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Writer's pictureChris Druckenbrodt

Different Types of Houston Smart Homes

Updated: Jul 24

Different “Smart Home” Philosophies


Having a smart home in Houston is easier than ever. The last decade has seen an explosion of iOT (internet of things) devices making it easier than ever to add technology to your home, most of these products are DIY friendly!


Our firm supports two types of smart home philosophies, DIY-centric and Professionally Installed Solutions. What does this mean for the end-user? DIY smart home apps such as Nest, Arlo, and Sonos each live on their own apps. All of these apps service their function, but the downside is there is a large collection of apps to keep track of. Technically-minded users won’t mind this much, but not everybody interacts with their technology the same way.


Our preferred method is to install a single platform (or app) that controls all the other apps. Savant is our platform of choice that speaks the language of all of the different smart home products. Not every smart home product is compatible, but you’d be surprised how the majority of them are supported. One app or remote will control the TVs in your home, music system, thermostats, automated window treatments, even your lights are connected to the system and automated. The best part: the homeowner programs their own custom scenes from the app. No expensive trips from your dealer is necessary to make these changes for you!


Example-


Don wants to surprise his daughter coming home from college during winter break. After picking her up from the airport he knows they’ll be home around 7pm. The night before Don logged into his Savant app and created a “welcome home” scene.

Don selects “at 7pm tomorrow”:

  • Turn on entryway light.

  • Play “Party Radio Station” on Pandora in each room of the house at 40% volume.

  • Using Phillips Hue bulbs make the lights in the living room purple (her favorite color!)

  • Since there will be guests in the house- set the thermostat a few degrees lower than usual.

  • Start slideshow on the Samsung TV showing all the family pictures.


This is an example of the power the homeowner has, no programmer is required to make this happen, Don has complete control from a single app on his phone.


If you’re interested in this type of experience give us a call or book an appointment on our calendar!


A smart home with many connected devices

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