5 Must-Have Smart Home Technologies for your Custom Home
01-December-2020
Smart technology is the new standard for custom homes. It gives homeowners a new level of control and can offer a greater sense of security as well as the added benefits of convenience and energy efficiency.
The benefit of building a home from the ground up is that you're able to customize these features without the hassle of a renovation. The decision process for homebuyers now includes more than just choosing countertops, flooring, and paint colors. Homeowners can decide which devices will suit their specific lifestyle.
As a custom home builder in the Carolinas, we at Casanova Homes equip our clients’ homes with the technology that will allow them to live their best lives.
Keep reading to learn about how home automation can add convenience and security to your life and discover our 5 must-have smart home technologies for your custom home!
What is smart home technology?
Thanks to companies like Amazon, Apple, and Google, having a smart home is no longer a luxury of the future. Technology we once thought was only for the elite has now been made accessible for a broad range of homeowners. Studies project that more than half of homes—approximately 53%—will have smart technology by 2022.
Smart home technology includes the appliances and devices that can be interconnected and controlled automatically with an internet connection with a mobile or other networked device. The user can manage these functions from his or her smartphone and control everything from HVAC and lighting to entertainment systems and security cameras.
Smart home features are installed either through a hardwired or wireless system. While a hardwired system offers more security to the homeowner, it can be more expensive. That’s why if you are building a home, it’s a good idea to work alongside your custom home builder to include these features into the wiring of your home and avoid an expensive renovation down the road.
At Casanova Homes, we outfit our homes with Cat. 5 cables running through every room, so your options are endless!
The benefits of a smart home
As you may have guessed, incorporating smart tech into your home brings with it many benefits. With so many of our homeowners living active lifestyles or who are spending more time in their homes and require certain features, home automation can offer the next level in homeownership.
You can simplify your routine by programming a “scene.” For example, you pull into the driveway after work, and your garage door opens, your heating and cooling system has already readjusted to your preferred temperature (after saving energy throughout the day), your favorite music comes on the speakers, and the lights turn on in the entryway.
In short, depending on the features you choose, smart technology gives homeowners comfort, convenience, security, and energy-efficiency. An investment in smart technology early on can lead to future savings, an energy-efficient home, and a higher resale value!
Here are some of the must-have features for your custom home.
Home Security System
One of the components of a smart security system is a doorbell camera. When sifting through your options, make sure to look for a system that offers high-resolution video, two-way audio, and motion sensing. With most models, you’ll be able to answer your doorbell remotely with your phone.
Our favorite? The Google Nest Hello smart doorbell. It features the ability to respond to who’s at the door with quick replies and even includes facial recognition, so you know who is at the door.
Are you looking to build a new home or begin a renovation ? You could qualify for a FREE Nest Doorbell System for your new home or remodel! Contact us today!
Take it a step further with smart cameras. Depending on the system you choose, you can monitor your home remotely from your smartphone and have footage upload automatically to the Cloud.
At Casanova Homes, we make sure to include automated features in our homes because we know how important it is for our clients to feel safe and secure where they live.
You can get in touch with one of our team members to find out what kind of smart features best fit your lifestyle.
Energy-efficient appliances
A smart home not only benefits you as a homeowner but can also positively impact the environment.
There are many ways to make your home more energy efficient with smart technology. Smart thermostats (like the Nest Learning Thermostat) can help you reduce heating and cooling costs by 10-25% by giving you full control over the precise temperatures for your home. By understanding your patterns and responding to your manual configurations, smart thermostats can adjust temperatures depending on whether or not you are home and automatically identify and reduce heating or cooling in underused areas of your home.
You can also take advantage of smart outlets or power strips that help reduce energy consumption by detecting and cutting off power to devices not being used or in standby mode -- laptop charges and TVs being some of the biggest culprits. The American Council of an Energy-Efficient Economy has estimated that about 20% of energy use in the average American home stems from non-essential appliances. With smart plugs and outlets, you can reduce this by 50%.
Talk about an energy-efficient home!
Automated lighting
One of the best ways to save on energy costs is with smart lighting.
An automated lighting system can give you peace of mind when traveling on vacation and save you energy costs with motion sensor lighting.
With smart light sockets, you can schedule when your lights are on and set dimmer levels. You can monitor your energy usage when you’re away from home and see which devices are being used and when. And you can do all this from the convenience of your smartphone!
Entertainment
Roughly 31% of households already used smart speaker systems like Google Nest or Amazon Echo. These digital assistants allow you to control the most basic actions, from playing music through simple voice commands to adjusting the volume and settings on your TV.
Home theater systems have become the new standard with smart TVs in most homes, giving users the ability to use their smartphones as Bluetooth remotes and control programming with the touch of a button from any room in the house.
Bonus Features
These are just icing on the cake. Recent technological advances have come up with some pretty cool gadgets for giving your home that “wow factor.” By no means essential, these are just some fun additions that will impress your guests and give your home that extra personalized touch.
For example, did you know you can automate your window coverings to adjust to the light? There are dog cameras for monitoring your fur babies when you’re away from home. Optional safety features include water leak and mold sensors. Or make household chores easier with robot vacuums and lawnmowers. There are even setups that allow you to start a load of laundry remotely.
If the long list of these smart features tells us anything, it’s that the future of homes is in smart technology.
In conclusion
When building your custom home, keep the future in mind. Whether this is your forever home or the place you will spend your newlywed years, your home’s value is an important factor.
Adding smart technology to your home will undoubtedly add resale value if you wind up selling it down the road.
Perhaps your home has become your new office, and you need to simplify your routine with technology. Or maybe or you want to come home to convenience and comfort after a long day at work, with the peace of mind your home is safe while you are away. Smart technology can offer you that.
From solutions for better home security, energy-saving appliances, or easier ways to entertain -- the options are endless.
Would you like to find out more about how smart technology can enhance your home? Learn about how Casanova Homes is providing new homeowners with custom smart appliances by contacting us here!