Pros and Cons of Smart Home Tech

Smart Home Tech is popping up everywhere. Everything from your home appliances to your HVAC system, to your lighting, can be automated. As the technology improves more people are hopping on the smart home bandwagon.

What’s driving the growth in smart home technology? Aside from the fact that Americans love technology, the major driving force for consumers is energy efficiency. As this year’s heating costs soar, more consumers are looking for ways to save money on their energy bills. Smart home tech does just that. It is a merge of convenience and energy efficiency.

Homeowners are seeing the value in upgrading their home technology to smart home automation. You can now control your home’s lights, heating, and appliances from virtually anywhere while saving money at the same time.

If you are thinking about adding smart home automation to your home, you might be wondering where to start. What smart home integrations are the best to start with? And, are there pros and cons to smart home tech?

Pros and Cons of Smart Home Tech

Let’s get into the pros and cons of smart home tech. While there are many advantages to adding smart home tech to your home, there are a few disadvantages to consider.

Smart Home Tech Pros

Energy efficiency

Smart homes provide energy efficiency in a way that a traditional home can’t. With smart home automation, you can program your HVAC and lights to be used more efficiently. This way you aren’t using unnecessary electricity or gas when you’re not home. This can be done through behavioral automation or programming your home technology to turn on and off at certain times or days.

Smart home technology is getting more responsive. Some smart home integrations will actually adjust the humidity or temperature in your home automatically. Additionally, smart appliances can be programmed to avoid using energy during peak demand times. All of these automated features provide you with a reduction in energy use and cost savings.

Safety

You might not think about safety when you’re considering smart home automation, but a smart home provides safety features that you can’t get from a traditional home. Better lighting, home monitoring, and responsive alerts are some of the available features with smart home tech.

With smart home monitoring, you gain peace of mind, knowing you can check on your loved ones and your home through remote cameras. If there is an emergency, you can see what’s going on inside your home instantly. More than that, smart home integrations allow you to take action remotely when an emergency takes place. Because you can control all your home devices including your outside gate, garage door, or front entrance through an app on your smartphone, you can open doors or gates for the emergency crews without being home. And, you can see what’s going on while it’s happening.

Security

Smart tech security systems allow you to monitor your home from anywhere at any time. You can see what’s going on remotely through cameras or even the televisions inside of your home. Smart locks provide added security as well. Just having a smart lock on your front and back entrances is a deterrent for intruders. Unlike traditional key locks, smart locks can’t be picked or easily broken through force. Most intruders will skip a house with smart home security and opt for one that’s easier to break into

Home security that uses smart technology is more responsive than traditional home security systems. Instead of just setting off an alarm, with a smart home security system you can take action remotely. Your system can be programmed to flash your exterior lights on and off when an alarm is disarmed or triggered. With properly positioned lighting, you can capture a high-resolution of any would-be intruder and respond to any threats remotely.

Improved Home Value

Adding smart home automation to your home provides a lot of cool features, safety, and security. But, another bonus of adding smart home technology is that it increases your home value. More and more Americans are interested in homes with smart technology. While it’s not a guarantee that a buyer will pay more for your home, as the demand for smart home technology increases, homes with smart home technology generally attract more buyers. Many are willing to pay more for the home automation that’s already set up for them.
Home Automation is Cool

While this may be a minor perk, people who love technology go for smart home tech because it’s cool. Who doesn’t like being able to control all the music in their house with a voice command, being able to preheat their oven on the way home from work, or dim the lights all at once when guests come over to watch a movie?

Smart Home Cons

Initial investment

The biggest hold back people have with adding smart home tech to their homes is the price. There is an initial investment to get started. While some home automation products can be installed without a professional, many of the smart home products require professional installation. For some, this price is more than they want to invest, even with the cost-savings.

However, investing in smart home technology doesn’t have to be completed in one step. You can slowly add smart home tech to your home by adding one integration at a time. It’s best to talk to a professional like our team at Intuitive AV to plan out your smart home automation. This way you can be sure that you are selecting the best products and that everything you purchase will be compatible with other devices as you add additional integrations to your home.

Internet Outages

Most smart home tech is operated through a wifi connection. While it’s awesome to have connected technology, it’s only as good as your wifi connection. If your wifi goes down, many of your smart home features will not work. While some smart home products and systems have a backup system, not all products do. Most work best with a solid wifi connection, so this can be a con. In most cases, outages don’t happen often enough for this to be a problem. It is also suggested to work with your smart home professional to make sure your network is up to the task. Proper network design including hard-wiring of the most critical components can help ensure the best reliability for your smart home and other network connected devices.
Set up Can Be Complicated

Adding smart home technology can be complicated and confusing. There are tons of products on the market, figuring out which one is best for your home, and installing them may seem like more trouble than it’s worth.

Some products are easier to install than others. Once they are installed, you have to learn how to use them. This is why it’s generally recommended that you work with a professional if you are interested in setting up smart tech devices or automation in your home. They can save you money and time while choosing the best options for your budget and needs.

If you are interested in getting started with smart home tech, get in touch with an Intuitive AV professional. Our team of professional installers can answer any questions you might have about smart home systems and products to help you find the best solution for your home.