Setting up a Smart Home seems like a really daunting task, that was initially the case for me too! With no background in Smart Home design and development I went through a lot of reading material, DIY videos, & even spoke to many other self-proclaimed "experts" in the field.
What I realised was that all these so-called "experts" often time didn't really give honest recommendations -- They would either try to push their own expensive and terrible looking proprietary software because they'd spent too much money on it. Or they came up with some cheesy design concept which, frankly, costs more than it should and looks like you bought your house from the bargain section of eBay.
"I set up this smart home business to build a smart home community and provide affordable yet reliable products and services to the practical Singaporean."
Before you even begin building your first smart home, here are some fundamental questions you should ask yourself:
1. What is the objective of the Smart Home?
Is it to provide routines and automation to your daily life? Voice control? Monitoring and security? Because it seems cool? Whatever you Smart Home objective is, there is something for you. Knowing why you want to build a Smart Home will help you prevent scope creep and spending unnecessarily. It is not important to set a Smart Home budget, this is because a smart home will always be scalable, you can start from a handful of devices and progressively build your smart home over several months or years.
2. How much effort should be invested in personalising the Smart Home?
A smart home takes time and effort to get used to. How much time and energy you and your family members are able to invest greatly affects the rate at which you should scale your Smart Home and the types of appliances you should automate initially.
3. What is the biggest concern for the Smart Home?
Some are worried for increased electrical bills, others may be worried about hacking. Your concerns can be easily addressed by the appropriate implementation of smart home technology. It's okay to DIY, but if you are not sure how to protect yourself from external intrusions, it's always good to seek help.
From an infrastructure standpoint, you may want to know if your house is ready to be developed or if some additional changes are required to proceed. Try to find out the following things:
1. Does your house have neutral cabling?
The presence of a neutral wiring cable will require a different design of smart home switches. HDBs and Condos typically do not have neutral cabling, however it is always good to know prior to purchasing smart switches.
2. Does your house have a 2.4GHz wifi network?
Most smart home devices are only compatible with a 2.4GHz network so it is important to verify you have this before proceeding.
3. If your house has Radio Frequency (RF) devices, are they within the correct frequency band?
To integrate RF devices with your smart home, it is important that the frequency is between 315MHz - 433MHz depending on the RF transmitter your plan to acquire. If you are not sure what frequency bands your home appliances operate in, consult your device user manual.
Switch Smart Singapore!
You can learn more about switching smart at www.SwitchSmart.sg
If you're ready to start your Smart Home DIY, these products have already been handpicked for compatibility and seamless integration because we know they work well with each other.
If you think you'll need a little more help, feel free to get in touch with us, we're here to guide you through the conceptualisation and development of your very own Smart Home.