The connected home is very convenient in everyday life, but requires a little preparation when you are away for a while.
The main promise of the connected home is to simplify a number of things when you are at home. You can set the lights to turn on as soon as you open the door, or set the thermostat to lower the temperature when you leave for work. But you may not have thought about how to set up all your connected devices when you’re away from home for longer. Taking a week or two off doesn’t mean you have to give up everything. Here are some things to consider before you go.
Disable alarms
Most of us use smartphones as alarm clocks. They follow us everywhere. That being said, speakers and other connected alarm clocks, including those with artificial lighting features that gently wake you up, are becoming more common.
It’s easy to forget to turn off your alarms when you’re away, especially if you haven’t used them in a while. Some can be controlled remotely, allowing you to turn them off even when you’re already gone, which is very practical.
Program the thermostat to the desired temperature
If you are driving during periods of extreme temperatures, very hot summers or very cold winters, make sure your thermostat stays on (hot or cold). Of course, you don’t have to maintain the same temperature as at home, but your home shouldn’t be too cold or too hot.
Recommendations for the ideal temperature are easy to find. General advice: never leave the house for a long time at temperatures below 15°C and above 25°C.
Set specific light bulbs to turn on at night
Forgetting to turn off the lights before going on vacation is clearly not good. That being said, leaving one or two on overnight can be a good security measure. What burglar would want to break into a house with “someone”who is awake in the middle of the night?
Smart bulbs use a variety of applications, but most allow you to create automations to turn on or off at set intervals. For example, you can turn them on and off in certain rooms from 11:00 pm to 5:00 am.
Smart light bulbs are not the only effective option. Similarly, you can set up your Smart TV to pretend that someone is watching TV late at night.
Create digital keys and share them with your loved ones
Most smart locks can automatically lock when you close the door. Make sure that this is the case for you and activate the function before leaving the house.
If you have relatives, family, or friends who come to your house to water plants, take care of animals, or do some kind of surveillance, you can share your digital keys so that they can easily enter your home.
Forgot something? Use your smartphone to fix the photo
Having your home connected when you’re away means you don’t have to (too much) worry about forgetting things. A few years ago, you needed to make sure you turned off the lights, turned off the gas, locked all the doors, etc.
Today, more and more devices and technologies for the home can be controlled remotely. This allows you to take action after you are away from home, directly from a dedicated app on your smartphone.
Of course, these devices must remain connected to the Internet in order to be controlled, which means that you must…
Keep Wi-Fi on
Depending on the length of your absence, you may be tempted to turn off your set-top box and/or modem and router, as these devices consume power. That said, no electricity is wasted when you have a connected home, as Wi-Fi keeps devices within reach, no matter where you are.
If you turn off Wi-Fi completely, you will no longer be able to access your home and its devices. If you’re sure you’ve got it right before you leave, don’t worry, but if in doubt, you won’t be able to contact the remote devices…