Why Future Proof your Smart Home
One of the main characteristics of modern times is that things happen really fast and are constantly changing. We are always looking for new, cutting edge solutions for our day to day living, and we rely on technology. Smart home technology is the path to enhance the way our daily routine works. Everyday technology steps forward to deliver better and friendlier solutions. Now, with some devices, you can expect upgrades in the short run. Smartphones, PCs and tablets are good examples of straightforward upgrades that are essentially hassle-free.
Things change a little bit when we turn our attention to smart homes. Making a home automation project out of your normal, average residence, may require drastic and sensitive changes to your house. Structural changes and massive rewiring are expected, plus a whole redo on kitchen and living room appliances.
So, in order to be confident that your money is not going helplessly down the drain, you may want to keep reading for we have a list of things to make your house future-friendly, in case you want to expand or sell your property.
1 - Transportation:
The first thing about future-proofing your smart house is transportation. The future is coming and it´s shaped in the form of electric cars, so the best way to be prepared for the future and save money while doing it, is to get an electric car charging port. Every year electric car sales increase globally to a point where numbers show that by 2025 there will be more than 11 million electric cars in the market as they are significantly less expensive than regular gas vehicles to run. Soon you´ll be able to just charge your car overnight and it will be ready to use for the entire day. An electric car charger port in your smart home is definitely a must, a cost-saving one.
2 - Cables:
There's a constant struggle between wireless and wired technology, and the first impression is that wireless technology is the trademark for cutting-edge solutions and even though this may be accurate up to some extent, it may not be the case for smart home particularly. Smart home projects require a lot of planning and budget management. The cost of running cables through a house can be considerable but that's the price (literally) to pay to get a solid and steady smart home functionality.
Now for home automation projects, it is wise and highly recommended that you put some additional cable conduits in the wall because eventually, you´ll need to hardwire your devices. Trust us, in the long run, and you´ll see what we meant. Try always to have some additional conduits and make sure that every "entertainment point" is well equipped with ethernet cables, coax cables and power lines.
3 - Even more cables:
Now, we were not just referring to entertainment cables, but as you can guess there's no such thing as an entirely wireless smart home. They are expected to be wired, so you may want to install a CAT7 cable in all sensor points in your house is the best option. They supply more power, low interference and they can carry two different forms of data. They are, however, a little bit expensive but that is hardly an argument when you get so many benefits.
4 - Controls for the mess:
Working with the fantastic range of technology and solutions around your house, it’s easy to imagine users struggling to deal with all those controls, apps, services and endless settings that comes with smart home technology. Well, struggle no more because smart home technology also has a solution for this. The best idea here is to get an all-in-one control that will help you control all the various aspects of Home Automation. In addition to this, you can get one of those all-in-one panels on each room. That way you'll gain control over the usage of all apps and smart appliances, and you can get rid of a whole bunch of remotes.
5 - Does size matter
Ever since technology arrived in our day to day living, there has been a strange dichotomy between dimensions. On one side we keep trying to make things smaller as they symbolically represent less effort for the end-user. But on the other hand we keep making large devices, 70" flat screens are now, and they keep coming bigger and bigger. Keep in mind space and size when purchasing mounts, sideboards or tv stands.
6 - So...there´s no internet, what should I do now?
We rely heavily on technology, and when talking about smart homes or home automation project, we should be aware that all of our beloved smart devices use the internet. So right now, an internet breakdown may not be a significant issue (though it can be pretty annoying) for you, but can you imagine a network service outage where pretty much everything uses the internet? This scenario can be potentially stressful because it involves the very access to your abode. Now we have companies offering services that allow systems to keep working even if the internet is down.
Summary
Technology goes way beyond entertainment purposes, it is a way of life, and it is starting to change the way we used to do our daily activities.
The world is evolving at a tremendous speed, and whether we like it or not, there´s pretty much nothing we can do to stop. We can try to deny it, but eventually, we all need technology to cope with today's modern tasks.
Embracing technology and being aware that the online-world has arrived is the best bet by far. Is your home ready for modern times? Think ahead, think about how are things going to work ten, twenty years from now and bring that element into your household. You and your loved ones will appreciate it now, and you'll all see the benefits in the long run.