First steps to building my Smart Home

ruthjiaoye1

Great
Aug 22, 2018
15
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60
I've been wanting transform my place into a smart home, but I'm not too sure where to start. I've contacted some experts to help me with the installing but my friends think it's excessive (expensive) and I should just get a smart home hub and do it step by step on my own. Does anyone has suggestions or tips?
 
The first thing I would do is decide what I want to automate (lights, AV, HVAC, security) and how I want to control those functions (keypad, apps, voice or handheld remote). Having clearly defined goals will tell help you if you go DIY or hire a pro.
If your needs are simple, don't mind an ongoing project, enjoy messing with the hardware and being at the mercy of the software then have fun. It's not unusual to run into roadblocks because there is no hardware that integrates with your chosen hub or no voice commands for those functions yet. Overall if you requirements are straight forward and simple DIY might be the way to go.
If you want the house to just work the way you want it to work then paying for pros to install, program, and reprogram as needed then go with a custom installer. There are well known systems like Control4, Savant, and Crestron that have many levels so you don't have to go whole hog all at once. They can be scaled up as needed. It's nice to have someone to blame other than yourself when something doesn't work or maybe even worse when it doesn't work all the time.
 

ruthjiaoye1

Great
Aug 22, 2018
15
0
60
Hahaha I agree it's just so much more hassle-free to get someone else to do it for me but I think I'm just going to go ahead by automating certain things such as lights, security, fans and the air conditioner for starters on my own since these are some of the more basic stuff. Thank you so much for breaking this down for me! I'm actually curious if you'd know what are the limitations to connecting/viewing security surveillance on a Lenovo smart display? I have one in the office and it will really help me to check on my pet.
 
Jan 22, 2019
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firstly make sure ur samrt home device and ur Mobile APP stay in the same wifi status then connect the smart device like smart plug connected and activated in ur APP . thenu can remote control ur home device now . it very simple !
Hoping my message can help u more or less