How to Get Started with Home Automation
Home Automation is a complex category. With so many options available, choosing a place to start building your home automation system can seem overwhelming. It’s very easy to get lost among all terms and devices. To avoid this you should think out what you need and make some research.
- Eliminate the clutter and decide what you want from home automation.
It’s better to start with automating lightning, window blinds, garage doors and sliding gates as well as monitoring temperature, humidity, motion and leaking. It’s simple and most useful basics to start with.
2. Determine your budget and time you want to spend.
Besides, consider also your skills. Following this point you have to choose between professional and DIY home automation. When you have basic technical knowledge and enough time as well as you don’t want to spend thousands dollars, you can do everything by yourself.
3. Choose the right communication protocol that is most suitable for your needs.
You need to know that there’re many protocols to build your home automation and this point will take much of your time. So you should be prepared to surf through all of them to select the right solution.
Zigbee, Wi-Fi, Z-wave, Bluetooth are top from communication protocols used for today. Each of them are good for different cases with different device prices. You should clearly understand the distance between smart devices and central hub (if you plan to use it). Because it’s influencing what connectivity you will use for your system.
Wireless or Wired? — It’s the main question from the starting…
Wired connection is more suitable for long distances and stable data transfering. Wireless protocols are better for short (~30–100 clear meters) distances with easy setup and they exclude any wire lines in your walls. Power consumption of your devices depends on communication protocols too. For example, bluetooth is more low energy than Wi-Fi but the range and bandwidth are very small (30 meter vs 100, 800 Kbps vs 11 Mbps (ps = per second)
So be sure that you understand all these things and choose the right way!
4. Get software and hardware.
Look for an app that allows you to control your devices. You can get it together with hardware or find on app stores. Buy a controller, sensors, switches to automate your home. Some people prefer purchase a starter kits where all needed devices are already brought together. But you can also buy individual products and assemble your own system.
5. Connect all you IoT devices and enjoy automation.
There is a good example of home automation based on Wi-Fi
Home automation is a constantly evolving field. It’s becoming more available with the development of both hardware and software markets. Besides, many people who have already made their own home automation systems share their experience. So without deep programming or electronics experience you can automate your home on your own.
