A smart home can still sound a little futuristic. Lights that turn on by themselves, heating that knows when you are home, and a notification on your phone when the washing machine has finished. In reality, a smart home does not have to be complicated at all. You do not need to be a programmer, renovate your entire home immediately, or spend thousands of euros. You can literally start with a single smart bulb.

Before long, you may find yourself thinking:

“Why did I always do this by hand?”

What exactly is a smart home?

A smart home consists of devices that can communicate with each other. Examples include:

  • smart lights;
  • thermostats;
  • motion sensors;
  • smart plugs;
  • door and window sensors;
  • smoke detectors;
  • solar panels;
  • smart energy meters;
  • cameras;
  • motorized curtains;
  • ventilation;
  • speakers;
  • robot vacuum cleaners.

Many of these devices are already useful on their own. Things become much more interesting when you let them work together. A motion sensor, for example, can do more than switch on a light. It can also check the time of day.

During the day, nothing happens. In the evening, the light turns on. At night, the same light may come on at only 10% brightness, so you do not become fully awake immediately.

That is the essence of a smart home:

your home responds automatically to what is happening.

Why would you want a smart home at all?

The main reason is very simple:

convenience.

You remove dozens of small actions from your daily routine. That may not sound spectacular until you start using it. You no longer have to walk through the house every evening to turn off the lights.

You do not need to check whether the heating has been lowered. You do not need to check whether the washing machine has finished. You do not have to switch the same devices on and off every day.

Your home can do those things for you.

A simple example

Imagine that you are going to bed in the evening. Normally, you might:

  • turn off the downstairs lights;
  • turn off the television;
  • close the curtains;
  • lower the thermostat;
  • check whether the back door is closed;
  • perhaps switch off another plug.

With a smart home, you could press “Good night” once. The following can then happen automatically:

All lights switch off except the night light in the hallway. The thermostat is set to 17 degrees. Devices that are not needed at night are switched off. You receive a warning if a door is still open.

Better still, you may eventually not even need to press that button. The home can recognize that everyone has gone to bed.

A smart home can save energy

Smart devices are not a miracle cure that suddenly halves your energy bill. Automation can, however, prevent waste.

  • Heating: when nobody is home, the temperature can be lowered automatically.
  • Lighting: lights can switch off automatically when a room has been empty for a while.
  • Standby consumption: devices can be switched off completely at night.
  • Solar panels: you can deliberately start devices when your solar panels are producing plenty of energy, such as a washing machine, water heater, or electric car.
  • Ventilation: ventilation can run faster when humidity rises during a shower.

The interesting part is that you no longer have to think constantly about saving energy. Your home does it for you.

You suddenly gain insight into your home

One of the most enjoyable things about a smart home is that it reveals information that normally remains invisible. How much electricity does your refrigerator actually use? How much energy did your solar panels generate today?

How warm does the bedroom become during the night? How high does the humidity rise while you are showering? How much energy does your home use while you are asleep?

With a few sensors, you can make all of this visible. Once you can measure something, you can often improve it as well.

A smart home can also improve safety

Automation can also help with safety. For example:

  • a notification when a door is opened unexpectedly;
  • lights that switch on automatically when motion is detected;
  • smoke detectors that send an alert to your phone;
  • water leak sensors beneath the washing machine;
  • lights that switch on automatically when you arrive home;
  • making it appear that someone is home while you are away.

A simple water sensor costing only a few tens of euros could prevent a leaking washing machine from going unnoticed for hours. That may be less exciting than colorful smart lights, but it is probably much more useful.

What systems are available?

There are now many systems you can use to build a smart home. They mainly differ in ease of use, available features, and how much freedom they give you.

Google Home

Google Home is primarily designed for simplicity. You can connect lights, speakers, thermostats, and other devices and control them from one app. Voice control is also an important part of the system.

For example, you can say:

“Hey Google, turn off the living-room lights.”

It is easy for beginners to get started. The disadvantage is that more advanced automations can sometimes be limited.

Apple Home

Do you use a lot of Apple devices? Then Apple Home may be an interesting option. You can control devices from, for example:

  • an iPhone;
  • an iPad;
  • an Apple Watch;
  • a HomePod.

Apple places considerable emphasis on privacy and straightforward controls. Its capabilities are more than adequate for an ordinary smart home, although enthusiastic hobbyists often want more eventually.

Amazon Alexa

Alexa works in a similar way to Google Home. The system focuses strongly on voice control and supports an enormous number of smart devices. It is used somewhat less in the Netherlands than Google Home, for example, but technically it offers many possibilities.

Samsung SmartThings

SmartThings is Samsung’s smart-home platform. It supports many different types of devices and can run automations. It can be a logical choice for someone who mainly uses Samsung equipment.

Homey

Homey is a popular system that brings different brands and technologies together. You buy a central Homey hub and connect your devices to it. A major advantage is that Homey is relatively user-friendly while still supporting fairly advanced automations.

You do not need much technical knowledge to use it.

And then there is Home Assistant

For people who eventually want maximum freedom, there is Home Assistant. Home Assistant is an open platform that lets you combine devices from a huge number of different brands. Instead of:

“My Philips lights only work in the Philips app.”

and:

“My thermostat is in yet another app.”

you can bring everything together in one system. For example:

The motion sensor from brand A detects movement. Home Assistant checks the light sensor from brand B. If it is dark enough, it switches on light C—but only if somebody is home. After 11 p.m., the light comes on at 20% rather than 100%.

That may sound more complicated than it needs to be in practice. These days, a great deal can be configured through menus. The best part of Home Assistant is that you can start small and expand almost without limits later.

Do you need to start with Home Assistant immediately?

No. In fact, some people do not need it at all. Do you only want to control three lights and use a smart thermostat?

Google Home, Apple Home, or Homey may be perfectly sufficient. But do you enjoy automation and eventually want different devices to work together properly? Then Home Assistant is certainly worth considering.

Its biggest advantage is that you are much less tied to a single manufacturer.

How do all those devices communicate?

Fortunately, beginners do not need to explore this subject in depth immediately. You will, however, encounter a few names regularly.

Wi-Fi

Many smart devices simply use your Wi-Fi network. That is convenient. Connect the device to your network and you are ready to go.

This works well for a few devices. Once you have dozens of sensors, lights, and switches, other technologies are often more practical.

Zigbee

Zigbee is widely used for:

  • lights;
  • sensors;
  • smart plugs;
  • buttons.

Zigbee devices use very little energy. As a result, a sensor can sometimes run for years on a small battery. Zigbee devices can also form a network together, which can extend their range.

Thread and Matter

Matter is a relatively new standard intended to make it easier for devices from different brands to work together. Thread is a network protocol that is often used with Matter. As a beginner, you do not need to understand every detail immediately.

The basic idea is simple:

devices from different brands should work together more easily.

What do you need to get started?

Much less than you probably think. You could start with:

  • one smart light;
  • one smart plug;
  • one motion sensor.

That is all you need. If you want to begin a little more seriously, you could choose:

  • a system such as Home Assistant, Homey, Google Home, or Apple Home;
  • a few smart lights;
  • several motion sensors;
  • smart plugs;
  • door or window sensors.

That is already enough to automate a surprising number of things.

Above all, do not start with twenty devices at once

This may be the most important tip. Do not immediately buy a box full of smart devices. Start with one problem.

For example:

“I always forget to turn off the light in the shed.”

Fine. Install a motion sensor and a smart light there. Does it work well?

Then solve the next problem. For example:

“The bathroom fan always keeps running for too long.”

Install a humidity sensor. After that, perhaps:

“I want to know how much energy my washing machine uses.”

Install a smart plug with energy monitoring. That way, your system grows naturally with your needs.

Automation is better than remote control

A common mistake is to make a home “smart” by replacing every ordinary switch with an app. But honestly, taking out your phone, opening an app, and tapping a light is usually more effort than simply using a light switch. A good smart home tries to prevent you from needing an app in the first place.

You barely notice the best smart home.

  • You enter a room and the lights turn on.
  • You leave and the lights switch off automatically later.
  • You arrive home and the heating is set correctly.
  • Your solar panels are producing plenty of energy and the washing machine starts automatically.

That is real automation.

What are the disadvantages?

A smart home also has disadvantages. They are often overlooked.

It costs money

A sensor here, a smart plug there… Before long, you may have bought quite a few devices. Fortunately, you can expand slowly.

Not everything works together automatically

Manufacturers use different systems. Before buying anything, check whether the device works with your chosen system.

Your network becomes more important

As your home becomes smarter, a reliable network becomes increasingly important. A poor Wi-Fi connection, for example, can cause frustrating problems.

Software changes

Apps are updated. Manufacturers sometimes discontinue products. Cloud services can disappear.

That is why many enthusiasts eventually choose systems that keep as much as possible running locally inside the home. Home Assistant is particularly strong in this respect.

You can take it too far

This may sound funny, but it really happens. If you spend three hours building an automation so that you never have to press a light switch once a day, you might ask yourself how much time you have actually saved. Automating something because you can is fun.

Automating something because it is useful is even better.

Do you need to be technical?

No. Curiosity does help, though. Many systems are now fairly easy to configure.

You do not need to be a programmer or an electrical engineer. If you can set up a smartphone, you can also start building a smart home. Do you eventually want to create very advanced automations?

You will naturally learn more about networks, sensors, and automation along the way. That is exactly what makes it an enjoyable hobby for many people.

What is a good first automation?

Start with lighting, for example. You need:

  • a smart light;
  • a motion sensor;
  • optionally, a light sensor.

The rule can be very simple:

If motion is detected and it is dark, turn on the light.

Then:

If no motion is detected for five minutes, turn the light off again.

That is all. But it immediately feels as though your home has become a little smarter.

Then it usually becomes addictive

Once one automation works well, you suddenly see opportunities everywhere.

  • “Why does the outdoor light not switch on automatically?”
  • “Could the heating not be lowered when nobody is home?”
  • “Can I receive a notification if the freezer becomes too warm?”
  • “Can the ventilation run faster automatically while I am showering?”
  • “Can I run the washing machine when my solar panels are producing plenty of energy?”

Yes. Probably all of those things. And that is exactly where a smart home becomes interesting.

A smart home does not need to be futuristic

You do not need a home in which a robot voice tells you the weather every morning. A smart home can be very unobtrusive. A home in which:

  • lights are on only when they are needed;
  • heating is controlled automatically;
  • energy consumption becomes visible;
  • devices work together;
  • you receive a warning when something is wrong.

It is not science fiction. It is simply a home that thinks along with you a little better.

Where should you begin?

My advice for a beginner is simple:

start small.

Choose one situation that makes you think:

“That should really be automatic.”

Buy one or two devices for that purpose and try it. Do you enjoy it? Then continue building.

Before long, you will no longer have a collection of smart devices. You will have a home that responds intelligently to what you do. That is ultimately what home automation is about:

technology that takes work off your hands instead of creating extra work.