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Preparing Your Smart Home for the Coming Winter

Winter means a lot of different things to us. For some, it means hot chocolate by the fireplace; for others, it is creating snow angels out in the lawn. Some of us think about family getting together for the holidays, and some us cannot think about anything else except the Christmas gifts! Whatever winter may mean to you, but there is one thing in common, and that is the cold and unforgiving winds. Even those who love to be outdoors are driven inside the house to escape from these freezing winds. Considering that home is the only escape in such case, it is essential to prepare your homes for the coming of winter. So that you have the perfect escape from the cold and freezing winds as and when you need it. Just like stocking up on hot chocolate and making sure that your room heater is in working condition, it is also necessary to check if your window coverings are good enough to hold against the cold winds. Smart shades are a great way to ensure that the chilly winds do not seep in through the sides and corners of the window, and they also help out in a lot of other ways.

Make the most of the sun Winter automatically means shorter days and longer nights. Getting some natural light and warmth from the sun becomes a bleak option. Especially when we go out to work, you tend to keep all the windows and window shades shut. With smart shades, you have the option to program it with timers so that the windows treatments will automatically open during the noon when the sunlight is maximum. At the same time, it will automatically close down by 5 P.M. so that when you get back home, the room is kept warm and comfortable. Automatic window treatments are a great way to maintain the ambiance of the house and make the most of the sunlight during the winters.

Well-lit porch and outdoors with motion sensors Another unavoidable feature of the winter season is the darkness. For the better part of most of the day, it remains dark. Hence for the safety and security of the house, it is better to keep the outdoors and porch well-lit. Smart light comes with motion sensors that light up only when there is someone at your door and turn off when there is no motion detected. Hence, it helps in saving up a lot of money on electricity bills and saves a lot of energy. Smart lights can be integrated with the smart home automation hub, just like the intelligent window shades and blinds. So you can program the shades in such a way that when the lights go on, the window shades open as well so that you can take a peek at the person at your door before opening it for them.

Maintain the internal ambiance with a smart thermostat Keeping the indoors of the house warm during the winters is done by the room heater. However, turning on the heaters all the time is a waste of energy and lead up to higher bill amounts. Having the room heater integrated with a smart thermostat that can be programmed to turn off and turn on can save up a lot of energy and electricity bills. As mentioned above, making the most of the natural light and warmth from the sun can be done using smart window shades. The intelligent thermostat can be programmed to turn off when the shades open up as the heating system is a waste when the window shades are open. This way, the indoors can be refreshed with some fresh air, light and warmth. Automatically, it is understood that thermostats must be on when the curtains come down. Also, the heater should be on so that the room is perfectly warm and cozy when you get back home from work.

Smart shades that come with smart sensors Today, automatic shades are a lot quicker than just operating over voice commands and open/ close based on timers. They come with powerful sensors that keep detecting any changes to the internal ambiance. If it detects any adverse changes to the indoor environment, it immediately sends warning to your smartphone. Even though the room is heating and there is a sudden drop in temperature, these sensors will act up and send a message to your phone to turn up the heater. You can also program the smart thermostat to adjust itself accordingly to maintain the optimum temperature within the room.

Smart cellular shades that can trap the cold winter winds There is a wide range of motorized shades that are very versatile and highly functional. However, if there is a type of window treatment that beats everything else, especially during the winter, then it should be the cellular shades or honeycomb shades. Honeycomb shades are constructed in such a way that all the external light and breeze gets trapped in the honeycomb-shaped pockets on the shades. This way, no amount of external forces can affect the ambiance inside the house. Smart cellular shades come with temperature sensors so that when there is a drop in the temperature, the shades come down automatically, keeping the cold winds away from the interiors of the house. Similarly, when they sense a rise in the temperature within the house, they open up to let some fresh air inside the home. They can also be programmed with specific timings so that they open and close based on the specified times.

Conclusion A smart home is made up of a range of smart devices and gadgets that can be programmed to operate in a particular way, without needing any interference from us. This makes things much more comfortable and convenient for us. These are just a few smart devices and gadgets that can help us out, especially during the winters. So, you can associate winter with everything pleasant instead of the harsh cold winds that practically freezes our minds!

#smartshades #alexasmartblinds #googlehome #home improvement

Simple Hacks to Make the Most of Your Smart Window Treatments

Smart window treatments have been turning things around and making things better lately. There are a lot of actions that a smart window shade can perform, with the least amount of intervention from us. However, like most of the smart gadgets and devices, smart window shades and blinds too can be used a lot better than it is actually being used now. The trick lies in understanding all of the capabilities and advantages of the smart shades and finding simple hacks to make the most of them. You must also know what smart shades are, how they work and why they are better than the traditional window shades and blinds.

Basics of smart window coverings

Traditionally, window shades, blinds and curtains are operated physically. Be it for opening or closing the shades, one needs to walk up to the windows and pull open the curtains in order to let some light in. This was then followed by strings and cords which were pulled accordingly based on the position you want the window shades to be in. Motorization was the first greatest advancement of window shades and blinds. Instead of walking up to the windows to operate them, motorization allowed us to operate the shades and blinds with the click of a button using remote control system.

Automation is the combination of motorization of the window shades and blinds with the Internet of Things (IoT) where window treatments too could be integrated into an automation system that was on the same Wi-Fi network. This way, the shades could be operated using simple voice commands like “open” and “close”. We need not leave our seat or search for the remote controls to operate the shades and blinds anymore. This is how the smart window shades came into being.

Integrate the window treatments throughout the house into the automation system

Moving on the simple hacks to make the most out of the smart shades, the first and foremost would be integrate all the blinds and shades of your home into the smart home system. Being able to open or close all the window shades and blinds throughout the house with a single command from your bed, almost feels like a superpower. What would otherwise have taken the better part of half of your morning can now be done in a matter of seconds, without your interference either. When you wake up after your 5 minutes of snooze time, you will be greeted by bright sunlight streaming into your home and filling you with freshness.

Name each and every window shade distinctively while integrating them into the smart home hub

While integrating the shades and blinds all over the house into the smart home automation system, you will have the advantage of operating them all at the same time. That could be a great advantage at times when you need it. At other times when you want to single out a shade or blind in a particular room and operate them, it would be easier when they are named distinctively during the integration process. You will have the chance to name the product when you are integrating them into the smart home automation hub. At this stage, you could give simple and particular names like “bedroom shades 1”, “kitchen shades”, “bathroom blinds”, etc. differentiate between the smart window coverings using words and numbers so that it is easier to handle them one at a time too. This doesn’t mean you cannot handle all the window shades at a time. You can do that too with commands like, “close all shades”.

Use timers so that the shades work automatically at the programmed timings

What is better than having your window shades listen to your commands and act accordingly? It is having your window shades and blinds operate on their own, even without any command from you! That is how smart the smart window coverings are, but it is up to you to understand and use this feature properly.

There is an option to program the smart shades with timers. It is a onetime thing and then, your window shades and blinds will act accordingly until you re- program them. For example, you could program the shades to open automatically at 7 A.M. and close at 8 P.M. and so on. This feature also helps secure your home when you are out of town as the automatic movement of your shades will promote a sense of occupancy and steer away any burglars and thieves.

Create simple routines on your smart home hub to get most of your work done

There are amazing options to create routines on your smart home hub where you specify a set of actions for a single command. For example, when you wake up, you say “good morning” to your smart home hub and automatically, the window shades in your living room and kitchen slide open, your home alarm system is turned off, outdoor porch lights are turned off, the coffee pot turns on and the oven goes on pre- heat, while your smart speaker recites about the weather and the latest news. All of these actions getting done when you are still in your bed is the epitome of comfort and convenience.

Smart shades can be both interior as well as exterior

Interior smart shades and blinds make the interiors of the house look very luxurious and sophisticated. But sometimes they could seem too distracting and look like a hassle. As far as smart automated shades are concerned, they can be mounted on the outside of the windows too and yet work the same magic. Exterior smart shades make the interiors look more spacious and they also add a lot of aesthetic value to the outdoors of your home. As far as operation of these shades are concerned, they work the same, over simple voice commands or timers.

Exterior smart solar shades are known to be a great addition to any household as they are able to block the harmful UV rays from the sun and keep them from harming the people or décor inside the house. They also tone down the harshness of the sunlight, filling the interiors with a soft glow of light. They can provide complete privacy when they are closed and yet, keep the view from the windows intact.

These are just the few smart ways to make the most of your smart window shades and blinds. There are still a lot of advancements going on in this field and staying up to date on these could help us out a lot.

#smartwindowtreatments #googlehomeblinds #alexasmartblinds #automatedblinds