I must admit, I am a bit of a looky-loo when it comes to houses for sale in Squamish.
If we see a “For Sale” sign somewhere, and an open house, my wife and I love to walk in and check out how the place is set up, the new shiny appliances, spectacular views, and everything else that makes us look at our own little hovel with a frown.
We do the same thing when we visit friends, too, looking for ideas for our own renovations.
But, despite all the modern architecture, and building practices with all the geo-thermal and sustainable stuff in our little booming village, “Smart” homes are still something I don’t see often.
In case you are unfamiliar, a “Smart” home is one in which various things, such as your lights, thermostat, security cameras, and door locks, are controlled through an Internet-enabled device like an iPhone or tablet. Want to dim the lights? Simply, tap on an app, or talk to your virtual assistant, and its done without having to haul your butt out of bed, or off of the couch. Have an armful of groceries and hate juggling all those bags while searching for keys to the house? Some Smart Home systems can be set up to sense your phone, and automatically unlock the door (and turn on the porch light) as you approach.
It’s pretty Jetsons, and while some modern apartments in big cities are starting to include these tech features when building, the rest of us can only achieve Smart homes by investing in a bunch of gadgets from our favourite local tech stores.
And setting up your own Smart Home isn’t as expensive or complicated as one might think. You could start off with a Smart light bulb, and experiment with different colours and hues, cold and warm tones, or play your music through it. You can even set up schedules or timers on the light through your tablet or phone, and give the appearance of having someone at the home when you’re away on vacation.
You could also pick up Smart door locks and install them yourself, or thermostats, as well. And systems like Nest or Apple Homekit let you connect a bunch of Smart gadgets together to complete the package.
However, make sure when buying anything that it is indeed compatible with the other gadgets in your Smart setup. My daughter found out the hard way that her new Smart light bulb did not work with the Google Home she just bought.
The Home is another cool Smart Home gadget that connects to the Internet and lets you use voice commands (by saying “OK, Google” and then giving a command) to not only control compatible smart appliances, but also to listen to your tunes, or get information from the web. Lately, I’ve taken great maniacal glee in sticking my head into her room while she’s reading and saying “OK Google, play Led Zeppelin – LOUD” and then running away.
It’s fun to mess with your kids.
I know some folks may have reservations about hooking their homes up to the Internet, especially considering how prolific hackers have been lately. However, if you change default passwords to something of your own, and read the documentation that comes with the products on keeping the Smart network secure, you shouldn’t have any issues.
I know it seems futuristic, but the convenience that home connectivity and the so-called “Internet of things” offers is very appealing, once you start using these gadgets and getting used to them. It’s worth the investment.
And hey, it’ll certainly impress any looky-loos creeping for ideas in your home.
