The Smart Home — A Passing Fad or Here to Stay?

The world has gone through serious change over the course decade. If there’s one thing that has become obvious, it’s that we are on our phones constantly throughout the day. Smartphones are capable of incredible things, including everything from buying/selling stocks on a dime to holding virtual meetings in real time. One trend we’ve noticed in Cincinnati is the lust for using mobile devices to control home systems — from lighting to heating.

Enter the “Smart Home,” which is proving to be far more than a passing fad.

Turning Your Home into a Smart Home

A lot of people think that turning their home into a smart home would be an expensive endeavor, but thanks to modern technology, it doesn’t have to be. Many people have heard of the Nest, for example, a “learning thermostat” that helps to give you more control over how you’re heating and cooling your home. This is not only affordable, sleek technology that can be incorporated into existing homes, but it’s becoming more and more common as time goes on.

The Nest is an impressive tool, but it just scratches the surface of what’s possible. The Ecobee3 thermostat is quickly gaining attention as well, as are the many energy monitoring products from Leviton. The “connected home” concept revolves around utilizing products that work in tandem with one another, creating a living space that effectively runs itself. A smart home, then, is not a thing of the future, but of the present.

Step 1: Improve the Comfort and Efficiency of Your Home

One thing that often goes overlooked is that just because you can control your home with your smartphone doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the answer to your comfort and efficiency issues. More often than not, any issue that might exist are happening within the home itself and cannot be fixed via an app or piece of technology. In response to a cold room, your nest thermostat will cycle on your heating system, when really, what you need is decent air sealing and attic insulation.

In order to improve your home, you need to know what you’re dealing with. This is where conducting a home energy audit comes into play. A home energy audit will give you a complete picture of issues that are currently getting in the way of your home’s performance, which can serve as a basis for deciding what to do next.

Before you get “wired in,” consider a home energy audit so that your home will be ready for maximum performance. Contact us today to learn more about our Cincinnati Heating & Cooling, efficiency, and smart home services.