energy, and offer both fun and useful features. You can set a mood in your living room with a smart bulb, whether you dim it or change the brightness or the colour. Having motorized blinds can also help create a mood, or set a nice atmosphere for movies on the smart TV with the family. Make cleanup easy with a robot vacuum cleaner like a Roomba.

Bedroom

You might also want motorized shades in the bedroom, as well as smart plugs. They’re energy-saving and have multiple features that make them super handy. Plug your lamps into smart plugs so can set them on timers and control them remotely. Take this to the next level by connecting a smart speaker through which you can voice-activate your lights.

Somewhere the near the bedrooms, consider installing a smart carbon monoxide detector. They’re much more reliable than old, standalone detectors and you never have to worry about dead batteries. 

Nursery 

Next, the nursery. You’ll get peace of mind by using a high-tech baby monitor. You can keep an eye on your bundle of joy via the live video feed, which you can access from your smart devices wherever you are. There’s also night vision, two-way talk capabilities, temperature sensors, and sleep tracking. 

Bathroom

Surprisingly, there are many ways to make your bathroom smarter. These gadgets will totally transform your bathroom experience. A smart shower automatically adjusts to your ideal temperature, monitors water usage, and sends reports to your devices. The next way to enhance your bathroom experience is to install a smart toilet. It’ll do things like flush automatically and heat your seat. You could even invest in a smart mirror. It’ll tell you the weather, time, and date, and provide you with news updates and notifications.

Laundry Room

If you thought you couldn’t make your laundry room smarter, think again. There are washing machines and dryers out there that will alert you when a load finishes. You can receive the alert on your smartphone. Plus, the washer will adjust the detergent and water levels according to your load size.

Basement

In your basement, prevent water damage by installing sensors. Moisture sensors will alert you to standing water and persistently damp areas, including inside walls. When placed close to the floor, these sensors can send a notification to your phone when they detect water. What’s more, they can be connected to other smart devices in your home and send an alert to shut off the water in case of a leak. Alternatively, you can connect them to your lights and have them flash a warning signal in the event of a leak.

Exterior 

Finally, make the exterior of your home smarter. Install security cameras at key points. You might also install pool motion sensors, especially if you have young children. These will alert you whenever something or someone falls in. 

Build Your Custom Smart Home with Omega

Building a custom smart home makes your life easier, keeps you safer, and reduces energy consumption and costs. When you take this into account when you’re designing your home, you can build the ultimate smart home. 

Talk to Omega about your ideas for your smart custom home.

About Omega

We don’t just build you a house, we build you a home. We assemble the top architects, designers, and trades personnel to work in conjunction with our experienced and licensed staff in order to make your dream home a reality. As a Tarion Custom Home Design-Builder, we feel it is our responsibility to be adaptable to each client’s individual needs. There’s no job we can’t handle, and we will do whatever it takes to meet your requests with high-quality results. Our architects and designers are always looking for new and exciting challenges, so the only limit is your imagination.

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