All my adult life, I have lived what you might call a nomadic life. For the past 30 years, his wife Judy and I have lived in her eight homes in five states. You know where this is going, right? We are once again moving into a completely new state.
Moving is always stressful, but it can also be an opportunity. You can discover a whole new part of the world, meet lots of new neighbors, and get rid of a ton of stuff that turns out you don't really need.
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This move will give you a bonus. Because this next home will be brand new, meaning it will be built from the ground up, we will be able to work with contractors and craftsmen to take advantage of all available technology as we accelerate towards the mid-21st century. . And as it turns out, it's a lot of technology.
If you're moving into a home that's already been built, retrofitting is required to add home automation features like smart lighting and climate control. (We documented that process during our last move three years ago.)
This time, we had the luxury of thinking about all of its technology while the building existed strictly as a collection of blueprints. You may be able to avoid all the headaches of renovating an old home and also prepare it for the future.
In this post, we'll share exactly what we ultimately decided on.
1. Network
Internet service providers are the heart of the smart home, and we've been lucky in the last few years. In today's homes, there are multiple options for reliable high-speed internet from both. comcast and google fiber.
Our new home is in a new community that already has fiber optic wiring installed, and some of our soon-to-be neighbors a few streets away have AT&T Fiber accounts.So you'll probably have to deal with AT&T Fiber, offers symmetric speeds of up to 5 Gbps. (Google Fiber may well be available on the same infrastructure within a year or two.)
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The last time I built a new house from scratch in 2003, I became obsessed with putting RJ45 jacks in every room for wired internet connectivity. Wi-Fi at the time was slow and unreliable, so installing a physical Ethernet cable was critical. Now that Wi-Fi 6 (soon to be 7) devices are ubiquitous, that's less of an issue. There are three locations where I can install my main access point, and my wireless access point is in my office. Since that room is almost in the center of the house, you should be able to cover it everywhere without needing a mesh system.
What surprised me the most when I looked at the wiring diagram was that there wasn't a single coaxial cable in the house. I think this answers the question “What happens after cord cutting?” The answer is “no code at all”.
2. Smart lighting
Last time I documented our smart home experience, I called smart lighting a killer app. That's still true today. All table lamps and pendant lights in the current home include Philips Hue light bulb This gives you almost infinite control over the intensity of the light. Some of these bulbs allow you to control the color and warmth of their light (although we've found that these effects are best used sparingly).We also added smart hue light strip Creates a cool indirect lighting effect.
If your lighting fixtures aren't suitable for smart bulbs, smart switches that can connect to your network via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth add the same functionality, but at a cost. In some of the smaller spaces in my current home, I didn't need to pay for a smart light switch, but one critical spot proved stubbornly un-automatable.
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In your new home, you'll finally be moving from a patchwork of smart lighting solutions to one built to a single standard. The switches in my new home are all simple on/off models from a company called Deako. The Deako's appeal is its modular backplate, a metal box that sits inside the wall and connects each switch to your home's wiring. It has been particularly successful in gaining support from major US builders, with the company claiming that one in every six new homes is now equipped with its products.
Typically, at this stage you will have to hire an electrician to replace the standard switch with a Wi-Fi enabled model. Otherwise there is a risk of electrocution. Thanks to this modular design, you can simply take out the standard switch and plug in the new one. smart switch or smart dimmer, tie everything together without touching bare wires or paying an electrician. All of this is linked by an app that allows you to enable custom options like turning all the lights in your house on or off with a single long press of the entryway switch.
No need to pay an electrician or risk electrocution to replace your Deako smart module Photo credit: Deako
I still have some Hue bulbs for table lamps and light strips for mood lighting on the cabinets, but the whole setup should be dramatically simpler and more powerful than what I have now.
3. Smart energy
Over the past 30 years, home builders have become much more sensitive to energy efficiency. One reason for this is that building codes have become stricter (if you're interested in this topic, it's worth listening to this discussion between two energy experts). But it's also because more homebuyers are demanding it.
Our new home has the right amount of insulation and Ecobee smart thermostat. We know from experience that this combination can significantly reduce your energy bills.
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We also designed everything in the house to run on electricity instead of natural gas. And I'm especially looking forward to cooking on the induction range instead of using blue flames.
Your home is pre-wired for solar power, and you'll probably install those panels and a backup battery. tesla powerwall 3 Especially considering there are incentives from the local energy company and tax credits from the U.S. government that cover about half of the cost, right after you move in.
Of course, the garage is also equipped with an EV charger, minimizing dependence on fossil fuels.
4. Home security
Before the turn of the century, installing a home security system was a tedious process. Wired sensors were installed on doors and windows and connected to a dedicated telephone line that communicated with a central monitoring facility. Most current alternatives are wireless and easy to add, especially if you're building your home from the ground up.
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I will give a simple explanation Alarm.com Home Security System It has the basic features of a motion sensor and smart video doorbell, but no additional cameras, at least for now. But its most important feature is the way it definitively alleviates the anxiety that every homeowner knows all too well: “Did I forget to close the garage door?”Open the app, check the status indicators, and if necessary[ガレージ ドアを閉じる]Tap the button.
5. Hub
These days, there are only two real options for connecting all the parts of your smart home.has been standardized google home, but it would work just as well if you were within the Amazon Alexa ecosystem. (Apple Home is an option, but it doesn't have the same level of integration as these two.)
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I have six apps in my smart home folder on my Android phone, but I rarely open them except to configure a new device or tweak an existing integration. For everyday tasks, you do almost everything by talking to your Google Home device. I trained Google Assistant to turn on the lights in front of my house when I walk in the front door and say, “I'm home.”
When you want to watch a movie on the big screen in your living room, all you have to do is say, “Hey Google, it's time to watch TV.” This phrase starts a saved automation that dims some strategic lights and turns off everything else to create the perfect viewing environment.
If someone is asleep and can't speak into one of the little voice hubs, they can silently swipe down on their phone and tap the device control button to adjust the lights or temperature.
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All work amazingly well. The only downside is when you're traveling and realize you can't just crawl into bed and say, “Hey Google, it's time to go to bed!” and turn off all the lights.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pack some more boxes before the movers arrive.