Setting up a lighting automation system in your home can be tough, but it doesn't have to be. With the right tools and the know-how, rigging up your home to include home lighting automation can be easy.
Let's explore the benefits of home lighting automation, what it is and how you can use this technology to bring your home into the future.
- Part 1. Defining home lighting automation
- Part 2. Essential devices needed for home lighting automation
- Part 3. Types of lighting automation
- Part 4. Advantages of home lighting automation
Defining home lighting automation
Have you ever walked into a room in the dark and fumbled around looking for the light switch? Maybe you've left your house for a trip and don't remember if you've locked your front door or not. With home lighting automation, know that you'll never have these issues again.
Many modern day technologies — like smart light switches and other smart devices — have made homes more accessible, and quite simply, better. Through the use of sensors or communicative networks like a mesh network, all of the appliances in a smart home user's home work together to serve you. With a simple voice command or the press of a button to provide you home automation ideas, your home can perform a wide variety of different tasks, from setting mood lighting to closing the blinds, all from your current position.
However, the great thing about home lighting automation is that you don't have to install a large, expensive rewiring project in order for your home to make use of this technology. You can pick and choose how you want your home to be automated, and decide which functions you would like to bring into your home.
For instance, in the UK alone there are about 2.22 million homes that own at least two smart devices, according to an estimation done by The Eco Experts. Join their ranks by automating parts of your living space today!
Essential devices needed for home lighting automation
If you're interested in adding automated home system, there are a few pieces of technology that you need to consider.
Start your home automation ideas journey with these essential items:
Central hub
One of the integral pieces of technology that you need for your new automated home system is a smart home central hub. Think of a central hub as a brain for your home's operations. It can receive signals and input, read information and tell the devices that it's connected to what actions to take.
Central hubs can take many forms, and sometimes a central hub can even be an item that you already own — like your smartphone! A phone can be the glue that holds together your smart home lighting system by sending your other smart devices commands. Other central hubs that you could use for your smart home are Amazon Alexas or other smart hubs as well.
As long as the smart devices that you opt for are compatible with whatever central hub you decide to purchase, you'll be enjoying the benefits of your automated home systems in no time.
Sensors
Many automated home system devices that use smart technology usually require the use of sensors to feed back information to your central hub. Without a sensor, objects won't be able to read data and provide accurate information.
While many devices already come pre-built with sensors to help them accomplish their tasks, you can add additional sensors to provide more functionality to your other devices.
Smart switch
Unlike their more primitive brethren, the switch, a smart switch helps provide greater home lighting automation in one's home. Paired with a couple of smart bulbs, a smart switch can multiply the lighting options that you have, making for a more robust in-home lighting system.
Using mesh networks like Zigbee or Z-Wave, smart switches are constantly on stand-by, waiting to receive your every lighting command. Automate your home with a smart light switch today.
Interested in setting up a smart home? One of the best things that you can do when you start is to use EVVR HomeKit no neutral smart relay switch or EVVR no neutral wire required In-Wall Relay Smart Switch (Zigbee/Z-Wave), which can turn your regular light switch into a wireless light switch using Zigbee/Z-Wave/HomeKit technology. There's no need to check if your home needs to install a neutral wire, and there are no minimum load requirements.
Types of lighting automation
For an interesting use of smart home technology, look no further than home lighting automation. One of the most noticeable fixtures in a smart home can be a well-configured automated home system — especially one that makes use of all of the above technology.
Some lighting home automation ideas that could make great use of automation technology are:
Ambient lighting
Also known as general lighting, ambient lighting provides the primary source of light for your room. If you have a giant floor lamp that you turn on every time you enter a room, for example, that is one instance of ambient lighting
In many cases, ambient lighting gives the room a general warmth depending on the temperature of the light. Whether it's in the form of wall lamps, floor lamps or even chandeliers, ambient lighting dictates the general mood and feel of the room.
For many, automating ambient lighting is one of the first features that people add to their smart homes. Turn on and off lights with ease!
Task lighting
If you have a desk where you like to do your work or a comfortable couch where you read all of your favourite novels, chances are you have task lighting already set up in your home. Task lighting is used to provide a focused beam of light for any specific tasks you decide to pursue, which can easily be automated as well.
Perhaps you can set up your smart home lighting system to turn off your task light when you have left the area, saving electricity. With a smart home setup, this can be easily accomplished by just fiddling around with your settings.
Mood lighting
Lighting your space with a simple fluorescent bulb or yellow light has become more and more outdated. With special smart bulbs that you can purchase, in addition to a smart switch, mood lighting has never been easier to implement in your own home.
Change the intensity of your accent lights by adjusting it with your central hub. Bring differently colored lights into your workspace, mixing light colors until you find the perfect combination for whatever task you have at hand. Mood lighting can bring an exciting twist to your living space, and using a smart switch to pair it with can ensure that you'll never have another boring lighting situation again.
Advantages of home lighting automation
Before you dive into the world of smart home automation, you might first ask yourself: Why choose to automate your smart home lighting system?
If the convenience of home lighting automation hasn't won you over yet, there are still a number of other boons to creating a completely integrated smart home lighting system.
Save power and cut down on your electricity costs
Never worry about your lights wasting power in your home again. With automated home system, the lights in your home can easily be scheduled to turn off after a given amount of time, or you can turn them off yourself using a simple voice command or an app.
Ensure that your electricity bill won't be higher than it has to be with automated home system.
Keep your home safe
Using their sensors, you can keep your home safe by turning the lights on whenever there is an unwanted presence in the area.
Additionally, installing an automated home system can also help you lock the doors when you're not home, record suspicious activity in the area and alert you about any unwanted guests.
Customise your home to your heart's content
Did you know that the way that you light up a room can change how it is perceived? Placing key lights in certain corners of your room can even shape how the room looks, making it seem bigger or smaller than it actually is.
Adding additional colours to your room can also change the way that you see certain objects, which can help if you're photographing products in your room or designing a space to achieve a specific aesthetic.
Learn about your habits
When you automate your home's functions, you'll also be able to gather data about your living habits. For instance, when you peek into your smart home app, you'll be able to see how much energy you've been using as well as other factual tidbits.
From these data points, you'll be able to better understand how you can improve your lifestyle and save some money at the same time.
Start your smart home journey with EVVR
Together with your favorite smart light, you'll be able to have a robust lighting system in your home in no time! To find out more about EVVR In-Wall Relay smart switch and how it can improve your home, visit our product page and contact EVVR today.
