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There are still a few houses in Australia that still have vintage designs (uhm…uhm, the 70’s called and they would like their designs back.) You can give your home a much-needed uplift with a home loan to redesign it or increase its market appeal with the latest in home technology. If planned right, you won’t have to break the bank. Here are five tips on how to make your home a smart home.
Understand what is a smart home
A smart home is basically a home that has special features that are designed to give a homeowner control over things like air conditioning, heating, sound systems, blinds, lighting and security systems through a simple device such as your mobile phone or computer. Life literally just got easier with a click of a button. Australians have spent AU$377 million on smart home products last year. Statista predicts that the smart home market in Australia is yet to grow this year to a comfortable US$887 million in 2018.
Smart lights
You could be thinking of the American franchise of ‘Clap on-Clap off’ phenomena which could make things a little awkward especially if you are clapping for your favourite team. There is also the cool feature of motion detection lighting that has been introduced in work spaces as a way of saving electricity that you too can implement in your home.
Major brand names such as Apple, Philip and Samsung have released products in the market that will be compatible with your device. You can invest in products such as the Philips Hue compatibility products that offer features such as syncing your phone’s alarm with the lighting. The Brilliant Control is also amazing as it can help you dim and change the colour of your light bulbs.
Solar powered smart home
When you think of solar power the first thing that comes to mind is the panels that get put on your roof to absorb the suns rays, and then you forget about them until you need it. Smart homes that implement solar panels help you analyse just how much power has been preserved and its peak time for when it absorbs the most power all from your phone.
Smart security
Australians could be moving to a keyless security system that will also be connected to your mobile phone or computer to alert you to any suspicious behaviour by 2021. For now, 34% of Australians still rely on a specialist consultant to install their system for them. The smart security system includes alarms, sensors and locks that is predicted to gross a total of $416 million by 2019.
What about connectivity issues
With all these bells and whistles that are set to increase the value of your home from the power of your hand-held phone or computer, what will happen if there is a connectivity problem? Telstra released a hybrid modem in February 2017 that will help maintains a home’s internet connection when there is an NBN or other broadband service outages.
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