5 tips - How to make your home smart for the summer?
What if this summer you didn't have to worry about watering the lawn, cleaning the pool, keeping your home cool, etc. Sound too good to be true? Well, the good news is it's true.
All you have to do is transform your home into a smart one, or, in case you already live in a smart home, just improve it a bit. We've already written about how to plan your home automation project and what you need to get it off the ground if you're more of a DIY person.
When deciding to automate their home, for many people the main question is how to get started. How much will it cost? Will the investment pay off? How can I decide what to automate at all? The good news is that with a little imagination, you can automate almost anything in your home without breaking the bank. In fact, summer time is the perfect time to enter the world of smart home, because with just a few upgrades and tricks, your summer can be much more carefree and fun.
To give you some tips, in this article we point out 5 ways your home can help make summer more comfortable, enjoyable and energy efficient. Or to put it in two words – SMARTER.
- Let the garden water itself
Keeping your lawn green and healthy on hot summer days can be harder than it seems, especially since turning on the sprinklers probably isn't the first thing on your mind on warm summer evenings, right?
If you're not one of those people who find watering your garden extremely relaxing, you've probably already invested in an irrigation system. The next (and best) improvement you can make to your garden this summer is to make your sprinklers smart. By installing a smart sprinkler controller, you can keep your lawn and garden green and fresh all summer long without any worries. You'll be able to control your lawn watering remotely via a smartphone app from anywhere, without the need to bother your neighbors or relatives while on vacation. If you want to be completely carefree, you can set a schedule for your sprinklers to turn on and off automatically every day.
Moreover, if you have a house with a large garden and your irrigation system has more valves, you can divide it into irrigation zones and control the amount of water in terms of how much moisture the individual plants in the different zones need. If connected to the moisture sensor, some of the controllers even adjust the irrigation time according to the soil moisture and help you save water.
Need more benefits? There are many more. But if we were to point out one situation that can cause you the most problems, it would definitely be the water drain. Trust us, as we write this from our own experience, you do NOT want to forget to turn off the water and leave it running overnight. Not only will it shock you to see what a mess it can cause in your garden; your water bill could shock you even more. However, you can easily avoid this by making your sprinkler valves smart and set them to turn on/off automatically.
Cons, you ask? There are absolutely none. It's simple, effective and you can save a lot of water.
- Impress with a smart pool
A pool is always a great addition to your home; it will certainly increase the quality of your (summer) life. If you're thinking of buying a pool this summer, or if you already have one, why waste time on maintenance instead of diving in? Refreshing huh? Thanks to smart pools, you'll be able to jump into the cool water right when you get back from work on a hot summer day.
The good news is that smart pools have become much more affordable in recent years than you might think. Here are some suggestions on how to upgrade your existing or future pool to a smart one and not only let it do the hard work for you, but also make it look like a pool worthy of standing next to a million lev villa.
We recommend that you start with the basics – clean and fresh water. To keep your water free of bacteria and algae all summer long, you first need to make your pool pump smart. There are many options on the market that allow you to do this, but one of the easiest and fastest solutions would be to install a smart pool pump controller next to its motor, connect the device to your smart home network and you're all set to manage the pool from your smartphone, whether at work, holidays or a business trip. If you forget more easily, smart pool solutions also allow you to set them to work automatically and the pool pump will start at the scheduled time every day.
As you've probably figured out by now, first of all, smart pools are very convenient and can also help you save a lot on energy and water costs. For example, you can automate your pool cover and close/open it remotely, which slows down evaporation and helps you save water, retain heat and keep the water clean, which also saves you time cleaning up leaves and insects. Is the summer storm coming? There is no need to rush as you can close the lid remotely via your smartphone and protect the pool when you are at work, shopping or picking up your child from school.
In case you like a pool party with a barbecue, you can impress your friends with smart pool lights and create a pleasant atmosphere.
- Keep your home naturally cool with smart blinds
As summer approaches, so do the hot days when it feels like the whole city is melting in the heat. You probably know the feeling when you come back to an overheated home after a day at work. Instead of enjoying half an hour of well-deserved relaxation, you first need to cool your home down to a comfortable temperature.
Leaving the air conditioner on all day to come back to a well-cooled home is very energy inefficient and mostly unnecessary. A good shading system can easily help you keep your home naturally cool and pleasant even on the hottest summer days, so you don't have to run your air conditioner as much. If you've already invested in a motorized shading system, a small additional investment to make it smart can make a huge improvement in keeping your home cool.
By automating your motorized blinds or rollers, you can not only control them remotely in case you forget to close them in the morning; you can also schedule the position and tilt of your smart blinds to change automatically throughout the day depending on the position of the sun. In this case, you can still have natural light in your home and at the same time not let much heat inside.
Besides obvious convenience, a smart shading system can also help you protect your home. Is the summer storm suddenly approaching and you are not at home? Close automated blinds/blinds/rollers using your smartphone to prevent damage to your home.
Going on vacation and want to simulate your presence at home? Change the position of your shades via your smartphone several times a day or set a schedule to do it automatically.
- Time for a party, a romantic evening or something else? Smart lighting is a must
Summer nights have their charm and so do smart lights. Especially if we are talking about a warm summer evening, with the aroma of a barbecue in the air, a nice chilled wine in hand and friends gathered in your garden or on the terrace. With smart lighting, you can color your terrace in an almost unlimited number of shades that will help you lift the mood and make the evening even more special.
If you're planning a more romantically colored evening, here's the magic secret – smart lighting dimmers can add quite a bit of romance. You can create the fairy-tale mood in your garden with warm shades and without much effort, since the choice of the color of your smart lights is at the tip of your finger. When the time is right, DON'T spoil the moment - dim the lights from your smartphone so you don't have to leave your loved one's embrace just to hit the switch on the wall.
It's no secret that the smartness of your home can also significantly contribute to its safety. In fact, smart lights can play a significant role in a safer home. When you're on vacation, for example, you can set the schedule to automatically turn on indoor or outdoor lighting whenever you want. In this way, you can not only make the house or front yard beautiful, but also make your home look like it is not empty while enjoying your evening cocktail at a bar on the other side of the world.
- Enjoy the summer breeze with a smart ceiling fan
Imagine sitting in a rocking chair with a gentle breeze blowing in your face. No, you're no longer under the palm tree at the bar on the other side of the world, but on your terrace with a ceiling fan blowing in a nice summer breeze and helping to make the afternoon heat more bearable. If your ceiling fan is smart, you don't have to leave your comfortable relaxing position to turn it on and create a stream of refreshing air.
Smart ventilation can help you control the climate in your home and keep the air in your apartment fresh. What's more, if you use your smart ceiling fan in conjunction with an air conditioner, it will help disperse the cold air from it around your home, cooling it faster and making it more energy (and cost) efficient.
Trust us, on hot summer days, smart ventilation solutions will be an invaluable asset in your home, not only because they will help you get through the stuffiest days, but also because they will bring much more comfort and may help you reduce your utility bill. current. As with most smart homes, the solutions make it a reality.
To sum up, there are almost limitless possibilities for how you can automate your home to help you get through the summer more comfortably. You can spend your vacations completely carefree, as your home (with a little advance planning) will basically take care of itself.
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