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Why Home Automation Is Important
It's easy for Homeowners to be confused about the term home automation and what it means. Researching online is like the Wild West, so anyone considering adding home automation to their property must understand what integration businesses offer, and the value these professional services.
The term ‘smart home’ gets used a lot, often concerning consumer-focused Wi-Fi connected devices, and it's important to distinguish the installation of these gadgets from a professionally designed and integrated residential home automation system.
Here at Ivory Egg, we often reference ‘building intelligence’ - the addition of technology to a building to improve the efficiency of how the building functions and improve the lives of those who use it or live in it. This statement is both descriptive and value-led.
To help highlight why home automation is important, in this blog we’ll cover the benefits of home automation, the problems it solves, and the impact home automation has.
What are the benefits of home automation?
The benefits of home automation are plentiful, and it is these benefits that are at the centre of why home automation is important. Each of the benefits will vary in priority depending on the homeowner and their lifestyle.
Quality of life
A universal benefit that everyone can enjoy. Home automation is important as it can simplify life, increase feelings of satisfaction and enjoyment of the home. This will mean different things for different people but the beauty of home automation is that it can be customised to focus on features or services that are most meaningful to each homeowner.
Having an ‘all off’ scene programmed on a keypad by the front door saves precious minutes walking around the house turning off lights and closing blinds or curtains.
Monitor & manage energy consumption
A home with building intelligence has the ability to see what is using most energy and when, and if desired, visualise that for the homeowner. Through the use of programming, devices and utilities in the home can then be managed accordingly, being sure to maximise energy efficiency which leads to cost savings. Home automation plays an important part in reducing unnecessary energy usage with simple actions such as switching lights on and off using motion/presence sensing.
Save money
Although a home automation system has an initial cost outlay, over the years, this upfront spend will be offset against the energy savings. In the UK, approximately 61% of a home’s energy usage is spent on heating.
The use of building intelligence including thermostats, temperature sensors, window contact closures, automated shading, and a weather station means that heat caused by solar gain can be utilised and less reliance is placed on the heating being turned on. Heating can also be controlled using zones, meaning unoccupied rooms can be de-prioritised and that energy isn’t wasted.
Improve security and safety
Another reason why home automation is important is that it helps homeowners feel safer, especially with the option of remote management when away from home. Being able to check security cameras or monitor energy or water usage in the home offers peace of mind. Flood sensors that can trigger alerts to a mobile phone are also a comfort for homeowners.
Increase comfort & convenience
A benefit that isn’t as easy to quantify as some of the others but can certainly be felt! As all technology progresses, we also see the same with Home Automation. More recently product manufacturers have been picking up on the growing interest in wellbeing and have been launching products in support.
An example of this can be seen with the launch of LED dimmers that allow for colour temperature control and Human Centric Lighting control. These developments mean that lighting scenes can be programmed to be even more intelligent where the light level and warmth can be set to work in harmony with the circadian rhythm depending on the time of day.
Enhance accessibility and flexibility
With an aging population, we need to think about the longevity and suitability of the home environment and this is where home automation can also play an important part. This is also true for people who are disabled or have additional accessibility requirements.
The implementation of home automation means that settings and functions can always be updated, or more compatible devices added to a system as needed. People want to feel independent and in control of their own environment and home automation helps to offer that. Wall switches can be placed within reach and come in various designs that are more easily used by those who have less dexterity in their hands, or limbs. Security and safety measures can also be programmed so that lights flash for people who are hard of hearing or are deaf, or doors and shading automatically open in an emergency.
What problems does home automation solve?
By reading the benefits above it becomes clear that home automation is very important. As a result, it can solve or help lessen the impact of many problems including:
- Reducing energy & materials wastage
- Reducing security anxiety and providing secure access control for family members and trades
- Cost reduction of energy bills
- Decreasing the loss of independence at home
What is the impact of home automation?
The implementation of home automation has an impact in the homes in which it is installed but also on the environment too. Home automation has a positive impact by:
- Improving the interior aesthetic by reducing wall clutter
- Saving homeowners' time & energy
- Increasing satisfaction, comfort & wellbeing in the home
- Less consumer-focused products ending up in landfill
There is no singular answer to the question why home automation is important. By nature, home automation offers a whole variety of benefits and the impact of these can be dialled up or down depending on the individual needs of the homeowner or household.
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