Home automation is a powerful reality. Using a simple gadget to customize your home is quickly becoming the norm. The use of smartphones, tablets and portable devices, has gone from modern trend to established tradition. It’s interesting to see how this intuitive technology is moving into living spaces.

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Are you intrigued with the idea of controlling various items around your home using a mobile phone? Well, for some of the most prominent items and appliances, the future is now.

Light bulbs controlled by smartphones

They can be programmed to dim, change colour, or set for different moods like “working” or “romantic”. All controlled conveniently from your handheld device.

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You can buy locks for your door that can be remotely controlled from anywhere in the world. You’ll never have to worry about forgetting to lock the door again, or if you’ve forgotten your key, you’ll have no trouble getting back inside.

As an example, I once stayed at a condo in Costa Rica where the owner, who was based in Toronto, changed the door lock code remotely as each new guest arrived. This ensures the utmost security and allows the owner to control the property from the comforts of elsewhere.

How about checking in on your pet during the day? Maybe a wireless camera is the answer.

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Control your living space

Would you like the lights to be on when you arrive? Would you prefer a porch light to welcome you so you can find your keys quickly? Or maybe you’re arriving with a surprise guest and want to charm them with a special mood lighting?

A lighting control kit can do that.

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Sometimes the solution doesn’t require a smart phone. One of our customers had a number of antique lamps in their condo and they didn’t like having to turn each one on and off individually.

The answer was a plugin controller tethered to a wireless hand held remote. Now all the lamps can be turned on and off (and dimmed) from the easy chair.

So what about the heat and air conditioning?

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“The Nest Learning Thermostat learns the temperatures you like and creates a custom schedule for your home. Nest automatically turns itself down after you leave. You can control it from anywhere using your phone, tablet, or laptop. Look for the Nest Leaf to find a temperature that saves energy.” (Home Depot)

The beauty of having a smart thermostat is the intelligence of the system, which evolves to your lifestyle and adapts to your habits, so you’re never wasting energy and thus your home remains comfortable at all times. According to Nest.com, Nest Learning Thermostat owners have saved over 13 billion kWh of energy since 2011.

If you live in a condominium, make sure to check condo compatibility here before diving into the world of smart living.

If you’re as intrigued as we are by all the new home automated technologies, feel free to give us a call and we would be happy to guide you to the best solution for your needs.