If home automation is invading our homes more and more, it continues to be the subject of debate. However, it has many advantages and simplifies our daily life, at home and a distance.
Nevertheless, although it regularly returns to the front of the stage, its definition and operation remain relatively unclear. Here is some information to better understand it and examples of applications to better adopt it!
Table of Contents
What is Home Automation?
Home automation brings together the different techniques used to control, program, and automate a home, as its name suggests with the Latin term Domus (home) and the suffix tick (technical). It thus groups together and uses the fields of electronics, IT, telecommunications, and automation.
Home automation operates in a very vast technical and IT field. It allows you to program most appliances and electrical devices in the house, from lighting and heating to audiovisual equipment and household appliances, including opening windows. It also facilitates home control by managing alarm systems, fire prevention, or the temperature in the rooms.
The Principle of Home Automation
Its function is to program, control, and automate, remotely or on-site, all home devices integrated within the network. The latter works with or without wire in order to receive and transmit data between the various control points and the devices to be controlled. Conversely, each device can communicate its operating status to the control points.
Home Automation Technologies
In the context of use at the scale of a home, home automation concerns three technologies: wireless network technology, wired network technology and CPD (Line Carrier) technology.
Wireless network technology allows the control of all electrical equipment in the home. Reliable, it is quickly operational and causes little electromagnetic pollution.
Cable network technology is even more reliable thanks to its insensitivity to electromagnetic disturbances. The network makes it possible to interconnect all the devices in the house more easily, but it’s installation generally requires work and takes longer. It is therefore more intended for new constructions.
Powerline technology uses household outlets to transmit information between devices and control units. Thus, each outlet receives the data intended for it for simplified management and reduced installation costs. This easy-to-use device is perfect for tenants since the installation follows them during their various moves. On the other hand, the drawback of this technology is that it generates more electromagnetic pollution than the others.
What is the Use of Home Automation?
If home automation continues to be debated, we can only note that it has the advantage of allowing control and harmonious operation of all devices in the house. It simplifies daily life by limiting management methods and saving you precious time; in addition, its low cost and its quick and easy installation make it a practical, reliable and quickly essential device for everyday use!
Finally, home automation has the advantage of greatly simplifying the handling of devices for the elderly, people with disabilities and people with reduced mobility. By limiting travel and anticipating the operation of most devices, everyday life is indeed easier and more comfortable.
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Operation of the Device
Home automation is enabled by means of a network of electrical devices in the home by a control unit.
The control unit
It serves as an interface to allow the user to remotely control and manage all connected devices. It replaces the various equipment management devices such as the heating, the alarm system or the timers and it brings together their functionalities in a single point, manageable at any time and in any place.
The control screen
Fixed in your home, it allows you to control all the devices and functions available by the home automation device.
Remote control
This device is ideal for emergency intervention or at a specific time from a distance. For example, you can allow your children to come home if they have forgotten their key, or have a delivery person drop off your order. It is also possible to start the watering of your garden or to prepare your house for your arrival by adjusting the heating, ventilation and or the opening and closing of the shutters.
Domotics Fields of Application
The advantage of home automation is that everything is conceivable and possible since it is suitable for a wide range of applications. Here are a few examples.
Control of household electrical appliances
Home automation allows the adjustment, control and management of any electrical device within the home. Hours, programs, features, start, stop, etc. Everything is possible remotely and with a simple gesture.
This device does not allow you to simply program your coffee maker to enjoy hot coffee when you wake up! You can also manage all visual and sound media in your home simultaneously. Music, radio, video, home cinema, images, everything is connected to allow you to program or activate your favorite media, wherever you are.
Energy management
Home automation allows you to manage your home’s energy sources. Heating, air conditioning, lighting, opening and closing of blinds, water temperature and filling, charging of battery operated devices, etc. Everything is designed to make your life easier, to keep your home ready and comfortable for your arrival and to allow you to save money by scheduling these actions during off-peak hours, for example.
This management even extends to the garden, since you can control and program your irrigation system remotely, by internet from your smartphone, your computer or your tablet.
Home security
Home automation allows you to manage the security of your home, its occupants and your property by controlling alarms, access authorizations by voice recognition or magnetic card, digital codes, intercoms, movement detectors and anti- fire and flood, among many other examples.
Assistance in daily life
Home automation has the advantage of facilitating the daily life of dependent people and / or people whose mobility is reduced or compromised, temporarily or permanently. Indeed, it ensures their safety by means of detection systems and facilitates the use of household devices on a daily basis thanks to central management.
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How much does home Automation Cost?
If you plan to equip your home with home automation, note that the total price generally takes into account the purchase and installation of the control unit and the controlled elements, the installation of the control system, and the configuration of the service.
The price may vary depending on the device, the transmission medium, and the project was chosen. For new construction, the wire network system is the most common since it is directly integrated into the site.
The cost represents about 4 to 10% of that of the construction or 8,000 to 20,000 Dollars all-inclusive. The price will obviously be higher in the case of a renovation because the installation of the wired system requires additional work.
A wireless device is generally much less expensive, both for new construction and for renovation, since it does not require any work and is very quick and easy to install. Count 180 to 3000 Dollars for this type of installation.
On the other hand, in the absence of wire, it is essential to opt for equipment compatible with radio technology, which generates an average additional cost of 2,000 dollars.
On a daily basis, home automation has only advantages. Easy and simple to use, it brings you comfort and safety while saving you precious time. So why hesitate?
