Smart homes mean more relaxing holidays

So, after all the non-stop work you ́ve been doing all year, you ́ve decided it ́s the right time for that big summer holiday, to take your entire family on a trip. Soon everyone is going to have a good time, with their minds away from the city and its dose of daily stress. You know, there's nothing like spending a few weeks away from the city, and enjoying a trip to the mountains is the best way for the whole family to leave all worries behind. Now, talking about worries, we would like to address one that is probably THE biggest worry once you ́re away from home: Is everything ok back home? Well, that might be the case if you are yet to have Home Automation or it also could be that you ́re just starting to know it but still unaware of the vast array of solutions for daily life.

But let's go back to the mountains, how cool it is to have the confidence of knowing that your house is being protected, just as if you were there. To have a house that will kindly let you know with a smartphone notification if something's not right. How much comfort and relaxation can you get after that reassurance of safety? A lot. That's the peace of mind you need to enjoy nature, maybe to go on a nice nightwalk on the premises, any activity is more enjoyable if you know for sure that everything is secure and safe back home.

I bet you ́re wondering how a home is capable of taking care of itself? Well, we ́re going to explain that showing you two families we've caught up with while they were on a holiday trip: The Wilsons living on a conventional house and The Evans, owners of a Smart Home. 

First Day, getting ready for the journey.

The Evans

The sun is not up yet, and the Evans family is still sleeping, but the day already started for their smart house that quietly begins to raise the blinds in a way that natural light comes in to wake them up while each room is filled with music. Is there a better way to start off your first day of vacations? Waking up with natural light and your favourite tune playing on the speakers, what else can you ask for? So the Evans are up, filled with a good vibe and ready to start preparing for their trip. Now each one heads to the bathroom where the smart home experience continues as each bathroom is also programmed to play their favourite music. Breakfast is ready, and the Evans are prepared to leave the house and get on their way to the airport. 

Now before they go, the house needs to receive instructions on the new events, so Mr Evans puts the house into "holiday mode" with his smartphone. Before the Evans reach their car, the house detects that the thermostat is still on and a window in one of the children's room was left open, so immediately sends a notification to the Evans just to let them know that the thermostat has been turned off. Mr Evans then tells his child to go back and close the window. Now, they´re good to go.

The Wilsons

The day starts with an alarm tone chose by Mr Wilson, that Mrs Wilson is not very fond of. It's too loud, plus the blinds are closed, so the whole place is too dark. After the sudden wake up to the annoying alarm tone - which was late by the way - everyone starts preparing for the trip. Mrs Williams starts walking around the house double-checking that all windows are closed, lights, heat, and water off and so on. They´re on their way, but before heading up to the mountains, Mr Wilson's makes two quick stops to deliver key copies to a couple of friends who will be watering plants and feeding the cat. They´re late, but they´re finally on the route.

At the airport

The Evans

The Evans are on time at the airport, very excited to be on their way and not worrying about things back home. But how are things back home now that The Evans are not in the house? Well, for starters, the blinds are in automatic mode. The smart house ran a check to assure all window and doors are closed. It did the same thing with appliances. Most smart home security systems come with "Presence Simulation", which is a mode in which the house turns on lights, blinds and puts music for potential trespassers or burglar to make them believe there are people in the house is activated. Notification for each process was promptly sent to Mr Evans before they got to the plane.

The Wilsons

Though they´re late, and after giving keys to their friends, they are finally close to the airport. The whole journey has been a drag to Mrs Wilson as she is not able to remember if the back door is locked or not, plus she heard Miss Walker talking about burglars lurking around the neighbourhood recently, that took the last bit of peace of mind she had. Mr Wilson had to turn back hearing the twins complaining all the way. Once they arrived Mrs Wilson checked that the back door was indeed locked, now she's calmer, but Mr Wilson's knows they´re late and there a chance they could miss their flight. They’ve finally made it to the check-in desk to discover that because they´re late, they will not be able to sit together.

First Vacation Day, finally!

Local news said that a massive storm struck their hometown last night and some houses experienced flooding. Finally, both families arrive at their destinations.

The Evans

The Evans are still enjoying their peace of mind because their smart home has not notified that there´s something wrong. Smart houses let their owners know when something's not right so they can take measures to fix the issue. If the house notices any kind of abnormality regarding water, or maybe if there was a gas leak or somebody suspicious is on the premises, their smart home would let them know through a smartphone notification. So, they can relax and start to enjoy their holiday.

The Wilsons

They have seen the weather news and immediately started to panic. The Wilsons then begin calling neighbours to see if their house is ok. Some of the homes nearby are indeed flooded, but they don't know if their house is ok. A neighbour promised to let them know as soon as they can. Not knowing in which condition the house is, takes away the last thread of peace they had. Their holiday is not going as well as they’d hoped. Finally, the neighbour calls back to let them know that the Wilson's house is ok.

The plot thickens!

So far both families have finally reached their destination and are enjoying having some quality time together. Now, it turns out that their friendly neighbours need to go and take care of the plants and pets.

The Evans

Before leaving the house, Mr Evans gave an access code to one of their neighbours - Mr Hansen- so he can go inside and water the plants, feed the fish and the cat. Mr Evans set it up in a way that decides how long and when the code will work. If he wants to, he could speak to Mr Hansen through video, but he chooses not to do it and instead enjoy a pleasant walk near the mountain lake.

The Wilsons

Before leaving they left two spare keys to a couple of neighbours, so they look after the plants and pets while the Wilsons are away. But Mr Wilson received a call from one of the neighbours - Mr Williams - to let them know that he lost the key. Now the Wilsons need to bother the other neighbour, and also they need to start thinking about changing the front door lock...again, because it's not the first time it happened.

Finally back home

The Evans

Their house was programmed to know exactly when the family was returning, so before they arrive, the house starts preparing itself. The heating is back on, and all the devices are connected again. They will come to their home to find it just as if they never left. They had a fantastic time because they were together, but also because they had no worries about what was going on back home.

The Wilsons

Even though they also had a good time, the little ones enjoyed it the most. Mr and Mrs Wilson's were in a constant hurry and with never-ending uncertainty about what was going on inside and outside their premises. The house will be dusty, dark, cold, meaning that they need to start waking up the house again all by themselves.