How To Set Up a Smart Home

Have you ever visited a friend’s house and been blown away by all their technology? Their lights automatically turning on, or their TV changing to the channel they like as soon as they sit down. This really opened up my eyes to the possibilities of home automation.

 I have personally implemented several pieces of equipment which have increased the living experience of my family. If you want to know how I did it and what I’m currently doing to achieve my perfect Smart Home, then this article is for you.

Without doubt, a smart home is the dream of many people. Coming home and turning on lights with just a click of a button is what they want to achieve. Rest easy knowing that it’s not hard to do, and the next couple of paragraphs will show you how to set up a smart home but first let’s get to know what a smart home is.

What Is A Smart Home?

A smart home is a home that is equipped with technology to remotely control and automate household systems like lighting, doors, thermostats, entertainment systems, security alarms, surveillance cameras and other connected appliances.

 But it’s more than just remote controls. Smart home describes a residence that has appliances, lighting, heating, air conditioning, TVs, computers, entertainment audio & video systems and security systems that are capable of communicating with one another and can be controlled remotely by a time schedule or from any location with an Internet connection via a computer or smartphone.

For example: You’re on your way home from work and suddenly remember you forgot to set the thermostat to vacation savings mode. Just whip out your smartphone and use an app to control the thermostat – turning off the heat until you get there.

And when you’re lying comfortably in bed ready to turn out the lights but can’t reach the light switch since it’s across the room? No problem – if your lamp is connected to a smart plug or outlet, you can use an app to turn off the lamp without getting out of bed.

A smart home can be as simple as having a smart thermostat that turns down the heat at night or when you leave for work and back up again before you return.

How To Set Up Home Automation

Setting up your home automation system is actually a lot less complicated than it may seem. You can either wing it and buy a smart home product that sounds like it’s up your alley, or set up your smart home more strategically by following these easy steps:

• Smart home ecosystem: Smart home technology is available to everyone! Here’s how to get started. Smart home technology is no longer the preserve of the rich and famous, thanks to a number of ecosystem options available at a range of price points. If you’re new to smart home products, you may be wondering where to start. Here’s how to set up your smart home ecosystem.

Shop around for an ecosystem that suits you. An important first step is determining which smart home ecosystem best suits your needs. For example, if you have a lot of Apple devices, Apple HomeKit would be the logical choice. Likewise, if you have Google Home speakers with Google Assistant throughout your house, Google SmartThings would make sense. If you’re looking for something that works with both Android and iOS devices without being tied down to one brand or operating system, Amazon Alexa should suit your needs.

You’ll also need to consider your budget when choosing an ecosystem – some cost more than others and offer more features too. It’s worth considering if these extra features are worth the extra cost or if they won’t be used often enough to justify their initial outlay.

• Control protocol: The first thing you need to do when considering home automation is decide which protocol you will use to control your smart devices. There are four main protocols that are used in home automation systems: Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, ZigBee and Bluetooth. Of these, the one that is most commonly used is Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi has a number of advantages over the others. Firstly, it is fast and reliable.

Secondly, it has established itself as a standard for connecting electronic devices to the internet. This means that it is easy to find products that are compatible with Wi-Fi systems. However, there are also disadvantages. The most significant disadvantage of using a Wi-Fi system is that the range of each transmitter is limited to around 100 meters (328 feet). This means that in larger homes with more than one floor there may be areas where some of the devices cannot be controlled by the Wi-Fi system.

As well as this, because Wi-Fi devices connect directly to the internet they are vulnerable to cyber attacks. If security measures are not taken it may be possible for hackers to gain control of your home automation system and use it to monitor your activity or steal personal data.

• Types of products: Houses come in all shapes and sizes. And these days, there are plenty of ways to automate them. You can find many different types of products, including: Lights, Plugs, Switches, Cameras, Thermostats, Door Locks, Doorbells, Smoke Detectors, and Water Leaks Detectors.

• Brands: If you’ve ever shopped at a home automation store, you know how many brands are out there. This is because there is no single industry standard for home automation. If you want to create your own standard, you will either have to build everything yourself or work with an open source community. As of now, the open source community has not taken off in this sector.

Some of the brands that are currently on the market and their compatibility with each other: Control, UBIQUI, Lutron, X10 Home Automation System, HomeSee, GE/Jasco, and iRobot

• Devices: The most popular types of home automation devices are temperature sensors, light switches and cameras. These devices can be purchased online and added to your home based on what you need for your home automation system.

Make a list of the devices you would like to add to your home to make it a smart home. If you’re not sure which ones you would like, look at some of the top-rated systems that are already in place and incorporate them into your system if they seem necessary.

There are many to choose from, and you should try to pick ones that are compatible with each other. Some systems require a central hub, which can be purchased separately. This hub connects your smart devices for easy control and allows you to customize your setting.

Once you have your devices and the hub (if required), it’s time to set everything up.  Make sure all of your smart devices are charged and ready to go. Finally, link all of your devices together using the app provided by the manufacturer and enjoy!

• Installation: Now, it’s time to actually install the IoT devices where you want them. Installation will take a few minutes. First, install the Home app on your device.

Next, let’s add a device to control. For example, you can set up a smart light bulb. Plug it in, make sure it’s turned on and tap the plus button in the Home app to add a new accessory. Follow any instructions that appear on screen.

If your accessory is already installed but not recognized by the Home app, reset it to its factory settings and then follow the instructions above.

An all-in-one system like SmartThings or Wink will be easiest to install but also the least customizable. If you’re willing to put in a little more work and pay extra for specialized sensors, you can get a lot more out of a DIY system like Home Assistant.

Before installing anything else, make sure you’ve got something that controls everything from one place. We recommend either SmartThings or Wink Hub 2 for most people, as they both support a huge variety of smart devices and have their own companion apps for iOS and Android. Linking all these devices together makes them work better together and gives you better access to them all through one app.

• Customize settings: So you’ve done your homework, bought your IoT gadgets, and installed them in your house. Where do we go from here? Now comes the fun part: customizing the devices to your preference, whether it’s placing them on timers, dimming lights, or having them trigger one another. More on these aspects will be discussed later. But first, let’s talk about the IoT devices actually available on the market today.

Home Automation Buying Guide

Every year, more and more devices become available in IoT form; we’ve seen everything from smart medical alert systems to smart microwaves. Here are the devices available, as well as what you should look for.

Internet of Things Devices

In 2015, there were 15 billion IoT devices. By 2020, that number had ballooned to 200 billion8 Iot devices and counting. While we can’t list all of the IoT devices available, as that list is ever-growing, here are some of the most popular:

• Lights: The most common “smart” home devices are lights. Many brands such as Philips and LIFX offer bulbs and light fixtures that you can control from your smartphone or via voice assistants like Cortana, Alexa, or Google Home. The bulbs are available in a wide range of colors and dimming options, so you can set your mood lighting to match the occasion or even your favorite color. And since most smart lights use LED bulbs, they should last for years before needing replacement.

Smart light switches are another option for controlling the lights in your home. These switches replace the standard ones on your wall and offer the same features as smart bulbs but without having to replace all of your current light fixtures. However, these can require more setup effort than smart bulbs, since you need to install them in place of existing switches.

• Thermostats: Smart thermostats let you control the temperature of your home remotely using a smart device. You can also set schedules so your air conditioner or heater runs when you need it to.

• Locks: What if you could control your door lock from your phone? If you have a smartphone, you can. With the right app, you can unlock the door when someone comes over and lock it again after they leave. You can grant temporary access to cleaners or service people; when they’re done, the entry is revoked. No more hiding keys under rocks or doormats.

For this to work, a few things have to happen. First, there needs to be a door that has some kind of internet connection built in. Then there needs to be an app that connects with that door lock over the internet and sends it commands—open or close. And finally, there has to be a way for someone else to get an app and connect it with the lock without having their own physical key. The first two are pretty easy; the third is harder.

If you’re buying your own house, though, things get simpler. You can buy a smart lock (there are several on the market) that works with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or both, install it on your front door, and download an app from the manufacturer onto your phone so you can control it remotely.

• Video doorbells: Another popular smart home device is a video doorbell. Video doorbells allow you to see who is at your front door from anywhere in the world where you have access to an internet connection and a smartphone app.

This will allow you to avoid opening your door for someone who may be attempting to break into your home or rob you as well as avoid missed deliveries when you are not home by communicating with the person at your door through two-way audio on some models (such as Ring). Some video doorbells like Ring even offer motion detection lighting so that they will automatically turn on when they detect motion, increasing security and safety around your home.

• Security cameras: Security cameras are internet-connected devices that allow you to monitor and record video from your home. They can be placed inside and outside the house, and some can even be used wirelessly.

• Security systems: security system can be hardwired or wireless, and the latter is becoming increasingly popular. If a home is pre-wired for a security system, the home owner will likely have to pay for activation and monthly monitoring. However, if the home does not have pre-existing wiring, wireless systems are highly recommended. Wireless home security systems do not require any drilling or hardwiring and can be easily installed by a homeowner in just a few hours.

• Speakers: Speakers are the most common IoT device on the market. Speakers will likely get bigger and better, making them more desirable than they were in the past. You can now control your speakers with just your voice – no remote needed! Speakers are great for music and movies. They can also be used to set reminders and alarms, or to play audio books.

You could also have a speaker that acts as a personal assistant. Every time you walk into your home, you could ask your speaker what the weather is like outside or when your favorite TV show is on. It would be able to answer all of these questions for you.

All of these things are possible because speakers have microphones in them that can listen to your voice commands. The more advanced speakers even have multiple microphones so that they can hear you from anywhere in the room! In addition, speakers are connected to Wi-Fi so they can access information online at any moment’s notice.

• Displays: Smart displays work the exact same way as smart speakers. Smart display devices are the first major new form factor to come along in a long time. At Google, we think of smart displays as being like smart speakers, only with a screen.

You say “Hey Google” to start an interaction with your smart display just as you would a smart speaker, and then you can speak naturally to it to play music or videos, manage your schedule, answer questions and more.

The visual experience on a smart display is similar to a smartphone or tablet.  You will see the same user interface that you see on those devices, but in a more condensed form that lets you glance at useful information quickly.

• Medical care: The Internet of Things is already being applied to the medical field to help improve patient outcomes and reduce costs. For example, a person with a heart condition can wear a device that allows his physician to monitor his vital signs remotely. If the device detects a problem, a physician can intervene earlier and avoid costly complications

It can help the patients and the caregivers to monitor remotely signs such as blood pressure, or body temperature.

IoT Features

Once your IoT devices are bought and set up, it’s time to create the home automation functionalities that sold you on the devices in the first place.

• Remote control: One of the greatest features of IoT is that you can control your devices and your environment remotely. This can be anything from controlling the temperature of your home, to closing or opening windows, to switching on and off lights, as well as locking doors remotely.

• Voice assistants: When you’re looking for a new way to control your smart home, voice assistants are the most convenient solution. You can voice-control your lights with Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri.

You can talk to your smart TV remote to turn on Netflix or Alibaba’s Tmall Genie to adjust the temperature of your thermostat. You can even use Cortana in the shower if you have Amazon Echo or use Alexa in the car with BMW’s connected assistant.

With voice assistants, you don’t need to take out your phone and open an app; you only need to talk. Some devices even allow you to speak when they are off and still respond to commands. For example, Amazon Echo listens for “Alexa” even when it is off, while Google Home only responds when it is turned on.

• Schedules: Schedules give you the power to turn on or off your lights or small appliances at certain moments of the day, allowing you to control your home from anywhere. It’s like having a timer for your lights – but it’s even better because you can control it from anywhere.

You can control your heating by setting a schedule and your thermostat will change the temperature automatically.

• Geofencing: Geofencing is a location-based service, offered by most GPS tracking companies, that uses GPS or RFID technology to define geographical boundaries. A geofence could be dynamically generated—as in a radius around a point location, or a geo-fence can be a predefined set of boundaries (such as school zones or neighborhood boundaries).

Once the geofence boundary is breached, the software can trigger a response. This response can be an alert to the system administrator or dispatch department of a field service company, or it can trigger other actions in the field device such as shut down a pump or engine.

Geofencing is one of the features used by businesses and parents to keep track of employees and children respectively. In the case of parents, they are able to use their smart phones to set up alerts when their children enter or leave school or home areas.

• Home and away modes: This doesn’t apply to all IoT devices, but some smart home products like bulbs can be set to what’s called home and away modes. This is a super convenient feature that lets you devise your own custom home and away modes. You can set up home mode to turn off or dim lights, lock the door, adjust the thermostat, etc., when you leave. Then when you return, set it in motion to turn on a light, unlock the door, or whatever else you need.

• Scenes: Scenes are groups of IoT devices that you can control at once rather than having to control each one individually. Scenes allow you to automate a series of actions on multiple devices at the same time. You can use scenes in the Home app on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch.

For example, you could create a “Good morning” scene that turns off the lights in your bedroom, turns on the lights in the kitchen, and starts brewing coffee.

You can also use Siri with scenes. For example, you could say “Hey Siri, good morning” to activate a scene.

• Shared access: The Internet of Things enables new, innovative solutions that allow people to share their assets. For example, in the case of a bike, there is the opportunity to rent it out when it is not used, or a car can be shared with other people. This will lead to increased utilization and higher resource efficiency.

With the IoT, objects and people interact with each other. The devices talk to each other and make decisions based on the information they get from the environment. These devices are equipped with sensors that allow them to collect data, which is then analyzed and turned into actionable insights.

• App: Finally, The App is the system interface, which allows you to configure and control your devices. It is also the user interface for managing your account. The App is available for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.

Conclusion

The concept of being able to control your home with a tap on a smart phone is still extremely new and will probably continue to change as the technology develops and grows. But the ability to control your lights, Lutron shades, thermostat, door locks among other features with a simple tap on your phone can be quite convenient especially if you are away from home and want to activate or deactivate certain features and functions. We have been able to present the various tips on how best to set up a smart home and make life easier for you.

About Rhebuch

Rhebuch is a multi-brand distributor of Smart Home, Smart Lighting, Building Automation, Video Surveillance (CCTV), Fire Alarm, Access Control, Intruder Alarm, Structured Cabling, Public Address and Voice Evacuation products and systems in Nigeria. We search for the leading technology in the marketplace and provide it to our customers at reasonable prices

Our focus is to ensure that we provide end to end products for any solution in our portfolio. We also offer advisory services to ensure that any product purchased delivers value at the right price and at the same time is fit for purpose.