How Much Does a Smart Home Cost?

There’s no denying it, smart homes are the latest in home upgrades, but are they worth the money? The first question you need to answer is why you’re getting a smart home. The second question you need to ask is what features are non-negotiable for your home. Everyone’s situation is going to be different, so there’s no “one size fits all” solution when it comes to security. However, we can look at the different elements of a smart home and try to get a broad estimate. Some may think they can get a few smart lights and controllers and they have a smart home.

Normally, that is not how that works, and it’s important to look into what smart home devices are actually going to work for you. Failing to properly plan your smart home can leave you with a bunch of devices you’ll never use.

Before you start planning your smart home, it’s probably a good idea to understand exactly why you’re planning on getting a smart home in the first place.

Why do I need a smart home?

There are plenty of reasons someone might be interested in a smart home.  Right now, adding automation to your home may seem a little expensive, but depending on why you are thinking of getting into it and what features you want to add, it might be worth the cost. Some reasons you might want a smart home:

Saving on energy bills

By now you have heard about people saving money on their energy bill by using smart thermostats. This is actually one of the biggest reasons that people are interested in smart homes. Not only can you set temperature schedules, but you can program your thermostat to turn on automatically when it senses you are approaching your home. That’s just one of many examples of impressive things you can do with smart thermostats.

Advanced lighting

With smart lighting, you can create a wake-up routine rule that will turn on the lights for you. Or a motion detector can turn on dim lights in the hallway when you’re walking to the bathroom at night. Advanced lighting can even be controlled through digital assistance, like Alexa or Siri, and is a simple and streamlined way to make your life easier and customizable.

Home security

At the center of every smart home lies a smart hub, which communicates with your home’s other devices using Z-Wave technology. You can access the information on your hub via your mobile phone or tablet. The ease and accessibility that accompanies these features of a smart home are going to be important in determining whether making this switch is right for you. Brinks Home’s latest panel functions as a smart home hub for more than 100 Z-Wave devices.

Furthermore, you can utilize smart home features to give special access to guests or automatically arm your home when you are away. You can even connect your security cameras to your smart home setup and see who is at the door from your phone, talk to them, and unlock the door from across the globe.

Hobby

Of course, with any new technology, there are going to be those who are excited about it because of its cutting-edge features. Smart homes are great for technology enthusiasts because there’s an almost endless amount of possibilities. And if you’re willing to do the extra work to install some of the pieces yourself, you can probably cut down on the total cost as well.

Convenience

Obviously, convenience is a huge reason people are interested in home automation. Controlling a playlist with your voice or setting your garage door to open when return home are great features. You can set your lights on an automatic timer, having them turn on or off at a certain time to save electricity. You can also use the same feature to enhance home security when you are away from home.

Calculating Home Automation Costs

So now that you have a good idea of why you would want a smart home, you can start to break down the different features you might want to include. Adding a smart thermostat is pretty obvious: You spend a couple hundred now and save hundreds more over the course of 10 years.

Security is another important thing to consider. If you spend money on advanced security, you can think of it as a type of insurance.

Door locks and garage door automation will depend on your living situation. Having remote control of your locks is handy if you have guests frequently, or if your kids beat you home from work. Plus, many automated locks allow you to create temporary pass codes, which can be great for contractors or weekend visitors.

If you’re interested in getting smart security, consider a free online quote from Brinks Home™.