Setting up a smart home is an exciting process and can benefit you and your family in many ways. However, before committing to any expenses, it is worthwhile to gauge your family’s reaction and feelings towards this change, as it’s a lot easier to set up a smart home if everyone loves the tech as much as you do. Your family will have to live with the gadgets too, so it’s worth making sure that everyone will be able to utilise them and reap the benefits.
We recommend talking about what type of smart home devices you are considering adding to the home, as it gives you a chance to explain what the different gadgets are, what they do, and the potential benefits. We’ve created this post full of tips on creating the perfect smart home for you and your family to assist you with this. Read on for more!
Start With Unobtrusive Devices
If you do have family members that are unsure when it comes to creating a smart home environment, make them feel at ease by implementing unobtrusive smart devices to start. By starting with devices that they can choose to use and control, you should be able to ease your family into the smart home without overwhelming them. Some examples of such are smart locks, smart plugs, smart lights, and a voice assistant such as Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.
We recommend placing your voice assistant in a shared room, like the living room, and avoid places that feel private, like bedrooms. Even though voice assistants are a little more obtrusive, they help make your smart home accessible, and family members of all ages can easily use them, so we still recommend them. You can also utilise voice assistants alongside other unobtrusive smart tech devices such as smart lighting, security systems, electric blinds that can be controlled by a smartphone, and much more. Implementing gadgets like these into your home is the ideal yet gradual introduction that your family can use. Not to mention, gadgets like these will positively contribute to your daily routine; what more could you want.
Make Sure Devices Are Easily Used
Especially if you have older or younger family living with you, it’s vital that your new smart home caters to everyone and is easy to use. In light of this, we recommend that you try and set up your smart home for single app control, wherever possible, as it cuts down on information that your family needs to remember and is much more convenient. Also, single app control boasts the practicality of running all the commands through a singular app, which you can install on your family’s phones and tablets, so they won’t need to second-guess which one to use. As mentioned in our previous point, voice assistants are handy as they avoid the need for using an app at all, which is especially useful if you have younger family members who may not have or be able to use a smart phone or tablet.
Finding Good Areas and Naming
Like anything in your home, it’s essential to find a suitable spot for devices that you add to your smart home. You will need to factor in if they will be mains or battery powered as if it’s the former, it will most likely require a power outlet and a decent Wi-Fi signal. Accessibility should also be considered, as if it’s battery-powered, you’re going to need to be able to access it quickly so that you can replace or recharge the batteries. If you have young children, it may also be worth considering an area that they cannot reach, to minimise the risk of breakages.
If you opt for a smart lighting system, like the Phillips Hue, you’ll be required to name areas of your house so that you can control which lights come on when. If you make it a family activity, you may be tempted to choose silly names for your smart-home devices or not give it much thought; however, it’s essential to stick with logical names as it could lead to issues further down the line. An example is that if you use a voice assistant alongside your smart lighting system, your voice commands must be precise; otherwise, your voice assistant won’t recognise them, likewise if you use duplicate names.
We recommend naming devices according to the room they’re in, so some names could be ‘living room lights’ or ‘kitchen light.’ If you don’t want to go by area or have multiple devices in one location, you could always try numbering them like ‘living room light 1’ or ‘kitchen light 3’ – which will help minimise confusion or errors with voice assistants. It will also assist older/younger members of the family as it will be easier for them to remember.
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