Tech the halls with boughs of LED holiday lights, surveillance cameras, soundbars, automated window treatments and many more.
Families are singing a different tune these days with smart home automation transforming their holiday season and for many, their lifestyle.
Two years after the pandemic, with some locked down from their homes, technology has connected more families together. This runs counter to the default view that digital technology ruins family life, according to a study by the London School of Economics and Political Science. Its report, Parenting for a Digital Future, claims that digital activities such as watching movies, playing games and keeping in touch via calls and messaging apps can bring families together.
Together, families are forming tighter bonds. Apart, they’re Zooming in for calls with loved ones from afar. Technology has also helped families adapt their habits to reflect an increasingly digital environment -- and much more than that.
Smart home technology benefits you in many ways -- for safety, energy saving, efficiency, convenience and of course, entertainment, with friends and family.
Starting with safety, home automation can prevent fires from happening during the busy holidays, which is a serious concern as data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported about 100 holiday tree fires and 1,100 candle fires, resulting in 10 deaths, 150 injuries and nearly $50 million in property damage each from 2014 to 2016.
Another safety issue concerns package theft. It has been reported that at least 36% of homeowners have been victims, but a recent study shows that the number may be much higher.
To make your season bright, here are some of the key benefits of having a smart home:
Hippo and Control4 can make you a list -- and you can check them twice. Here are some more home automation ideas that you should consider during the holidays:
To elaborate on the many benefits of smart home technologies, the kitchen has to be mentioned here. Since the holidays mean more time spent in the kitchen area (as if you’re not spending most of your time there already), it’s good to keep the following products in mind for safety
Inside your home, you can also carry out any of the home automation ideas below and integrate them easily to work for you on your mobile devices like your smartphone or tablet computer:
Smart home technology has renewed people’s appreciation for their homes, especially in family-oriented South Florida, where you can transform your home into the smartest home in your neighborhood -- and raise its value.
You might as well have your kids be just as smart, too. A neat trick you can pull off is to keep your kids from spending too much time online by setting a notification on your kids’ tablet computers to turn off their TVs at night. Lights in each bedroom flash as a warning, and 10 minutes later, the TVs switch off automatically, and the internet gets disconnected.
That should be the easiest way to convince you how smart home technology can benefit not just the adults in the room, but the kids as well. (Dennis Clemente)