What Actually Is a Smart Home – And How Can One Transform Your Daily Living?

As you start your smart home journey, you probably have far more questions than anything else surrounding your planning process. But with an installation in your Atlanta, GA home, you don’t have to go at it alone – a smart home integrator can make the entire project a breeze from start to finish and can address every one of your questions and concerns.

But how can you determine that you’ve found the right integrator for you? Keep reading below to see what qualities make up the most trusted smart home companies – and dive into what a smart home can truly do for your daily living!

Everyone wants to feel safe in their homes.  A recent survey by real estate firm Coldwell Banker revealed that homebuyers were highly interested in smart security features.  70% of respondents said they wanted smart fire and carbon monoxide detectors in their next home.  Over 60% of the people surveyed were found to be interested in having smart locks, smart lighting, and smart surveillance cameras installed before they moved in.  

This kind of data would indicate that homeowners are motivated to use newer technology to keep tabs on their homes and make sure that their homes, possessions, and loved ones are safe. So, if that old-style alarm system with the timed beeps for arming, the inconvenient control pads, and the sensors that inadvertently go off at random aren’t going to cut it, what are consumers looking for?

They’re looking to be aware and be informed at all times about what’s going on at their home. But beyond alerts and viewing a video feed from a security camera, they want a system that is flexible, as well as proactive in its ability to react to potential incidents. 

A Control4 smart home security system has the power and intelligence needed to take your [location] home’s security to the next level.  Read on to learn about the security features that can deliver true peace of mind. 

See Also: [Previous C4 Blog]

Always Be in the Know

With today’s Internet-connected devices, people expect to always be informed of what’s going on.  Control4 smart security delivers on that and more. Naturally, you can call up a video feed from a security camera on a smartphone with the Control4 App.  When inside the house, the video feed can be seen on a TV screen or a Control4 Touch Screen. 

According to a recent study by real estate website Zillow, home values have recently been rising at an 7.7% clip in the United States. While real estate values do not grow in a straight line, home ownership has often been viewed as an investment that builds value over time, with the added benefit of having a place to live tailored to your lifestyle.

Over 50% of homeowners plan to spend money on home improvement projects, which are great ways to customize your space to your lifestyle and aesthetic taste, and also increase a property’s resale value. Beyond bathroom and kitchen makeovers, wall and floor finishes and other popular improvements, smart home technology should also be a top consideration.

Why? A recent Houzz survey found that nearly half of renovating homeowners are adding smart systems to their homes, indicating very high interest in smart technology as an important feature desired in a new dwelling. 

With these current trends, read on to find out how Control4 Smart Home technology can not only enhance your lifestyle in Atlanta, but it can also add to your home’s resale value. 

See Also: Using Your Control4 System: Find the Method that Works for You

Smarter Kitchens

Kitchens are perhaps the area where remodeling investments have the highest return. Whether you’re considering cosmetic updates or rethinking your kitchen’s entire layout, don’t underestimate the importance of lighting. 

Professional photographers obsess about optimizing the lighting in their pictures. If a photo shoot is outdoors in natural light, the amount, the shadows, and the exposure are all critical to getting great shots. Indoors, photographers use different types of flashes, or they use specific lighting for posed pictures. 

Think of your home as a photo shoot.  With the right lighting, you can set just the ambiance you want—for cooking, eating, relaxing, entertaining, sleeping or any other endeavor. But beyond making it bright or dark enough for an activity, the right lighting can highlight the aesthetic appeal of your living space. 

What’s the best way to do that?  A Control4 lighting system can set just the right scene, deftly blending light and shadow just like a professional photographer. Read on for ways to make your home look like a perfect lit composition, day or night.

See Also: Let the Music Move You

Shine a Spotlight on Art

Perhaps it’s your favorite piece of art or a family portrait.  Feature it prominently with light.  An LED track light could illuminate that prized painting or draw attention to an incredible photograph. 

If you are looking at smart home technology options around Atlanta, GA, you may run into a fair amount of hyperbole. There are smart devices that all but promise to change your life, thermostats that know when you’re home and when you’re not, and lights that can turn into a rainbow of colors. All of those devices may do wonderful, innovative things, but do any of those things by themselves make your life better? 

A smart home may have many smart devices. You have probably heard of many of them; smart thermostats, smart lighting, smart security cameras, smart locks, and many others. You may even have one or two of them, like a Nest thermostat. Beyond having remote control of a device via an app, the way these devices start making your life easier is when they all start working together to fit the way you live—demanding less of your attention, automating routine functions, and making time available for more important things. 

That’s where Control4 smart home automation comes in. It orchestrates all your smart devices into a cohesive, manageable system that works for you.

See Also: The Future is Here with Control4 Smart Home Automation

Peace of Mind

Keeping your home safe and secure is always a prime concern. There are many small ways that a Control4 system makes that happen. Every Control4 Touch Screen has a camera and audio capability.  With a Control4 Door Station, you can remotely see and talk to anyone at your front door. 

With multiple security cameras, you can view each feed on a variety of screens; through a touchscreen, your phone or tablet, or on a TV.  When you’re away from home, you can get an alert if a camera detects a person, and you can view that activity and even interact with the person at the front door. If it’s someone with a delivery, you’ll be able to go one step further and let them in to drop off the package and lock back up when they leave. 

Do you dream of the ease and convenience found in the Jetsons’ futuristic home? The 1962 series featured the home of 2062, with space-age appliances that made food and flying cars. We’re not quite there yet when it comes to flying cars, but even the Jetsons might be impressed at some of the smart technology we have today.

From lights that automate to your every wish to personalized home entertainment settings at the touch of a button, the Control4 smart home solutions provide tried and true smart home technology that is definitely worthy of being labeled “the future.”

Experience for yourself some Jetsons-style smart home automation, available right now, for your home in Atlanta, GA. No need to wait until 2062! Simply submit your comment or question in chat box at the bottom of your screen and a Certified Showroom Professional will respond.

See Also: Curious About Smart Home Technology? Seeing is Believing

Control4 has pioneered high-end, innovative lifestyle automation solutions, making them a leader in smart home technology today. For an example of their smart home options, just imagine this: After a busy day of work, shuttling kids to after-school activities, and a quick trip to the grocery store, you pull into the garage. A sensor in the garage knows you’re home. A preprogrammed “welcome home” scene illuminates the garage and the hallway to the kitchen, then turns on the overhead lights in the kitchen and family room. The alarm has been disarmed. You like a little soft background music to unwind after a long day, which automatically starts when you walk in the door.

After putting away the groceries in the refrigerator, you tell the kids to start their homework at their desks in the upstairs nook. You have a Control4 touchscreen controller in the kitchen and a minimalistic camera upstairs, allowing you to keep an eye on the kids to ensure they’re really doing homework and not playing video games. All you have to do is bring the video up on the touchscreen. 

Often when you’re interested in a product or technology, you turn to the internet. You Google a product to see reviews, look up technical specifications, and read articles about features and tests. However, when it comes to smart home automation, it can be hard to take abstract specs and turn them into a complete understanding of the everyday solutions that smart tech offers.

Why? Because a true smart home automation experience is not about specs and features. It is about finding solutions to make your life simpler. So, if you’re considering adding something to your home, you may find it difficult to evaluate what automation technology can really do for you and which options will fit your needs and lifestyle. 

Our partner Control4 strongly believes that the customer should be able to see and feel what smart home technology is all about. To that end, they created the Control4 Certified Showroom program.  We are excited to participate in the program and have built a showroom right here in Atlanta, GA to let you experience the latest smart tech for yourself.

Visit our Control4 Certified Showroom to see, hear, and touch smart home automation for yourself. Let us know you’re interested in the chat box at the bottom of your screen and one of our Certified Showroom Professionals will respond.

What You’ll See

When you visit our showroom, you’ll get to see and use the smart technology in action. Control4 takes the different elements of smart home automation—lighting, entertainment, climate control, networking, and security—and blends them together seamlessly to create the effortless environment you want in your home.