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How to Start a Smart Home In 2022
There’s never been a better time to upgrade your home into a smart home. But what smart device should I get first? We've assembled a few Wi-Fi devices to help you choose.
Optimal Locations for Home Security Cameras
We will never be able to predict exactly how or when a burglary will take place. However, we can take preventative actions to avoid or minimize losses from these home invasions by adding security devices to protect our homes. Security cameras are one of the most important home break-in deterrents available and can also provide important video evidence to identify thieves and learn about vulnerable areas on a property.
Z-Wave 700 and Z-Wave LR Expand the Capabilities of Future Smart Homes
Z-Wave 700 (aka Z-Wave Plus v2), and Z-Wave Long Range (Z-Wave LR) allow new Z-Wave compatible devices to benefit from greater transmission ranges, longer battery life, and other improved features.
Stay Safe at Work with High Temperature, Mask, and Face Recognition
Keeping employees safe at work during the Covid-19 pandemic has become a challenge for small and large businesses alike; and as the U.S. and other countries do their best to flatten the curve of this pandemic, unfortunately, it’s not going away any time soon. In the meantime, essential companies are looking for safer and easier ways to ensure everyone entering their properties is properly wearing masks and does not have elevated body temperatures. Speco Technologies has found a solution.
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Simple Home Security Checklist
Have you ever wondered if your home is as safe and secure as it could be? Or, have you been thinking about adding a home security system to your property but are not really sure if the investment is worth it? To help answer these questions, we put together a Simple Home Security Checklist to see what areas of your property could use the extra security. If you answer “no” to any of the questions below, you’ll want to take action to improve your home security.
SATCO Starfish Brings Smart Wi-Fi Lighting To Your Home
Home Controls now supplies Wi-Fi connected smart lighting products from SATCO, a premier supplier of smart and standard lighting products. Devices from the SATCO catalogue include color changing Wi-Fi Connected Lightbulbs, as well as Switches and Plug-In Outlets with remote Wi-Fi connectivity. Every SATCO device available at Home Controls is capable of remote Wi-Fi operation via their Starfish mobile application, no smart home hub or controller is required.
Improve Home Security with Home Automation
Home security has changed for the better with the integration of home automation systems. There is so much you can do nowadays besides just having a video surveillance system installed in your home. With so many home automation controllers and hundreds of different smart devices available at your disposal, you can literally set up your smart home in many creative ways to work against unwanted intruders. Combining your home security system with other home automation devices allows you to create unique scenes to occur when certain security sensors are triggered. Plus, many home automation systems can be accessed, controlled, and monitored with a mobile app, which means receiving alerts and notifications over the phone of all the activity that is happening at home so you can react and notify the authorities if needed.
NVR vs DVR Surveillance Systems: What’s the Difference?
When it comes to setting up a video surveillance system for your home or office, you’ll need to decide on what type of system to use: NVR or DVR? Which is better, or more importantly, which system is better suited for your needs? Both types of systems pretty much provide the same thing – a video recording of an observed area – but each system goes about it in a different way.
Use Smart Sensors to Optimize Your Home Automation Scenes
We’ve spoken about Z-Wave before, but now we’re going to get into a little more detail on the usefulness and practicality of home automation. Typically you would look at a door/window sensor, or motion sensor, and expect that all it does is tell you and your automation hub when a door or window is open or when movement is detected in the room. While that is true on both counts, these sensors are capable of much more than simply telling you.
ZipaTile: All-In-One Smart Home Hub
Now you can put a large variety of smart home functions into your home in a very simple, all-inclusive and inexpensive way. To this end, the Zipato ZipaTile2 is a great solution!
Home Automation in the Summer
Use home automation to help make the summer season a whole lot easier. Besides bringing blue skies and sunny days, summer is also responsible for increasing the activity around your home because it’s the time of year when the kids are out of school, the days are hotter, pool parties are being planned, and families get to go on their summer vacation.
Build a High Speed Gigabit Network with Luxul
Home Controls is proud to announce we now carry Luxul networking devices. Luxul is a trusted name in IP networking solutions, creating high quality wired and wireless network devices for residential and commercial applications. Luxul devices can accommodate any sized home or business regardless of the setup , thanks to their plug-and-play installation design and high capacity specifications, including Gigabit network speeds, Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality, and more.
EISsound Builds Easily Expandable Wireless Audio Systems
Home Controls now carries wireless audio streaming systems from EISsound. EISsound, a European manufacturer, was one of the first players in the home audio system industry to introduce audio control units designed to replace standard light switches. Their product designs always include a seamless or universal aesthetic in order to be easily included into any home audio or business installation. EISsound’s wireless audio products use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth technology to deliver music from a single streaming device to expandable multi-room audio setups.
Optimal Locations for Home Security Cameras
We will never be able to predict exactly how or when a burglary will take place. However, we can take preventative actions to avoid or minimize losses from these home invasions by adding security devices to protect our homes. Security cameras are one of the most important home break-in deterrents available and can also provide important video evidence to identify thieves and learn about vulnerable areas on a property.
Use Home Automation to Check On Your Kids
Besides making life easier and more secure at home, smart automation and security devices can also be used to help keep tabs on your kids. There are many parents, both single and married, that have to work full-time jobs and can’t always be home at the same time their kids are home, especially after school.
Stream Music at Home the Best and Easiest Way
Streaming music at home without having to rely on just using your smartphone and an external speaker is now possible and easier than you think.
Smart Home Products For Renters
Looking for ways to save money on utility bills and make your rented home a smart home? You don’t have to own the building you're living in to start building an automated home system with smart home products.
How to Make Mornings Easier With Home Automation
Let’s face it: for many of us, waking up during the work week can be a struggle. Whether you sleep through your alarms or force yourself out of bed while still half asleep, it can be hard to quickly muster the energy and focus necessary to kickstart your mornings. For days like these, adding smart home automation devices to your home can potentially improve your morning routine by programing your home to wake up with you. Here at Home Controls we offer a full spread of smart home devices that can make your mornings easier to greet.
Z-Wave 700 and Z-Wave LR Expand the Capabilities of Future Smart Homes
Z-Wave 700 (aka Z-Wave Plus v2), and Z-Wave Long Range (Z-Wave LR) allow new Z-Wave compatible devices to benefit from greater transmission ranges, longer battery life, and other improved features.
Autoslide Automatic Sliding Door Systems Now Available
Home Controls now offers home automation and access control devices from Autoslide, the makers of their patented automated sliding door system.
How Z-Wave Can Help You Work From Home – Home Controls
As more and more people work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic, the need to create safe home offices with comfortable working environments is a must. Adding Z-Wave friendly smart devices to your home can definitely help make it more efficient and more comfortable for your work and living conditions. Most offices I’ve worked in have always provided great lighting, the right temperature, good security, and basically an office/cubicle setting that allowed me to be as productive as possible. Z-Wave can help you accomplish this at home without having to worry about disrupting your workflow, and in many cases, all you need is to provide voice commands or use your smartphone to make it happen.
How Do I Build a Smart Home with Home Security?
Building a smart home with home security is not as hard as it would seem. There are plenty of home automation controllers that already include home security features that make it easy for you to connect to a variety of smart security devices. From smart door locks with keyless access control to door/window sensors that will notify you as soon as they’re triggered, there is a wide range of security devices to choose from that can easily connect to compatible automation controllers.
Protect Your Packages with Amazon and Chamberlain In-Garage Delivery
For many of us, receiving Amazon packages in the mail is a common occurrence, and we all often wonder how we can ensure our packages will be safe from drive-by package thieves and porch pirates. Some use surveillance cameras to keep an eye on their packages and others may have smart locks on their gates or patio doors to temporarily unlock to let deliverers drop off packages.
Introducing Ezlo Plus and Ezlo Secure: The Most Compatible Smart Home Hubs
Home Controls is proud to introduce Vera’s newest and most powerful automation hubs: The Vera Ezlo Plus and the Vera Ezlo Secure. These two smart home automation hubs feature groundbreaking automation features and the latest Z-Wave software to create two of the most powerful, versatile, and compatible smart home hubs in the industry.