Tips From The Top

Summer is here, and smarthome technology can make your coolest, most efficient and cost-effective summer yet. Here are a few of the latest ways to make your home smarter for the summer season.

But first, a note: a lot of free-standing smarthome technologies exist, and they can provide some great functionality, but to get the best results from your smarthome, work with a home automation expert who can help ensure that your home has a fully integrated smarthome system, ensuring that every technology works together optimally.

Now, on to the cool technology:

Squash sprinkler waste. You want to keep your lawn, flowers and trees healthy in the baking summer sun, but you also want to conserve water and minimize your bills. Putting your sprinkler system on a timer offers some help—at least you can ensure you’re not watering in the hottest part of the day—but what about when your sprinklers are scheduled to come on, but it’s raining? What about when you’re on vacation and you see that it’s raining at home the entire time? Now there’s a solution … or several of them, actually. Skydrop makes one of them, a system that allows you to enter your zip code so it can monitor local weather, your soil type and watering zone so you’re optimally watering your specific type of soil, and your vegetation, sprinkler, shade cover and ground slope—all to optimize your watering and minimize waste.

Rein in pools and spas. If you have a pool, then you probably know that your pool and spa pump, lights and heater can be some of the biggest energy hogs in your home. A number of smarthome pool controls exist that allow you to access your pool’s controls remotely and minimize overuse and outsized electric bills. Hayward AquaConnect offers four different ways to create that remote connection and start getting a handle on your pool and spa energy costs.

Control HVAC costs. Cooling your home in summer can, in many regions, become an extraordinary cost, but smarthome thermostats can help get that expense under control. There are a number of models available, so work with a technology expert to find the best option for your home. The Nest, for example, was one of the first smarthome thermostats on the market and continues to be a favorite among homeowners, due to its ease of use and ability to learn your preferences and habits as well as to detect when you’re home and when you’re away. That said, one Nest might not be enough for large homes, so to get the best performance, you might need more than one or a different technology.

Minimize cooling requirements. Another way to get a handle on your need for air conditioning is to reduce the sun’s overheating effects on your home. Motorized blinds provide the ideal answer. Lutron’s Hyperion Solar-Adaptive Shading combines Lutron Sivoia QS automated shades with Hyperion solar adaptive technology, and Radio Window™ sensors to create energy savings, reduce glare, and increase comfort—by using window-installed sensors to detect changes in light amount and direction as well as weather conditions to adjust your shading automatically to maintain the preferences you set.

Get total control. Insteon is a home controller technology that creates a reliable dual-band network using both your existing power lines and radio-frequency communication. From this network, you can remotely control all kinds of smarthome technologies like lighting, appliances, motorized shades, security system, etc.

There has never been a better time to take your home into the smarthome era. Whatever challenge you’re facing in your home, chances are, there’s a technology that can help address it. Come see us at Jackson Hole AV, and let’s discuss how we can optimize your home’s performance this summer.