Small Home Theater Room Ideas

If you have a small room in your house that you’re thinking about using as a home theater, you may be unsure if it’s possible to make it look nice. The good news is, that you don’t need a big home theater room to have a great home theater experience. It’s very possible to turn a smaller room into an amazing home theater. If you’re ready to turn your small room into a home theater room, here are some small home theater room ideas to get you started.

Although having a large room to work with is ideal, not everyone has one. If you have an extra room you are not using, you can still create a home theater with immersive sound, cool seating, and create your own cinematic experience.

Raised or tiered seating

The next step to making your spare room into a theater room is adding the right lighting. There are some simple affordable ways to create the best lighting in a small room, or if you have the budget you can install recessed lighting or add smart lights to your room.

Smart lights are really great because they can be automated to create a unique movie-watching experience. You can dim the lights with a voice command or set up smart home scenes for entertaining guests. It’s an awesome feature that will improve your small room’s overall entertainment value.

Wall sconces can create a warm and inviting ambiance, as well as make the room look bigger. They can be adjusted to shine light in different directions, and they can also project light onto the floor or wall. Sconces are a great way to add some romantic lighting for a date night or for a movie night with friends.

Hidden surround sound

The sound in your theater room is even more important than the lighting, and the look of the room. If you want to add surround sound to your small home theater room, ceiling or in-wall architectural speakers are an excellent choice. This makes the sound much more immersive but with a cleaner aesthetic that most clients are looking for. Your guests may not realize why the room sounds so amazing because ceiling speakers can be recessed or hidden.

Acoustical panels are another great addition to any small theater room. It’s the final step in providing great sound quality and “Immersion” and is an often overlooked detail. Not only can the right panels make the room sound better but also add to the visual appeal.

Flat Panel Install

No home theater is complete without a flat-screen television. An amazing picture will make your home theater stand out.

A flat-screen television is an essential component of any small home theater. A stunning picture will make your place stand out. When shopping for a TV, there are many options and features to consider. Should you go with 1080p, 4K, or 240 Hz? You also need to decide whether to go with a smart TV, Plasma, LED or OLED. It can be confusing, so it’s helpful to get professional advice before you decide

If you are planning on installing a home theater, there are many things to consider. You shouldn’t try to do everything yourself. Mounting a TV on the wall is difficult and if you’ve ever tried to mount a television, you know that getting it in the right location securely is not as easy as it seems.

If you would like features like hidden wiring, such as concealing your TV’s power cord behind a wall, this is best left to a professional. It is not only dangerous but also illegal because it violates electrical code.

If you need help with turning your small space into a gorgeous home theater room, get in touch with our professional staff at Intuitive AV.

4 Smart Home Trends to Look for in 2022

The smart home industry is rapidly growing. In the last decade, all of the things we used to see in sci-fi movies are becoming a reality. There are many trends in smart home technology, but one thing is certain – every U.S. home is becoming smarter.

Will more homes be fully automated in 2022? What trends can we expect this year? With new technology and consumer interest, we expect the smart home industry to continue growing at an accelerated pace. These are a few exciting smart home trends to look for in 2022.

1. More Options in Smart Security

The Covid pandemic was responsible for much of the growth in smart home security. There’s been an increase in working from home, leading to what is called the “Zoom boom”. It has not only changed how we live and where we live, but it has also made people more interested in making their homes secure. Americans are investing in smart locks, smart doorbells with cameras, and smart home security systems now more than ever.

Consumers are looking for smart home security systems that are easy to use, accessible remotely, and use voice control. At the same time, they have concerns about privacy and data breaches. They want to know what information is being collected by their smart home system and if it can be hacked. This is why it’s so important to work with trusted brands. At Intuitive we are extremely selective about which brands we work with or integrate with to preserve our clients’ privacy.

Smart home security systems will continue to add more features like CCTV cameras, management of lighting, and the ability to make our homes look occupied when we are not home. As more people make the move to smart home security, the systems will be easier for anyone to use.

More companies are jumping into this space, offering smart home installation and smart motoring as consumer interest drives growth in this segment of the smart home industry. Although it can be tempting to jump at every new product on the market, working with a trusted industry partner can ensure your system is designed with a product that has been tested and proven in the market. This way you will have peace of mind that you have a system that will stand the test of time.

2. Smarter Offices

Energy efficiency is one factor that attracts people to smart home technology. People want to live sustainably, and they are willing to make investments for the long term. Smart technology is more efficient than standard devices because of its ability to connect with all the devices in your home.. For example, rather than having to adjust the temperature manually, a smart thermostat can do it all for you.

Smart thermostats and smart lighting have been around for a while, but the technology is getting better. A smart HVAC or lighting system can save energy and money. These smart devices monitor your energy use, and automatically adjust your lighting or temperature so that you are using only the energy you need.

This is one reason more people are making changes to their home technology. How much money could you save if your home only consumed the energy it needed. What if you never had to worry about whether your porch light got turned off at night? Or if your home automatically lowered the temperature when nobody was home?

Although the smart home market has seen significant growth in recent years, it’s honestly still in its infancy. Smart home technology is rapidly improving. We expect 2022 to be a big year for the smart home market and these are a few of the big smart home trends to look for!

6 Tips to Reduce Internet Lag When Gaming

If you enjoy gaming, internet speed is a big deal. There’s nothing more irritating than being in the middle of a great game when all of sudden your internet connection starts to lag. A slow internet connection is annoying in general, but it’s even more frustrating when you’re gaming. Internet lag can completely ruin your game. If you’ve ever yelled at the internet during a game, we have some tips on how to reduce internet lag when gaming.

Internet lag is when there is a delay between when you do something with your controller and when it actually happens on the game server. This can be extremely frustrating because even if you press a button first or move your player first, it doesn’t matter. What you do doesn’t happen on the game server immediately because there is a lag. This can cause you to lose even if you’re faster than other players.

What causes internet lag?

You might think internet lag is caused by a slow internet connection, but your internet speed is not always the cause of the lag. When it comes to gaming, you need both a high-speed internet connection and low network latency. Latency is the amount of time it takes for your game system to send data to the game server and receive it back.

If your WIFI network is configured incorrectly, your router is out-of-date, or your game system is too far away from the router, you could experience internet lag.

Tips to Reduce Internet Lag When Gaming

If you are frustrated, yelling at the game won’t fix it. But, there are a few things you can do to reduce lag and latency when you’re gaming.

Check your internet speed and bandwidth

One of the first things you should check is your internet speed. Look at Fast.com or Speedtest.net. These will tell you how fast your internet is. You need at least 10 Mbps to have a good gaming experience. However, if other people are using the internet while you are gaming, this can significantly affect your gameplay.

Make sure you have a fast enough internet plan to support the number of users in the home. If several people are streaming movies or surfing the web, you might need a high-tier plan that offers faster download speeds and more bandwidth.

Reduce the number of connected devices

If several people are using the internet in your home, you may experience some lag. Not only does it affect your gaming, but the other devices connected to the network may also slow down. Try to choose a time when no one else is using the internet to play a game. This will allow your game to have all of the bandwidth it needs.
Move closer to the router

Moving your game console closer to the router, or moving the router to a more central area of your home may reduce game lag. This can be an issue if you have a larger home. Wifi signals can be blocked by walls and furniture, and cause a laggy game experience. If you can’t move the router or the console, you can try adding a wifi extender to help improve the range of your router.

Replace your router

If you’ve tried moving your game system closer to the router, you may need a better router. A good router can make a big difference when it comes to network connectivity. This is especially important for gaming. An outdated router may be what’s causing your internet lag.

If you are looking for a better gaming experience, it may be time to upgrade your router. A new router will provide better speed and lower latency. If you want to have a lag-free gaming experience, upgrading your router may be the best option.

Use an ethernet cord

The purpose of wireless internet is to not have to hook up your devices to wires. However, a wired connection may be better for gaming. If you experience lag frequently, connecting your game system to the internet with an ethernet cord may solve the problem. A wired connection is faster, more consistent, and less prone to interruptions and internet lag.

Check your TV settings

If you’re having lag issues with a game, it may not be the internet. Many newer smart TVs come with display settings that can cause delays. The issue is not with your internet connection, but with the television. Basically, it’s taking too long to show you the picture. You may have a high refresh rate that is causing your lag. Change your refresh settings to a standard 60 Hz.

If you want to make sure you have the best wifi for gaming, consider consulting with a professional. Intuitive AV offers wifi networking services. We can troubleshoot any networking issues so that you can enjoy your gaming without lag.

Automate Your Life with Smart Home Scenes

If you’re just getting into home automation, you might not know all the cool things you can do with a smart home system. Smart homes can do a lot more than just turn your lights on and off. With a smart home system, you can create scenes that automate everything in your home, from your lighting to your HVAC system.  If you want to get the most out of your smart home, you need to learn how to create smart home scenes that can be used in your daily life.

What are smart home scenes and how do they work?

A smart home scene is a preprogrammed configuration of settings for lights, outlets, and devices in a given room. It tells the lights, outlets, and devices to turn on (or off) and to what level. You can activate a smart home scene with a voice command, by pressing a button on your smart home app. You can also program a scene to happen automatically. For example, you can program your lights to turn on at a certain brightness when it’s time for dinner. You can also set the connected devices or outlets to turn off at a certain time.

Types of Smart Home Scenes

You can use smart home scenes in two different ways to make your life easier. The first way is to set up routines that use voice commands. This is possible when you connect your smart home with an app like Alexa, Siri, or Google Home. Saying a voice command can initiate a programmed scene. For, example “Hey Alexa. Make my coffee.” Or, ”Hello Siri. Let’s cook dinner.”

Remember the sci-fi shows where dinner just popped out of a food slot? Well, a smart home can’t make your dinner magically appear in a food slot, but it can help you make dinner. You can create smart home scenes that help you prepare dinner. Each time you say a voice command, your home will respond by completing a preconfigured set of tasks such as preheating the oven or turning on the kitchen lights.

Using voice commands around your house is pretty cool, but automated scenes can really simplify your life. Automated scenes are scenes that happen automatically. It’s possible to automate every area of your home with a smart scene. You can use scenes to help you wake up in the morning, to remind your children to do their chores, or to keep your home safe at night.

How to set up Smart Home Scenes

Getting a smart home set up and learning how to use all the features can be confusing. If you want to use all the features in your smart home, it’s best to work with a professional. A fully connected home automation system that controls all of your devices will require a professional installation.

There are smart home devices that you can install on your own, but there are some drawbacks to a DIY smart home. A professional will make the setup and process of learning to use your system so much easier.

Setting up a scene is pretty similar no matter which smart home system you use. Your app will have a place to add or create a new scene. Although each system is slightly different when you create a scene you tell the app what to do and in which room.

What can you automate with smart home scenes?

There are virtually endless possibilities when it comes to creating smart home scenes with your smart home. Any light, outlet, or device that connects with your smart home app can be programmed with a scene. Scenes can be programmed to make any device do what you want — like turn on or off, brighten or dim, or increase or decrease the volume. There are limitless possibilities for scenes.

You can create a scene to wake you up in the morning. For example, you can set your window shades to slowly rise when the sun rises to gently wake you up. You can talk to your home, too. Instead of hearing an annoying alarm beep over and over, you can program your speakers to talk to you in the morning in a soft voice saying, “It’s time to get up, sleepyhead.” Your smart home can even start your coffee brewing, warm up the house, and turn on the morning news for you.

At night, your smart home can automatically turn off all the devices in your child’s room. It can also turn off lights throughout the house and lock the doors. The more scenes you created, the more automated your life will be. Once you get the hang of creating smart home scenes, you’ll want to automate everything in your house.

If you are interested in getting started with smart home automation in your home, get in touch with Intuitiv AV. We can answer any questions you have and help you find the smart home system that’s right for you.

Home Theater Lighting Ideas

Is your home theater dull and uninspiring? A great home theater requires the right setup. Although there are many ways to make your home theater more fun and exciting, great lighting makes the biggest impact. The right lighting can turn your home theater into an incredible, immersive movie theater-quality experience Here are a few home theater lighting ideas to make your home theater more exciting.

7 Home theater lighting ideas

Your home theater lighting should enhance your movie-watching experience. You don’t want the room to be too bright or so dark you can’t see. You want the lighting to create the right mood for relaxing and watching a movie. The immersive sound in the room should be matched with immersive lighting. There are several things you can do with the lighting in your home theater to make watching movies more enjoyable.

Eliminate Natural Light

To create a cinematic experience in your home theater, eliminate any natural light. How you go about this will depend on where your home theater is located. If it’s in your living room you may not be able to eliminate all the natural light from the room. But, if your home theater is in a separate room, use black shades or curtains to reduce the amount of natural light entering the room. If your home theater is in your living room, you can close the curtains and turn off any lights in the surrounding rooms.

Overhead Ceiling Lights

Overhead ceiling lights are essential for any home theater room. These are the main source of lighting in the room. When nobody is watching movies, they should be able to illuminate the entire room. The best way to use ceiling lights in a home theater room is to install two rows of dimmable LED lights along the ceiling. This makes the room bright enough for everyone to see when nobody is watching movies. Then, when you want to watch a movie, all you have to do is dim the lights.

Column Lighting

If you want to recreate the feeling of being in a theater, use column lighting in your home theater. You can buy theater columns to put in your room or use LED strip lights to make it look like there are columns. Simply place the lights along the wall of your home theater, spacing them out evenly so they create the illusion of theater columns.

Wall Sconces

Wall sconces are a great way to create ambiance in your home theater. Attach them to the walls of your theater room. They can cast light on the walls and floor, or they can be used to direct light at different angles. These lights can provide soft lighting during movies and are a great way to add dimension to your home theater. They can also remain on without distracting you while watching a movie.

Recessed Lighting

You can add a nice touch of elegance to your room by using recessed lighting. These lights can be seamlessly integrated into the ceiling, so you don’t notice them. They can provide ambient light or accent lighting to the room, depending on how they are installed. Installing recessed lighting in your theater room will give you better control of the lighting in the room. If you need extra lighting, you can turn on the lights and make the room brighter. But if you want a darker room, you can dim them.

LED Strip Lights

LED strip lights can be used in several different ways in your home theater. You know how a movie theater has lights along the floor to light your path? You can use LED strip lights to create the same effect in your home theater. Place them along the floor to create a path on both sides of your seating area. They are a great way to make your home theater look like a real movie theater.

Smart Lighting

Smart lighting is a great addition to any home theater. If there was ever a cool place to have smart lighting, your home theater is it. Adding smart lighting to your theater room allows you to have complete control of the lights. You can dim the lights all at once, or set up scenes to create the lighting experience you want when you watch a movie or entertain guests.

If you are interested in implementing any of these home theater lighting ideas in your home theater room, get in touch with us at Intuitive AV. Our professional installers can take your ideas and bring them to life.

Don’t Miss The Recent Redfin Article We Were Featured In | 13 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint at Home

The science behind climate change can be overwhelming and complex. When it comes to its impact on the future, much is still undetermined. So how can you take control and do your part to help slow the impact of climate change? While a lot of factors are out of our control, simple changes at home can decrease greenhouse gas emissions and reduce your carbon footprint. Whether it’s insulating your home, planting a garden, or composting food scraps, every effort counts. Or, if you live in a hot climate that receives a considerable amount of sunlight – like El Paso, TX or Oahu, HI – switching to solar power may be the right option for you.

Read on to find out what a carbon footprint is and how to reduce your carbon footprint at home.

13 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint at Home

How Covid Has Affected the Smart Home Industry

When the Covid pandemic started, it caused a lot of things to change in the technology industry. Our entire workforce was disrupted as many employees were forced to work from home. Not surprisingly, the sale of PCs went through the roof. In fact, more people bought laptops and computers in 2020 than they had in the last six years.

Because so many people were working from home, home technology became a necessity for many American workers rather than a luxury. This led to a spike in purchases of home office tech products such as webcams, microphones, and printers. Companies and employees were forced to become more innovative and make adjustments.

Covid initially disrupted the smart home industry

While Covid created a surge in home office technology purchases, the smart home industry did not fare as well. The economic situation was frightening and with social distancing in place, many consumers decided to postpone new installations of smart home systems.

Initially, the pandemic caused a big drop in the sales of smart home systems. However, as people have adjusted to living in the “new normal”, they have become more aware of the benefits of smart home technology. Covid has sparked a lot of interest in two areas of smart home technology in particular – home security and voice-controlled devices.

Covid has created a huge interest in smart home security

Home security is the main category driving growth in the smart home industry right now. Many homeowners purchased devices like security cameras, smart locks, and smart doorbells with cameras. According to a survey by Homes.com, 70 percent of consumers said that home security was their number one reason for purchasing smart home products. The majority surveyed also said that smart home tech had helped them during an emergency situation.

Before Covid, people didn’t put much thought into who was coming to their door. They used home security systems mainly to protect their homes when they were away or to keep them safe at night. As contactless deliveries became commonplace, people wanted to know who was at the door before they answered it.

Covid also spurred an interest in indoor video cameras. Quarantines made it difficult for friends and family to visit each other. This was particularly concerning for people with elderly parents. Having an indoor security camera allows you to check-in or connect with your loved ones, even if you don’t live nearby.

There has also been a surge in voice-controlled devices and home automation

Since Covid started people are trying to keep their homes cleaner and safer. Smart home technology allows people to cut down on the number of high-touch surfaces they touch, such as doorknobs, light switches, and remote controls. By using voice commands, people can unlock a door without touching it or turn on a light without using the light switch. Homes and businesses are switching to more automation to reduce the need for touching switches or controls

This might explain why smart lighting is currently the second-largest segment of the smart home market. Voice control and automation are trending, partly because of Covid, but consumers are also buying smart home products for other reasons. A big one is energy reduction. With more people working from home, consumers are looking for ways to reduce energy. Smart lighting is one way to do that. Similarly, consumers are also looking into smart thermostats and HVAC systems.

Covid has changed our lives. We are doing things differently and are more connected than ever. As we move forward, more people are getting interested in smart home technology. Intuitive AV can help you add a smart home system to your home. No matter what kind of system you’re interested in, we can help you get started with smart home automation.

Smart Home Technology for Seniors

Smart home technology is often considered the domain of the young, but it can also benefit seniors! Truth is, seniors can use smart home tech to benefit a lot in many ways. For example, they can use voice commands, smart programming, and alerts to feel safer and more secure at home.

They can also set up automatic programming so that their lights and thermostat are adjusted automatically throughout the day. Seniors can even use smart home technology to help them stay safe if they have disabilities.

Smart home technology has been helping families take care of elderly parents for a while. With cameras, sensors, and voice-activated systems, family members can make sure their parents are healthy and safe from a distance. But, if you think seniors are too intimidated by technology to invest in a smart home system themselves, you might be surprised. Seniors send text messages, use Facebook, use smartphones, and laptops.

As seniors get older, many want to age-in-place. This is a big trend in the baby boomer generation. To make sure they can remain safe and independent, many are looking into smart home technology.   When seniors and their families learn how to use this technology, it’s an appealing option for both seniors and their families.  It provides the family with peace of mind that they can check in on their older parents remotely while providing seniors with the ability to live in their own homes.

Smart Home Features Seniors and their Family Love

There are a lot of cool things you can do with smart home automation, but seniors and their families love the safety features, security, and convenience.  Here are a few features they love.

Medical Alerts, Reminders, and Emergency Features

There are a lot of built-in safety features in a smart home. With a little training and programming, a smart home can do everything from reminding you to take medication to sending medical help to your home with a voice command. A smart home is great for reminding seniors to take medication. They can even be programmed to tell you what the pill looks like or what dosage to take.

If a medical emergency arises, emergency personnel can be sent to the house immediately. An alert can also trigger automatic unlocking of doors so that emergency personnel can enter the home. In addition, if family members receive an alert, they can check on the senior with remote viewing.

Smart Lighting and HVAC

Seniors love smart lighting and HVAC systems They can enjoy the convenience of automatic lighting and temperature regulation. Voice commands make it easy for them to turn on or off all the lights, and seniors love it.  They can also turn the thermostat up or down without having to touch anything. A smart thermostat can adjust the temperature of the house based on a schedule, or adjust it automatically to keep the house comfortable. This is perfect for seniors at home who want to save money without having to keep track of everything.

Motion Sensors and Monitors

Another thing that seniors and their families like is the ability to set up motion sensors and monitoring. This can be useful for everything from sending an alert when they receive mail to turning on the hallway nights automatically when motion is detected. This is also a useful safety feature. To keep seniors safe in the kitchen, a motion sensor can be programmed to alert them to check the stove when they leave the kitchen.

Smart security features

Seniors, who often live alone, can feel uneasy about answering the door to people they don’t know. That is why cameras are so important. They allow seniors to see who is at the door before they open it. Cameras also allow family members to receive notifications if someone comes to the door or enters their garage.

Smart door locks also eliminate the need for keys. Seniors don’t have to remember where they left the keys. They can just open the door with their smartphone. This is really handy if they want to double check if a  door is locked or unlock the door without getting up. They can even program doors to lock automatically at a specific time.  It’s also nice because caretakers can be given access to the house without having to set up an extra lock. For example, when a home health aid stops by they can just enter with a code.

Smart home technology is useful for all ages. It can keep your home safe and secure and can even add a level of comfort that makes daily life easier. The setup process can be difficult and intimidating, but with the help of a professional, you can get started right away.  Get in touch with Intuitive AV with any questions you have about smart home technology or to help you get started

Smart Home Routines that Make Your Life Easier

Smart technology is making its way into everyone’s home in one form or another.  If you have just started researching smart home systems, or already have a system in place, there are so many things you can do with your smart home. Aside from the obvious benefits of safety, security, and convenience that come with having smart home automation, there are so many other things you can do.

With Control4’s smart home operating system you can control all the devices in your home at once., It makes life more convenient and allows you to set up routines to make your life easier

Smart Home Routines to Simplify your Daily Schedule

One of the biggest things people love about using smart home routines is that they make sticking to a daily schedule easier. You can program your smart home with routines to start your morning, make your commute to work go smoother and make sure everyone in your home gets a good night’s sleep.

A morning routine is easy to set up. If you have trouble waking up in the morning, use smart automation to ease into your morning.  Before your alarm goes off, program the thermostat to warm up the house. It’s a lot easier to crawl out from the covers if the house is already cozy.

Program the lights gradually turn on, or the blinds rise automatically in the morning.  Get your coffee going before you’re even out of bed. Start your day off with the right mindset by playing uplifting music automatically to boost your mood and energy.  Program your doors and garage doors to lock or close automatically at a certain time. This way you never have to worry if you remembered to lock the doors.

You can program your home to do everything for you at night too, so you never have to worry about forgetting something. For example, you can program your lights to turn off automatically in the evening and your thermostat to lower at a certain time. All of this can be done automatically, so you don’t have to worry about doing it yourself.

Smart Home Routines to Save You Money

Smart home automation is efficient and cost-saving. It is also incredibly useful. The process of automating your home saves you time and money, and it’s much easier than managing a typical home. Smart home routines can be used to turn your lights on or off at specific times, but the real benefit of a smart home is that it learns your habits. It can make adjustments based on your routines, so you don’t have to worry about anything.

You can create routines and programming to automatically adjust your home’s temperature and lights when you wake up, leave for work, or go to sleep. Because you can set your home up to automatically adjust the HVAC system and lighting in and outside your home, you don’t waste electricity or gas. The energy savings add up.

Smart Home Routines to Make Your Home Safer

Setting up safety routines is another way that smart homes improve your life. They make safety easier because you don’t have to remember all the little things like turning the outside lights on when it gets dark or locking the doors.  You can also set up routines to keep areas of your home like your garage and kitchen (which is where most home fires start) safer.  For example, motion sensors can turn off the stove automatically if someone leaves the room for a certain amount of time.

Another safety feature people like is being able to set up routines to make it look like you are home when you aren’t there. If you ever travel for work or go on vacation, you can create routines that are similar to what you would be doing if you were at home. It’s added security you can’t get from a traditional home.

Smart Home Routines to Make Your Life More Fun

A happy home without stress and worry makes life more fun. Use home automation to make your life less stressful and more fun. Kids love being a part of creating routines. If you want them to be excited about morning time, let them help set up the morning routine by picking the morning music. You can set up other fun routines like when the mail arrives, a song plays like “you’ve got mail” or “Mr. Postman”.

There are so many things you can do with a smart home system. It’s really up to you how you want to use it. If you’re interested in automating your home or finding out how you can set up routines like these, get in touch with our team at Intuitive AV. We can help you set up a smart home system that works for you and your family.

Cool Smart Home Ideas You Didn’t Know About

The world of smart home automation is expanding every day. Now you can control every device in your home with a voice command, programming, or the touch of your phone. Whether you have a complete smart home system or just have part of your home automated, there are tons of cool things you can do with smart technology.

You probably know that you can schedule your lights, your thermostat, or program the locks on your doors, but what else can you do? The possibilities are virtually unlimited, but here are a few cool smart home ideas you may not have thought about.

Get help with your sleep routine.

One of the coolest things about smart home technology is that you can use all your devices to create schedules, including a schedule to help you get to sleep and wake up at the same time. This is great for adults but, is amazing for kids. Create a scene for bedtime and wake up.

~Program your lights to dim at a specific time to help everyone prepare for bed
~At bedtime, turn off all the televisions, and lights at a set time,
~Set the blinds to automatically close to make the bedrooms dark.
~You can even stream classical music, nature sounds, or white noise before bed.
~In the morning program your window treatments and blinds to slowly open to help wake you up gradually.

Keep tabs on your kids

Smart home security systems provide peace of mind and security for busy parents. There are many things you can program your smart home to do. For example:

~At dinnertime, shut off the TV and turn on the dining room lights.
~You can also send messages to your kids’ phones with reminders that they need to do chores. For example, put away the dishes or take out the trash.
~Get a text message when your kids come home from school.
~Check on your home remotely.  With a camera inside or outside the house, you can view your property from anywhere in real-time to make sure your kids are safe when you’re not there.

Set schedules for just about anything

If you are trying to develop a new habit at home, you can program your house so that it supports you.

~Want to read a book every night? Set up the televisions to turn off at a certain time. Program quiet reading music to play on your speakers and the lights to turn on by your bedside table or desk.
~Get your kids in on the routines. Let them pick a tune to play when it’s time to brush their teeth and get ready for bed.

Use your smart home to reach your personal goals

In this day and age, smart technology can even be used to help you meet your goals. You really can use your smart home to assist you in just about everything.

For example:

~If you want to work out every day, play motivational workout music through your smart speakers at a specific time.
~When you want to get down to business, program your smart home to block out distractions for 25 minutes.

Cool entertaining ideas

Entertainment is a big part of why people love smart home technology. One of the best features is the ability to control your lights automatically.

~When you have guests over dim all the lights at once.
~You can also program the lights to dim automatically whenever someone turns on the TV.
~Don’t worry about interruptions, if the doorbell rings or you get a phone call, your TV can be programmed to pause automatically.

Use your lights more efficiently

The lighting in your house can be programmed to adjust when there is more natural light in a room, saving energy and creating a better experience.

~If the natural light in the room decreases, the lights will get brighter automatically.
~Lights can also work with motion sensors. If you ever wake up at night, you don’t want to turn on the lights in the entire house. A motion sensor can detect motion and turn the lights up to 15 or 30 percent, just enough light to see but not so bright to blind you or wake everyone up.

A smart home comes with technology to make it safer, more convenient, energy-efficient, and just plain cooler. There are thousands of things you can do with smart home automation. You can program your home for security reasons, to create useful schedules, or simply to have some fun.

If you’re interested in making your home a smart one, either now or in the future, get in touch with us at Intuitive AV. Our team of smart home professionals will be happy to help answer your questions.