Smart Home Essentials | Overview & Tour

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Explaining to people how a smart home works is extremely hard. Many people’s only experience is getting mad at an Alexa or Siri device for not doing what they wanted. That is why I have done so many tours of my own home--it is just way easier to see a true smart home system in action. For instance, to see one button set all of the lights and shades to the right level for your morning scene. Or when you press the goodnight button and your lights turn down, your doors lock up for the night and garage doors close. Whether you choose Control4, Crestron, or Savant, with a true smart home the whole is greater than the sum of the parts as they all interact together to make your life simpler and easier.

When we survey our smart home customers, inevitably one of the most utilized capabilities is whole-house music control. For higher-end homes, people generally want high-quality audio and music which is a huge step up from a little voice speaker stuck in the corner of a room. This usually means great-sounding built-in speakers and easy music control of your preferred services to anywhere in your home at any time. Obviously, at Audio Advice we are particularly known for our incredible audio and home theaters, and all of our smart home systems enable high-resolution audio and video bringing you the best experience possible.

In our smart homes, you only ever find one simple remote in a room. With a couple of button presses, your television turns on, the audio goes to the right level and your sports game or Netflix movie starts playing. When you press “room off” the system will do everything for you. No fumbling of remotes or trying to find the right inputs. When we interview customers who are moving from more gimmicky or DIY controls, the number one thing they tell us is that they are switching because everyone else in the house had no idea how to use the systems. We often also get asked about using phones as remotes. Our systems all enable phones to work as remotes and full control devices.

Audio Advice is currently the #1 high performance motorized shade installer in the Carolinas and one of the largest in the country. Electronic shades enable you to bring light and openness to rooms where you can see out but others cannot see in. They also allow you to control light so that your rooms are comfortable at all times of the day. Smart homes should also have integrated thermostat control where you can set your schedules and forget it. In general, it's best to use the smart thermostats that are made by the same manufacturer as your smart home platform. For instance, if Control4 is your smart home system, use the Control4 thermostat to get the most seamless experience.

Smart homes also provide a whole new level of security. For instance, in addition to including a camera in the doorbell that will pop up on your phone and on all of your control panels, strategically placed cameras also serve as deterrents and high resolution recording devices. Audio Advice offers a Signature Series version of each of the control systems we sell which adds a host of bells and whistles that we provide to our customers for free with their smart home systems.

One of the advantages of dedicated control panels is that when the doorbell rings, all of your control panels instantly pop up the camera without having to have your phone on you or even click a button. And for larger homes or ones with kids, control panels also serve as full video intercom stations. You can call the whole family down for dinner or just check in quickly with one of your kids. You can even call into any room from anywhere in the world.

Ask any good home automation company and they will tell you that having a great home network is the most important part of a smart home. If you think about how much time you spend at home both for work and for fun, the one thing you do not want to skimp on is your home network. The best way to have a reliable, secure, and fast network is to have multiple fast roaming access points that are all hardwired back to a super-fast business grade router.

Be sure to browse around our smart home section at audioadvice.com for more videos and information. You’ll also find our inspiration gallery with great photos of some of our installations and smart home ideas. If you are building a new home or remodeling your current one, give us a call and we can help you map out your plan or give you a tour in one of our experience centers if you would like to see more.