Choosing Thermal Blinds to Insulate Your Home for Winter
One of the key concerns for many households in 2022 has been finding ways to reduce energy consumption to try to counteract the rising energy costs. If you are looking for ways to keep your home warm over winter whilst also keeping heating related energy use as low as possible, then choosing thermal blinds is a great long term investment to help keep that valuable warmth inside your home, and keep the wintry cold safely outside.
Blinds have long been an important fixture in the modern home, providing control over light and shade, along with privacy, but the thermal qualities of certain styles of blind are more valuable than ever before. Here we look at the thermal blinds to choose to keep your home warm in the coldest months.
Which Window Blinds are the most effective Thermal Blinds?
Roller blinds
Roller blinds are one of the most effective thermal blind styles for winter. The reason for this is that this type of blind has just one sheet of fabric, and as a result, when the blind is closed, there are few gaps to for heat to escape through, and cold draughts to enter through, so when blinds are closed at night or when you are away from home, heating systems do not need to work as hard to keep your home at a comfortable temperature.
Whilst closed roller blinds block out a lot of light, you should also consider that in daylight hours, when there is light shining into interior spaces, opening the blind helps generate heat from the sun’s UV rays.
For even more effective insulation, roller blinds are available with ‘perfect fit’ installation. This means that the blind fits perfectly with the window frame, closing gaps more effectively than a free hanging roller blind. Blackout fabrics can also be chosen for a thicker thermal blind, to provide a stronger layer of insulation.
If you are looking for blinds that maintain the functionality of traditional roller blinds, but provide more control over light, then vision blinds, also known as day and night blinds, can be considered. Vision blinds feature two fabric layers, one opaque, and one that lets in light, allowing light control to be adjusted whilst the blinds are rolled down.
If you are concerned about losing some thermal insulation value when choosing vision blinds, consider that they feature 2 layers of fabric, so they can trap and retain heat to help reduce energy bills in winter months. Like traditional roller blinds, day and night blinds are also available in ‘perfect fit’ and in thicker, blackout fabrics.
Cellular blinds
If cutting energy costs is a key consideration when choosing new blinds, cellular blinds and pleated blinds are also a great choice. Cellular and pleated blinds offer an extra layer of insulation, blocking cold air from entering, and preventing warm air from leaving. As is suggested by the name, cellular blinds feature a cellular, honeycomb like structure. This creates air pockets when the blind is closed, effectively slowing down thermal transfer from cold windows, and providing a barrier against heat from central heating systems.
Like roller blinds, cellular blinds are available with ‘perfect fit’ installation, ensuring fewer gaps for warm air to escape through and vice versa. An extensive range of choices are also available when it comes to colours and finishes.
Thermal Blinds Installation
Investing in blinds with excellent thermal insulation properties can play an important role in increasing the energy efficiency of your home, helping reduce energy bills and even increasing your home’s value, should you decide to sell.
To discuss your requirements for energy efficient window blinds and for expert installation, you can contact Birmingham based company, Taydec.
Home Cinema Rooms for Festive Film Nights All Year Round
You could certainly argue that Christmas is one of the most visual times of the year. Christmas lights and decorations are there to dazzle the eyes both at home and out on the town, but as this year’s festive adverts launch, notifying the start of the festive season and Christmas themed films showing on the television throughout December, many eyes are on screens. Needless to say, it’s a special time of year for many, but home cinema rooms bring that extra bit of magic.
Christmas in your home could be even more special with a big screen, and with the benefits of smart home cinema integration, the perfect festive film night conditions are at your fingertips.
Whether you are looking to create a dedicated cinema room in our home, complete with projector screen, tiered seating, specialist lighting and surround sound, or looking to upgrade your media room to include complete smart tech integration and the latest audio visual equipment to enhance your viewing experience, home cinema is for life, not just for Christmas!
Why home cinema rooms are so loved at Christmas and beyond
Let’s look at some of the most important reasons that home cinema rooms are so popular.
Getting the family together
By investing in great audio visual systems, along with comfortable seating, blinds and everything you need to create a perfect viewing environment, it’s easier to get the family together in one room for an extended period of time. Create a home cinema room and enjoy bringing the family together.
Relaxation
The lead up to Christmas can be a stressful time, as people work to finish their work in time for a holiday break. In addition to long work hours, it’s common for people to attend different celebrations and get togethers with friends, so by the time the Christmas turkey has been eaten, most of us are ready to relax and wind down. There’s no better way to rest and let your Christmas dinner digest than to enjoy a favourite Christmas film in the comfort of your home cinema.
One of the biggest benefits of a cinematic experience at home is that you can pair this with home comforts. Recline in comfort and have your favourite Christmas nibbles and drinks at hand.
Avoiding arguments
With all the excitement of Christmas, sometimes games with family members can be a little over stimulating, potentially leading to arguments between clashing personalities amongst the family or friend group. When tensions are high, settling down to enjoy a film is always a good idea, and a smart home cinema is usually enough to convince all members of the family to agree.
Christmas is one of the best times of the year for television
There’s no denying that Christmas is a great time of year for television. With terrestrial and digital channels playing popular films and Christmas specials, combined with on-demand and streaming subscriptions, there are endless choices for films and series to watch at any time over Christmas. Home cinema technology only enhances the experience!
There is plenty to look forward to in 2023 and beyond
If you thought 2022 was a big year for film, 2023 promises to deliver once more. As well as all the great films from the last year headed for blu ray and streaming release, we have so many new movies to look forward to, from independent films to huge blockbusters. Even if you don’t make it to a public cinema to see them, with a cinema room at home, you don’t have to worry – your experience will be even better.
A personalised experience
The best thing about installing your own cinema room at home is that it can be designed specifically to suit you and your family. Along with the best audio visual equipment and lighting to suit your budget, when it comes to home comforts such as seating and heating systems, you can dial everything in to suit your needs. Whilst public cinemas are getting more comfortable, they will never be able to compete with the recliners or sofas you can choose at home.
If you have often felt cold or too warm in public cinemas, a smart climate system can be dialled in to ensure you enjoy your viewing experience with the perfect temperature for you.
Specialists in Home Cinema Room Installation
If you are ready to invest in a truly immersive cinematic experience at home and are looking for home cinema room specialists, then look no further than Veritais, home cinema installation experts in the Midlands.
How Smart Home Automation Adds Festive Magic to any Christmas Celebrations
Whilst Christmas is a time to relax for some people, for others, it’s a time to get into the festive spirit and enjoy as many celebrations as possible. With smart home automation set up, setting the perfect ambience for any Christmas occasion is at your fingertips.
Here are some simple tips to make sure your smart home systems provide plenty of Christmas cheer.
Smart lighting for every occasion
Smart home devices such as smart plugs provide a great way to take control of the colourful lights on your tree, and adorning different pieces of furniture during the festive period, but Christmas lighting can be much more than plug-in fairy lights when you make the most of home automation. Your existing smart lighting systems pair perfectly with your Christmas decorations to add to the holiday spirit.
With smart home automation, it’s possible to set your home lighting for all occasions. From adding a little more colour than usual in your living spaces, to dimming the lights a little to create excitement when opening presents, wall, ceiling, spot, and any other fitted lighting fixtures offer a wonderful choice of ambience. Smart lights can offer many colours of the rainbow and the ideal level of intensity to set all moods.
Fill your house with Christmas music
Music is a big part of Christmas for many, and home automation systems help to make sure the right playlists are playing at the right time to set the mood. Why not set up a playlist of carols or gentle instrumentals for some Christmas dinner background music, or when you are wishing to get the party going, it’s time to bring out the big Christmas hits and play them throughout the house.
Of course, everyone has different tastes, and there can be times when certain members of the family want to listen to something a little different. Smart controls allow you to set your audio systems into zones to ensure that every part of the house has a playlist to please someone.
Settle down for your favourite Christmas films
Music isn’t the only media to get us in the Christmas mood. At this time of the year, we all like to settle down and watch our favourite Christmas films, old and new. Smart home technology helps to provide the best Christmas home cinema experience, whether you have a dedicated home cinema room or not.
There’s no better way to experience films that in complete home comfort. With the touch of a button, smart control systems can create the right environment for your entertainment. A home cinema or media room may offer the ultimate home viewing experience, but when your smart devices are all linked to the same smart control system, you can get quite close in your lounge or even your bedroom. Lower the blinds, dim the lights down low, turn on your TV or lower your projector screen, and press play!
Make the most of smart home automation all year round
If you need assistance in making the most of your smart home systems, or are ready to invest in home automation technology to help you create the perfect ambience for any occasion, all year round, then it’s always a good idea to call in the experts.
For expert smart home installation, from initial designs to finall installation, programming and aftersales support, you can contact Midlands smart technology specialists, Veritais.
The Biggest Benefits of Smart Climate Control this Winter
As we enter winter and central heating systems are turned on, at at time when we are experiencing increased energy costs, it’s understandable that many people have worries about energy bills and are looking for smart ways to reduce their energy consumption where possible, whilst staying comfortable at home. Investing in smart climate control is one of the most beneficial upgrades you can make to your home this winter.
What is smart climate control?
With a smart home control system, installing a smart thermostat can have a big impact on reducing energy bills throughout the year. Linked to heating and cooling systems via the same control system, a smart thermostat helps to automate climate control systems, keeping a home at a comfortable temperature, as well as preventing energy waste.
Unlike traditional standalone thermostats, smart thermostats throughout a home can be connected so that individual areas can be managed together or separately to suit preferences. In addition to more data of temperatures within your home, smart climate control systems can also draw on real-time weather data from the internet, helping them to react to weather and temperature changes without you having to lift a finger!
Intuitive heating
Many people like different levels of heat at different times of day. For example, it is often a preference to lower the temperature a little at night, with people choosing instead to snuggle up in thick duvets to stay warm and comfortable at night, whereas in the morning, when it’s time to get out of bed, most people would prefer the temperature in their home to rise so they aren’t shivering as they wait for their morning coffee.
Despite having different heat preferences throughout the day, the majority of homeowners simply set their thermostat to a constant temperature, which means your heating systems have to work harder to achieve this temperature, even when there is nobody at home.
Smart climate control systems learn your preferences and preempt your needs, so you never feel uncomfortably warm or cold at home. Rather than working hard all day to achieve a certain temperature, with smart control systems, you can simply set your heating to come back on to heat up in time for you to arrive home, or in time for you to wake up in the morning.
Remote heating control
A key drawback of old fashioned thermostats is that they require you to be there to manually adjust the temperature. With a smart thermostat integrated with your smart home control system, you can control the temperature in your home from anywhere. If you notice that outside temperatures are dropping, you can simply boost the temperatures in your home using your smartphone. There’s no need to worry about freezing pipes or cold pets.
Smart connectivity
In the age of wireless connectivity, smart climate control can be connected with other smart devices in your home with ease, making your life all the more easier. Integrating smart thermostats with smart control systems allows for increased functionality and ease of use. For example, linking smart climate control to voice control means you can simply set a temperature by speaking.
Money saving benefits
Needless to say, one of the most important advantages of smart climate control this winter is to reduce energy consumption and save money where possible. By making your climate control systems smarter, this in turn helps to prevent wasted energy use by ensuring your heating systems work more efficiently. When you add up the savings, you will be delighted just how much you can save on your energy bills over the course of the winter months.
Ease of use
With help from smart home specialists, you’ll have your smart climate controls ready to use in no time. Smart control systems are designed for ease of use, so once you’ve had help in installing and programming your devices, you’ll find staying in control of your home temperature to be a piece of cake.
Veritais are experts in smart home technology, providing a complete home automation installation service, from initial designs and technology selection, through to installation, programming and after sales support.
The Best Home Automation Ideas to Improve Your Lifestyle
With the wealth of smart devices and technologies readily available, today it’s easier than ever before to transform your house into a complete smart home. No matter where you are in your smart home journey, there are always new home automation ideas to introduce into your home to help make every little aspect of your home living a little easier than before.
With a professionally installed smart home control system in place, the opportunities for automating everything from security and climate control, to lighting, home entertainment and beyond are practically endless.
Here are what we believe to be some of the best home automation ideas to consider for your smart home.
Smart Security
There are so many advantages of automating your home security systems. Whilst you may have already integrated intruder alarms with your smart control systems, or invested in a video doorbell, there are a wide range of ways that automation can improve the security of your home whilst also making life somewhat easier.
If you have ever left home, only to have a funny feeling that you didn’t lock up properly when you left, automation can solve this problem. With smart locks, doors can be automated to lock behind you when you leave the house, not only ensuring your home is secure, but saving you time by removing the need to turn back.
Smart Lighting
There are many lifestyle benefits of automated lighting systems. From dimming and energy saving, to setting different lighting modes to create the perfect atmosphere for any occasion, the possibilities for smart lighting are huge.
Simple Commands
By integrating lighting systems with smart control systems, it’s much easier to turn lights off and on around the house, wherever you are. Whether you realise you have left a light on elsewhere in the house, or want to turn all lights off at once without having to traipse the house in the dark, smart lighting systems can allow you to take care of all lighting commands via a single app, or even via voice control if this is set up in your home.
Dimming
There are many benefits of automated dimming, from reducing energy use slightly, to slowly lowering the lights at night time to help you get ready for bedtime, or even brightening very slowly in the morning to mimic the sunrise, waking you up gradually rather than being jolted awake by a noisy alarm.
Light Your Way
If you are returning home in the dark, then smart lighting systems allow you to set exterior lights to turn on as you arrive, making it easier for you to see properly to use your key. You may even set your hall lights to turn on, so you can see where you are going inside your house without having to blindly reach out for light switches.
With geofencing, you can trigger your lights to turn on when your phone reaches a certain distance from your home, so you won’t even have to do anything!
Set The Mood
Lighting plays an important role in setting the atmosphere. Whether you are having friends over for a party, or are looking forward to a low key movie night, smart lighting systems can be set into certain modes to change the brightness or colour of lighting for any occasion.
Smart Audio Visual
Remote controls certainly made life so much easier when they were introduced many years ago, but home automation systems allow for all home entertainment systems around the home to be linked and controlled from anywhere.
Smart Speakers
With smart speakers around the house, the same music or audio can be played throughout the house, controlled from anywhere, without the need for complex wiring systems. By connecting all speakers to the control system, you can control where audio will play, depending on your needs. For example, if you are having a party, you may wish to keep the party mood going throughout the house, or you may decide to set up a quiet, chillout zone.
TV Controls
If you want to make sure your children are going to sleep when they should be and aren’t secretly staying up to watch TV, you can set all televisions and home entertainment systems around the house to be turned off at the same time, ready for bed.
Convenience and Comfort
Needless to say, one of the most important reasons for home automation is convenience. With smart technologies, even simple tasks can be made much easier, from setting temperatures, to remembering to unload the washing machine or dishwasher.
Smart Thermostat
A smart thermostat has many benefits, not only for your comfort, but also helping you to save energy. For example, a smart thermostat allows you to adjust the temperature of individual rooms within your home for the preferences of different people, but can also be adjusted to suit your location and the time of day. By understanding the local weather and exterior temperatures expected, a smart thermostat can ensure heating and cooling systems work efficiently to achieve a comfortable temperature throughout the day.
If you have ever wasted energy by leaving windows open whilst the heat is on, then a smart thermostat, integrated with window sensors, can be an excellent energy saving solution. If windows are left open for a period of time, with smart home automation, climate control systems can be triggered to switch to energy saving mode to help prevent your bills from escalating.
Smart Notifications
How many times have you done a load of washing, only to forget about it when you don’t notice that the wash cycle finishes, resulting in damp smelling laundry? Automation can fix this issue by notifying you on your phone, wherever you are. You could also set up the same notification for other appliances in your home, for example, a dryer or dishwasher. Smart appliances are readily available, but even if you do not have them, vibration sensors can be linked to your control system to tell you when a cycle is complete.
With a smart home, there are so many useful notifications that can be automated to help make your life easier.
Implement New Home Automation Ideas
To make the most of your home automation systems and implement new ideas, it always pays to call in the experts. For smart home design, installation, programming and support, visit veritais.com.
How to Run a Hot Tub Economically During Winter
Whether you have recently purchased a hot tub, are a hot tub veteran, or you’re considering investing in a hot tub, you may have questions about how much it will cost to run a hot tub economically during the winter months. Energy bills are in most people’s minds today, so it’s understandable that energy use is a key concern for any hot tub owner or prospective buyer.
To help you run your hot tub as energy efficiently as possible, we have listed some of our most important tips.
Inspect your hot tub cover
To reduce the amount of energy your hot tub uses to maintain your preferred water temperature, it’s important to remember that heat rises, so it’s important that your cover is functioning properly. If you are a hot tub owner, make sure to check how effectively your cover is preventing heat from escaping; does it seal effectively around all edges, or are there gaps that hot air can escape through?
When you are buying a hot tub, make sure that the cover it comes with has important characteristics such as inner insulation and radiant heat shields, designed to keep the heat in. When you purchase a leading hot tub model from a world renowned brand such as Jacuzzi, from a Jacuzzi supplier, you can rest assured that your spa will be paired with a high quality cover.
Invest in a hot tub thermal blanket
If you do not own a hot tub thermal blanket, then it’s highly recommended that you purchase one. Sitting directly on top of your hot tub water, underneath the cover, a thermal blanket provides an extra layer of insulation to help heat remain within the hot tub. This simple, lightweight and low maintenance accessory can help to noticeably reduce energy costs compared to a hot tub with no thermal blanket.
Remember to close air jets
When your hot tub is not in use, ensuring that the air jets are closed is useful for preventing cool air from finding its way into the water. If cold air cools the water, the hot tub will have to work much harder to maintain heat, which in turn boosts the amount of electricity used.
Try lowering the temperature slightly
For every degree you increase the temperature of your hot tub, the more energy is required to maintain this heat, and as a result, the higher your energy bills will be. As normal body temperature is around 37℃, maintaining a hot tub temperature of between 37.5℃ and 39℃ will still keep your body warm, whilst using less electricity than would be needed for a higher temperature.
Keep your hot tub turned on
Even if you feel you will use your hot tub less during winter, keeping it turned on is important as it will take even more energy to bring the temperature back to normal in time for you to use it. If you fear that you will not make use of your hot tub during winter, then you should consider draining it of all water and cleaning out the pipes and jet systems.
Keep your hot tub clean
Not only is a clean hot tub and water more pleasant to use and hygienic for occupants, a clear hot tub also helps to keep energy costs lower. When hot tub filters are full of debris and dirty water circulates the pipes and jets, hot tub pumps have to work much harder, using up more energy and increasing the risk of expensive repair or maintenance costs. Keeping your hot tub and water clean and maintaining the right chemical levels plays an important role in keeping running costs down.
Hot Tub Running Advice from a Jacuzzi Supplier
For expert advice on how to run a hot tub economically during winter and keep energy usage down, you can contact Midlands Jacuzzi suppliers, All Weather Leisure.
3 Ways Home Automation and Smart Lighting Benefit Your Home
Smart lighting systems may seem like little more than an aesthetic upgrade for your home, afterall, flicking a switch isn’t exactly difficult. However, integrating lighting with home automation systems does much more than turning lights on and off, in fact, many special features will be at your fingertips via a central app. Smart lighting provides a huge range of benefits – you may be very surprised to realise just how much impact lighting can make to your life every day!
Making Life Easier
Smart lighting certainly does allow you to switch lighting on without leaving your seat, but automated lighting does so much more than that. For example, by integrating lighting systems into a central smart control system, lights all around the home can be operated with the touch of a button at any time, so the next time you want to make sure all lights are turned off ready to go to bed, you’ll only need to action this on your mobile device.
With smart lights, there are so many possibilities, from setting automatic lighting scheduled to match your lifestyle, to movement sensors or voice activation to allow you to control lights even without an app.
Adding Colour and Improving your mood
Lighting plays an important role in setting mood, both in terms of the atmosphere of a room, and how you feel. With smart lighting, it’s easy to control the intensity and colour of lighting fixtures all around the house, and during the winter months when there is less daylight, setting lights to match your circadian rhythm, mimicking the way natural light changes throughout the day, can have a huge impact on your health.
To help you wake up in the morning, smart lighting fixtures can be programmed to gradually increase in brightness and intensity to help you wake up over a period of time, so you can feel refreshed when you start your day.
During the middle of the day, if the skies outside are cloudy and the light is dim, your internal lighting can be altered to provide a cool tone to help you maintain your energy throughout the day. Then at the end of the day, lights can dim slowly and take on a warming tone to help you wind down ready for bed.
In addition to the intensity and warmth of lighting, smart lighting systems can also allow you to change the colours of lights to suit the atmosphere you are trying to achieve. If you are having a party or get together, green light is perfect to raise the mood, helping everyone to have a good time.
Saving Energy
First of all, one of the major benefits of smart lighting and home automation is that it is easy to make sure lights are turned off when a room is not in use. For example, lighting can be linked to smart motion sensors so that they automatically turn off after a period of time if no movement is detected in a room.
With a smart home control system, you can also monitor lighting from a mobile device when you are away from home. Once you have left the house, it’s easy to check on lighting systems and switch off any lights that were accidentally left on.
Even when lights are in use, you might be surprised at the energy savings that can be achieved by using tunable lighting systems. Something as simple as dimming your lights a small percentage can save roughly the comparison percentage of energy, so when you multiply these savings by the number of lights in your home, dimming them can have a big effect on your energy bills.
Smart Lighting to Transform Your Home
For automated smart lighting to make life that little bit easier every day, it always pays to call in the trusted smart home professionals. For help in designing and installing the perfect lighting systems and integrating them into your control system, contact Veritais.
Why it Pays to Hire Smart Home Experts to Automate Your Home
Smart devices and home automation products are more accessible than ever today, however, to reap the full benefits of automation, it always makes sense to work with smart home experts.
Whilst it is easy to purchase a wide range of smart devices and appliances, without the know-how to integrate them into a central control system, the results may be less than satisfying. Whilst many smart devices will work well on their own, allowing you to take control via a mobile device or voice activation, it’s when you attempt to link a range of different devices that problems can arise. Whilst the idea of a smart home is to make life easier, if devices don’t work together in harmony, you may end up making simple tasks more complicated than they need to be.
Why to choose professional home automation installation
Whilst there are some tasks that you may choose to carry out yourself, for example, fixing a minor plumbing leak, when it comes to a major installation, it’s likely that you will save yourself time and money, and ultimately, be much more satisfied with the results if you call in the experts in the first place.
Whilst installing smart home systems may seem simple enough, when you consider the intricacies of integrating a variety of devices under a single control system, there are many potential complications that you may not have considered without experience in home automation and smart technology installations. For example, have you considered the security of the underlying software? Do you have the network infrastructure for an effective smart home system? How comfortable are you when it comes to diagnosing potential networking or control system issues?
Let’s discuss the most important benefits of professional smart home installation.
The job is done properly
When professional home automation experts install your smart home systems, you can feel confident that the job will be done properly. Not only will all aspects of your smart home be set up correctly and integrated under one control system, the underlying infrastructures will be in place in terms of wiring and networking, helping to prevent any potential future problems.
Professionals will ensure that all systems are designed, installed and programmed to suit your specific needs, and will not leave your home before all smart products are installed and working together from your central control system. Experts will also be able to provide you with clear instructions, training you on how to use all equipment.
Home automation professionals work with you from initial discussions through to the completion of the project, making sure that all of your needs are met and your smart products are set up to improve your lifestyle.
Products from leading manufacturers and knowledge of best control systems
Home automation specialists are knowledgeable and have access to an extensive range of products from the world’s leading technology brands, allowing them to provide solutions to meet all needs and budgets.
To ensure that all smart products can be used to their full potential, smart home installation experts are also up to date with leading smart control systems and technologies. This allows them to advise you a range of options before installing anything in your home. Once installation and programming is complete, you can feel confident that your new systems will perform at the optimum level.
Ongoing support
Having worked with professionals to install your home automation systems, in the future, if you wish to integrate new technologies into your smart home, need help fixing an issue, or wish to programme new actions, you will know who to turn to.
One of the most important benefits of hiring a professional to help automate your home is that the infrastructure will be in place to help ensure further installations or upgrades can take place with little issue. Even if you need further training in operating your devices to their complete potential, or wish to learn more about programming in new settings yourself, you can call your installer for ongoing support.
Contact Smart Home Experts
For seamless smart home advice, design, installation, programming and ongoing support, you can contact Veritais. Based in the West Midlands, Veritais offer an extensive range of home automation, integration and home entertainment solutions for properties in Solihull, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham and around the Midlands.
The Most Important Advantages of Home Automation
For many of us, creating an easy life is a high priority. After experiencing a pandemic, and with the concerns around the rise in energy and living costs, it’s no surprise that an increasing number of households are looking into the benefits of home automation services. From automated climate control, through to home entertainment systems and complete home automation, there are many short and long term advantages of investing in home automation.
Convenience
The ability to integrate and control all home technology through the use of a single, simple app is a major benefit of smart home technology and automation. When all home devices can be accessed and controlled remotely through a smartphone or tablet, if you are at home, you can control one room whilst in another, or if you are away from home, you can keep and eye on and take control of devices and appliances wherever you are in the world (providing you have access to an internet connection).
An advantage of smart control systems is that leading systems such as Control4 are highly flexible, allowing for an extensive range of devices and appliances to be integrated into the system, whether adding to the system, or replacing older devices.
Energy efficiency
As energy costs have been a constant in news headlines in recent months, it stands to reason that an increasing number of households are looking closely at the ways they can reduce their energy consumption as a way to reduce energy bills as much as possible.
There are a range of different ways that home automation and smart home technology can help to reduce energy use, particularly by cutting out energy waste. Every day we use energy that we don’t need without even thinking about it. In many cases, we are building up energy bills when we are not even at home. For example, leaving lights on, or heating an empty house can certainly have a negative effect on energy bills over time!
Smart home technology and automation provides a wide range of energy saving benefits. For example, with remote control and integration, it is possible to check on any appliances left on when away from the home and switch them off remotely. Appliances can also be set on a timer to only be in operation at predetermined times, and smart thermostats can ensure that heating and air conditioning systems operate only when temperatures fall to or reach a certain temperature.
Comfort (climate control, lighting, blinds)
With access to climate control, lighting and automated blinds at our fingertips, in a smart home, it’s easier than ever before to make sure your living environment is as comfortable as possible.
With home automation, individual areas of the house can be controlled independently, ensuring that different members of the household can ensure that temperature and light is set to their own personal preferences.
Thermostats and motorised blinds can also be automated to maintain comfortable temperatures at different times of the year. For example, in winter, blinds can be set to stay down in order to help add an extra layer of insulation to keep warmth in the house. In the summer, blinds can be set to close to help block UV rays that lead to the build up of heat in the home throughout the day.
Security
Home automation also helps increase home security and safety. There are many occasions where security lapses or even break ins are the result of human error. For example, you may forget to activate intruder alarms when you leave the house, or even forget to lock the door behind you.
With security systems that are integrated into home automation systems, including intruder alarms, CCTV, door locks and access systems, it’s possible to not only check on your home remotely, but also to correct human errors and lock doors or set alarms remotely.
Home Automation Services Specialists
For help designing and installing smart home technologies, or to ensure that you are getting the most out of your existing home automation systems, you can contact smart home specialists Veritais, based in Tamworth. Visit veritais.com to find out more.
Home Automation and Home Security
Integrating home security systems with home automation
As home automation technologies continue to develop, the way we live is changing for the better. At the touch of a button, it’s possible to make sure your home is the perfect temperature, set mood lighting for any occasion, or even queue up every element of movie night, lowering blinds and dimming lights, as well as playing your chosen film on the big screen. However, whilst home automation has done wonders for home entertainment, the benefits of integrating your home security systems with your smart home technology can’t be overstated.
If you are a home owner, there is no doubt that protecting your home and your loved ones will be a high priority, so with that in mind, let’s discuss some of the advantages in investing in a smart home security system that integrates with your home automation technology.
Home Security Alerts in Real Time
Whilst traditional security alarms will sound the alarm when there is a break in to your home, if you are away from home, by the time you learn about the break in, it may well be too late to do anything about it. A smart home security system is proactive, sending you security alerts in real time so that you can take the appropriate action, for example, calling the police.
With smart technology, security alert notifications can be received by mobile phone, wherever you are. Whether you are just around the corner, away on business, or on holiday, smart security technology will let you know right away if there is an attempted break in to your property.
CCTV and Remote Monitoring
In addition to motion and contact sensors, CCTV surveillance solutions can be included in your security systems and integrated with your smart home systems. As well as allowing you to keep an eye on your home, or check in on loved ones whilst you are away, smart technology such as porch or doorbell cameras can alert you immediately whenever someone is close, as well as allowing you to communicate via two-way audio functionality.
As well as allowing you to provide instructions to delivery drivers if you are not home, two way audio can also help to deter intruders from attempting to enter your home.
Home Automation
When you are away from home for any extended period of time, you may worry about this being obvious to potential intruders. Some people may choose to leave lights on, or let the radio play, but this wastes a lot of energy and should the same light be on for days on end, burglars will not be fooled. With smart systems in place, certain technologies can be switched on or off at appropriate times to fool burglars into believing you are home.
Lights in certain rooms or exterior lighting can be programmed to turn on or off at certain times, or blinds can be opened or closed, depending on the time of day, helping to make it look like someone is at home.
Protection Against Human Error
Whilst older intruder alarm systems add a layer of protection to a home, they are only effective when activated. In a rush, it may be that you forget to set an alarm when you leave the house, leaving it more vulnerable than usual.
By integrating smart security systems with your home automation technology, you can set and monitor your security technology from anywhere. If you worry that you have forgotten to set intruder alarms, you can check via a mobile device and correct your mistake. You may also invest in smart locks, so if you forget to lock doors or windows, they can lock automatically after a certain period of time.
Better Home Insurance Rates
The better your home is protected from intruders, the more money you can save on your home insurance. As your property is less likely to suffer from burglary or other crimes, you will be seen as less of a potential liability by insurers.
Smart Home Security is Easy to Use
Smart security systems are designed to be easy to use, wherever you are. With the help of a home automation specialist, you can ensure that all alarm and CCTV systems are up and running in the most effective way, in a short period of time. Once in place, you can take control of all security elements at the touch of a button, as you do with other smart home technology, such as lighting, climate control and entertainment systems.
Protect your Home with Smart Security Systems
To integrate smart security into your smart home control systems, you can contact Veritais for more information.