Automation ideas
Let´s start from the beginning, what is home automation? Home automation uses smart devices and pre-programmed routines to simplify your life. Think of it as a set of automated rules that take care of repetitive tasks, making your everyday routine effortless.
These are some ideas for automations we can set up in your smart home
Pause the movie you are watching when someone rings the doorbell
Don’t you find it annoying having to find the TV controller when someone rings your doorbell? We can create an automation where the TV not only pauses the movie you are watching automatically but also seamlessly switches to a live feed of who is on your doorstep. This is especially useful when you see the delivery person jumping on their car after having left a parcel at your door, as you can just keep watching the movie and pick up the parcel later (and don’t worry if you forget the parcel later, as a gentle reminder will pop up once you’ve finished the movie).
Arm alarm when leaving the house
A single touch of a button when leaving the house turns all the lights off as well as the TVs and other selected appliances, while simultaneously activating the alarm, locking the door, and performing a security check. If anything is wrong, it sends a sound notification and a message to the user´s phone with the alert (e.g., if any door or window is open, one of the pets is in the garden, etc.).
Disable the alarm when you are back
Similar to the previous automation, the house alarm can be automatically disabled when the system detects a member of the family has arrived. It can also send a notification to your phone letting you know the alarm is now disabled
Motion activated lights
wouldn´t it be nice to move around the house at night without having to touch any of the light switches? Let the house automatically turn lights on and off by detecting your presence.
Automated bathroom fans
Trigger a notification to your partner containing your location
Tapping your smartphone on an NFC tag placed inside your car can trigger a notification to your partner with the text “Honey, I’m on my way home” along with your current location and estimated arrival time based on current traffic conditions. And it also works in reverse, which means they can tap the same NFC tag with their phones to send you the notification.
Cinema Mode
turn off the lights, close the blinds, adjust the volume, and select the desired channel with a single press of your TV remote control.
Open and close blinds automatically
What better way to wake up in the morning than the blinds to let the sun enter the room like in the movies? Similarly, the blinds can close automatically at sunset or any other predefined moment.
Your robot vacuum cleans the house when you are not home
Wouldn´t it be nice if your robot vacuum could clean certain rooms of the house following a schedule, and only when you are not home?
Holiday mode
Routines that are automatically activated when the holiday mode is enabled:
- Simulated Occupancy Lighting: lights can simulate occupancy in the house by automatically turning on and off at different times of the day when you are not home.
- Turn heating and hot water off: heating and hot water are automatically disabled during your holidays to save energy, turning back on the day before your holidays will end to pre-heat the house, ready to welcome you back.
- Notification if people or cars are detected: receive a notification when a specific object (e.g., person, car, dog, etc.) is detected in certain areas of your house, like your garden or your driveway.
Get notified when
- Leak and smoke detection: receive a notification in your phone and an audible notification in your smart speakers (Google or Alexa) when the system detects.
- A friend is visiting you: your Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa smart speakers can notify you when one of your friends has parked their car in your driveway by reading their car number plate.
- The estimated time to your workplace is higher than usual: get notified when your trip to the office will take longer than usual due to traffic, so you can leave early and avoid arriving late.
Heating and hot water run during off-peak times
Does your electricity tariff have different prices depending on the time of the day? Your hot water, heating, and other appliances can be set to run at those times to reduce your energy bill.
Notification when it’s time for your car’s MOT or road tax
Ever found out you were driving without a valid MOT or road tax in your car, or even worse, got a police ticket for that? Once you set up this automation, you won´t have to worry anymore, as the system will let you know when it´s time to pass MOT or pay your car’s road tax.
