Plan ahead
This is the most important thing to do if you are building a house automation system for your home or apartment. Do you need just light and air conditioning to be controlled from your smartphone or tablet, would you like to incorporate a safety system, or would you like to go the whole hog and include your house theatre or living room TV installation?
When you speak to the commercial electrician, going in with a plan of what devices you have, or that you need, means you are both on the same page when it comes to mapping out a diagram of your future smart home and discussing the possible costs.
A good Wi-Fi router is the heart of your home
Purchasing a good Wi-Fi router will solve nearly any of the issues which may pop up with a wireless, iPad- or tablet-controlled smart house system.
In you’ve got a sound, high-quality Wi-Fi signal throughout your home, all of your smart home devices will have the ability to communicate with each other with no prospect of drop-out, which means tapping to flip on a light or swiping to change its brightness works every time and occurs instantly.
Building from scratch? Do that little bit extra
To get a new house build, decking out it with fixtures and fittings that will stand the test of time only makes sense, and it will help any home automation installer immeasurably.
Brand consistency may be beneficial, but is not a necessity
You do not necessarily need to keep all of your entertainment devices in the same brand — it is not required to have a Samsung TV and a Samsung Blu-ray participant, for example — even though it may be worthwhile for the aesthetic benefit and for all those devices talking to each other via their proprietary media standards.
Speak to An Expert
When it comes to technology, we all like to think of ourselves as fairly clued-up, but in regard to the intricate world of home automation, it can be better to leave the heavy lifting to individuals that have done it several times before.
Particularly if you’re going all-out with a fresh construct and incorporating serious smart house technology like irrigation, lighting, pool pumps or a solar power system, you will need to get expert advice and guidance at least for two or one of the measures in the whole procedure.
Leave Wiring Jobs to The Professionals
Needless to say, if you’re considering doing any work that involves touching 240-volt power wiring or your in-home telephone line, that should be left up to a professional.
In Australia, testing and installation of mains-connected electric devices must be performed by a licenced electrician, and penalties apply if you are caught — not to mention the threat of potentially coming in contact with live power and electrocuting yourself. It is not worth it — speak to an expert.
Updates can be done remotely or in person
If you switch from a Samsung TV to a Sony it’s likely that you will have to re-program your smart house system to accommodate the various infrared or IP control codes. This isn’t a tricky job, however, purely because it will be handled by the installer you used to incorporate your house automation system in the first location.
Get in contact with your installer, and there is a really good probability that he or she’ll have the ability to upgrade your smart home controller remotely (for systems that support that feature). Otherwise, a fast home visit will get everything sorted.