Are you ready to automate your home? If so, you’re likely doing so for one of three factors: fear, fun, or function. At least that’s what research firm Argus Insights surmises from information gathered in a recent study of consumer attitudes toward home technology. “We see smart home adoption being driven by three factors: fear, fun, and function,” says John Feland, CEO of Argus Insights. “For service providers, the fear factor drives home security as the key reason to purchase and use. DIY consumers, on the other hand, blend function and fear, with climate control typically being the gateway to the smart home experience.”

So whether it’s fear that’s causing you to think about adding technology to your home, or function or fun, here are some recommended systems for reason:

FEAR FACTOR

Security System: Naturally, this is the most practical place to start if you’re concerned about the safety of your home and family. You’ll want a system that can be monitored and controlled remotely (most support this capability) by you and a professional monitoring service, is easy to use for every member of the family, and is compatible with other types of home technology systems, like lighting control systems and heating and cooling systems.

Electronic Door Lock: Requiring no keys, these locks are particularly helpful to parents of latchkey kids. The door can be opened by punching in a secret passcode, which you set up and can change at any time. You can receive a ping on your smartphone when the lock is disengaged so that you know the second your kids are home from school. And if they forget to lock the house back up, you can handle it right from a smartphone app.

Surveillance Camera: Seeing is believing, and there’s no better way to keep tabs on the happenings in and around your house than with an Internet-connected surveillance camera. Look for one with an integrated motion sensor and microphone. The motion sensor tells the camera to snap and send a picture to your smartphone; the microphone lets you speak with whoever triggered the motion sensor.

FUN FACTOR

Whole-House Entertainment System: Having a killer sound system and video setup in a single area of your house is one thing—being able to spread all of that wonderful entertainment content to several rooms of your house is quite another. Choose a system that supports the number of entertainment areas you envision and the number of components you own or plan to own (plus leaves growing room for additional rooms and components). Also, keep in mind that some systems require the additional of low-voltage wiring, while others distribute signals wirelessly—plan accordingly.

Home Theater: Owning a home theater is the ultimate in high-tech fun, but it’s not just the stellar video and audio that makes a home theater a delightful addition to your home. The process of designing one can actually be fun, too. In addition to a video projector, screen and surround-sound system, you can incorporate motion simulators underneath the seats, twinkling fiber optic stars on the ceiling, and illuminated marquees, and unique touches.

Integrated Home Control: The beauty of a home control system is its ability to make individual technologies perform in unison. While this feature in and of itself might not be what most would consider fun, it definitely inspires fun by enabling you to prepare your house at the touch of a button for an impromptu gathering of friends, an elaborate dinner party, a birthday celebration, the Super Bowl, the holidays … really any occasion you can think of. In an instant, the lights, the music, the temperature, and the TVs are ready for whatever fun-filled activity you have planned.

FUNCTION

Networking System: There are two types of networking systems: hardwired and wireless, and each contribute largely to functionality of the technologies you’ve chosen to add to your home, be it a whole-house entertainment system or a security system. Commands issued to smart home systems from smartphones, tablets, keypads, touch panels, handheld remotes, and other devices need to reach their intended destinations with no hiccups during travel, and the only way to ensure that this happens is with a robust, reliable home network.

Lighting and Shading Controls: Often deemed the cornerstones of a smart house, being able to conveniently control lights and motorized windows shades makes your home so much easier to manage, not to mention helps save electricity and enhances comfort. Like most smart home systems, lighting control systems and motorized shading come in both hardwired and wireless varieties, and can focus on one room or the entire house. Our advice: choose a system that’s affordable and easy to install into your home, yet can be expanded and updated when you’re ready.

Smart Thermostat: Everyone wants to feel comfortable at home, and this boils down to the thermostat on the wall. It determines how and when your home’s HVAC unit operates, and if that thermostat is difficult to deal with … well, your HVAC will probably have a difficult time delivering the perfect indoor climate. Swapping your old dumb thermostat for a new smart one is an easy, affordable update that makes your HVAC system function efficiently without sacrificing any of your comfort. Today’s thermostats are being designed with all sorts of cool features, like the ability to learn your heating and cooling habits, report weather conditions, control air cleaners and ventilation systems, and more, so investigate thoroughly before choosing one for your house.

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The ability to turn lights on and off from a keypad, controller, or smartphone may not sound all that essential. Once you have that type of system though, it’s downright addictive. Attaching technology to everyday tasks can turn the mundane into something super-cool. After all, a smart lighting system is convenient, energy-efficient, and kind of awesome.

Forget running around the house to flip switches or worrying about whether or not the lights were left on for the entire weekend. Smart lighting puts all of the control into your palm, whether you’re sitting on the couch or on a beach a thousand miles away. It can even create the ultimate atmosphere for a party, a movie night, or just a quiet dinner for two.

However, one of our favorite things about smart lighting is how well it plays with other devices in the smart home. Still considering a smart lighting system? Check out five ways you can tie lighting into other areas of your Electronic House.

Motion Sensors. In the Electronic House, sensors are everywhere—and so many of them can be integrated with a smart lighting system. For instance, you can set lights to turn on when a motion sensor is triggered. This won’t just alert you to potential intruders, but can also turn on lights when you pull into a dark driveway. You can even tie those lights into motion detectors, so a pathway will illuminate as you walk from the driveway to the front door. This option would be great for parties, guiding guests to entryways and gathering areas. If you’re worried about having too many lights on at once, consider installing an occupancy sensor, which will turn lights on and off based on whether or not someone is in the room.

Home Theater. Of course, all of the best home theater action occurs in the dark. However, you can create the ultimate movie experience by tying lighting into your living room, media room, or dedicated home theater equipment. One button can close automated curtains and shades, crank up the receiver and Blu-ray player, and dim lights. That same button can even trigger pathway lighting so users can get to the snack bar or restroom without causing a stir. Then when you go to shut down the system, one button can pull up lights alerting guests to exits, the bar, or a gaming area.

Smoke Detectors. Smoke detectors are a must-have in every house. If you want to add a bit of tech into that essential item, consider tying those detectors into your smart lighting setup. Of course, we’re used to getting an audible alert when there’s an emergency, but lighting can deliver a visual cue as well. The system can be set up to flash lights or even illuminate a safe pathway from the bedrooms to the front door.

Door Locks. Who goes there? If you’re worried about home security, consider integrating lighting with those smart door locks. For some, this may seem like a no-brainer. Having the two tied together can turn on the lights whenever you unlock the door, so you never have to enter a dark home. More importantly, it can alert you to when someone else enters the home. When combined, you can set the lighting system to flash or maybe even change colors when someone steps into the foyer. Either way, this combination can make sure you know when someone is coming and going, as well as when.

Smartphones. We’re used to smart lighting having an app component for remote control. Believe it or not though, some smart lighting systems can actually sense when you (and your phone) are on your way home, and will react accordingly by turning the lights on or off. This type of automation is achieved by tying your lighting system into your phone’s geofencing features. Geofencing taps into the phone’s GPS system, in order to alert your lighting system when you’re in the area. In order for it to work, you need to make sure you actually have your phone on you. Leaving it at home or at the office isn’t going to be much of a help. However, if you are addicted to carrying that phone, you may never have to enter into a dark driveway or doorway—all without programming, scheduling, or actually touching any buttons.

Crestron has a deserved reputation for reliability, compatibility and being one of the most complete smart home systems available. Filmmaker Andrew Lucas documents a Chelsie space renovated to create a simulacrum of a home environment and demonstrate how Crestron can fit into each and every room of a residence.

For well over 100 years, the telephone was the primary means of communication in our lives – first at home and then on the go. Today, the Internet is the backbone of communications, enabling us to talk, text, email, video chat, stream or download all forms of media and access information anywhere, anytime.

A home network facilitates communication between PCs, tablets, TVs, smartphones and countless other devices so we can share information, stream audio and video into our spaces, provide automation and control of our home and much more. The network provides a gateway to the Internet as well, allowing us to stay connected with family, friends and colleagues, access streaming services like Netflix and monitor or control the growing number of Internet-enabled household features and devices.

Building a Digital Foundation

“The network is the digital foundation of the home,” says Ken Briggs, Sr. Systems Designer of Gainesville, Fl. based integration firm, Electronics World. “Like a physical foundation, if it is weak in any way so are all the electronics that sit on it. The home network is the primary subsystem in a home automation system.”

Briggs advises homeowners who are planning for a multi-room audio/video or home-automation project to think of the network as an infrastructure investment like electric or plumbing.

The Crossroads of Communication

Why is the network so important? “Most A/V and home-automation products these days are IP-driven,” explains Justin Paden, Installation Technician for Electronics World. An average home can easily have 25 or more devices connected to the network simultaneously, he says. TVs, Blu-ray players, media streamers, A/V receivers, Xbox and appliances, wireless music systems and more each get their own IP address on the network.

“All of those devices are talking with each other on a regular basis, grabbing information from the web and sharing information with each other 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Briggs says. “It’s an information engine.”

Robust Hardware and Expertise Required

Briggs says homeowners who are investing in home automation often mistakenly believe that the demands of a modern home-automation system can be met with common hardware you can buy at a typical big-box store.

“Standard devices, such as inexpensive routers, are not prepared to service their home and do not offer the tools to solve bandwidth allocation problems” – tools that provide remote access to the system so the integrator can troubleshoot and often fix problems, avoiding costly service calls. The bottom line: You need an experienced installation technician who knows how to assemble a robust network – one built with the same “enterprise” hardware businesses use.

Take Wi-Fi, which has become ubiquitous in our lives. “Your wireless is only as good as the routing and switching,” Briggs says. “Without a good router and a good switch, it’s not going to do the job.”

Factor in the growing trend of using Smart Phones and iPads (tablets) to control home entertainment, lighting, temperature and you-name-it, and the network becomes even more critical. “If you use basic, off-the-shelf wireless boosters in a large home, you’ll drop off one and have to disconnect and reconnect to another if you’re walking around with an iPad,” Briggs says. By contrast, a properly-built network will see that the signal is getting low on one access point and jump seamlessly to the next one.

The Future

As we look ahead, the home network becomes even more important. “It’s really the future of entertainment,” Briggs says. “We have more and more cloud services at our disposal, and the cloud is absolutely dependent on your home being connected to the Internet. Whether it’s an iPad streaming music from Pandora or Netflix on your television, it is all being delivered by your network. The ISP gets it to the pole and to your modem but after the modem it’s up to the homeowner to build an engine to move that information around the house.”

Advice

The best advice for homeowners, when you’re ready to move forward with your home networking project be sure to consult a professional to design a scalable home network built for today’s needs and your needs for the future. “It’s no longer good enough to install some cat5 cable to a router with a robust antenna, that was okay in 2007” Briggs continues, “In 2016 there’s on average 20 plus devices pulling bandwidth from a home network at any given point in time of the day along with portable wireless devices roaming the entire landscape of the home.” Whether building new or retrofitting an existing home seeking the advice of a professional is recommended to ensure all of your devices will work seamlessly across your network regardless of their type.