Home Automation for Everyone

Actually home automation systems have been around for a long time. Remember the clapper? That is actually a form of home automation albeit one that is not very high tech but it did what it was designed to do, allowing you to control an electrical appliances by sound.

More advanced home automation systems have been around for some time as well but they have not been popular with the masses due to the difficulty and cost associated with installing such a system in the home.

Older systems required special wiring to connect all the smart devices together. Installing the wiring also requires professional installers. Home automation systems then were also not modular. You need to come up with a hefty sum for the entire system to be installed at one go.

Today's modern home automation systems are much more sophisticated and connected. Communication between the smart devices are either via the power line or wirelessly via radio frequency (RF) signals. Some systems have hybrid power line and RF communication like the INSTEON home automation system to back up each other as each method has its pros and cons.

A RF only system is limited by its range as walls, floors and other solid objects weakens the signal and limits the range between smart home devices. Power line only system has problems when you have a multi-phase electrical wiring system in the home. Devices from one phase is not able to communicate with devices on other phases. Hence, a hybrid system is the ideal system.

Since modern home automation systems do not need to rely on special wiring, the systems are more modular. You can start off your home automation system with a single light bulb or a light switch. As your needs grow, you can add more devices and control systems as you see fit.

Systems like the INSTEON home automation have all kinds of modules that you can slowly add on  depending on what and how you want to control.

Besides light points, you can add modules that regulate room temperature, control electrical outlets, open and close garage doors, lock doors, control security cameras and control water sprinkler systems. Control options include motion control modules, light sensitive modules and temperature monitoring modules. You can also add modules that allow you to control the entire home automation system via a web browser on a PC or an app on a smartphone.

All these modules can be easily incorporated into your existing home automation system. It is as easy as plugging the module into a electrical outlet and connect the module to your existing system using an easy pairing system that literally takes the touch of a button.

As you can see, with the variety of module options available, the potential of a home automation system as an energy savings system, security system or even home monitoring system that is tailored to your requirements is huge.

Welcome to the future.