Home Automation / Media in Eastleigh (3)

Home automation is the term used to describe systems of electronic devices in your home, which are connected to the internet and can be controlled automatically. Very often they’re linked to voice-operated systems, like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri or Google Assistant.

A smart home system installation can include a range of different devices that connect to achieve effective home automation. Some of the most popular smart home systems in the UK include smart thermostats that control your home’s heating, automated home security, and smart lighting.

The joy of home automation is that it makes your life easier, can save you money on your energy bills, and even improves your home’s security. But how does it work…?

How does a smart home system installation work?

The majority of home automation devices are connected via WiFi or Bluetooth and are controlled either by a dedicated app or a voice assistant, like Alexa or Google Assistant.

There are typically three levels of home automation:

1. Monitoring – which lets you check on your devices remotely, such as watching your home security camera live feed

2. Control – allows you to control your devices remotely, such as turning your heating on using your phone when you’re on your way home

3. Automation – this is when one device is set up to automatically interact with another device, such as setting your lights to turn on when a motion sensor detects that you’ve entered in the house

The exact specification of the smart home system installation will depend on the needs of you and your home. And the great thing about smart homes is that they can be tailored to do exactly what you want them to do.

Sounds like a handy upgrade for your home? Find local smart home installation companies with our quick and easy online search and turn your home into a smart home.

Pros and cons of home automation

To help you decide if you need to get on the phone and book a local smart home installation service, here are some of the pros and cons of home automation for you to consider…

Pros

• You have remote access to control your home devices from anywhere, at any time

• Save energy (and money) by using smart systems to control your home’s heating in the most efficient way

• It’s super convenient to be able to control your home with simply your voice

• Smart homes can provide increased security and peace of mind for your home

• You’ll never have to worry about whether you left the lights or heating on again

Cons

• It can be expensive to carry out the initial smart home system installation – smart products, such as light bulbs and thermostats, are generally more expensive than the non-automated versions

• As with any device connected to the internet, there is a risk of them being hacked

• New technology often encounters technical bugs and can sometimes need troubleshooting to fix them – depending on the make and model of the device

Finding the right home automation for you is important. After all, you want your smart home to make your life easier, which means it needs to fit around your wants and needs.

Below are some of the most popular smart home system installations in the UK that you might want to consider.

Smart thermostat

With the likes of Nest, Hive and Tado becoming household names, it’s estimated that over 1.5 million homes in the UK already use smart thermostats. With the ability to control your heating system from the palm of your hand, smart thermostats help you use less energy, spend less on energy bills, and have complete control over the temperature of your home.

Smart lighting

Being able to control your lighting remotely means no more wanted energy when you accidentally leave the lights on when you go out. Instead, you can turn them off with a tap of your smartphone. And setting up automated times for lights to turn on and off can help improve your home’s security.

Smart security

Products such as Ring’s smart doorbells, live video streams and smart locks offer some of the most convenient modern security for your home. You’ll know exactly what’s going on in and around your home wherever you go. And no more having to leave a key under the plant pot, you can simply unlock your doors remotely to let visitors in when you’re not home.

Find the best smart home installation companies

If you’re ready to make your home a smart home, we can help you find the best smart home installation companies near you. Use our quick and easy online search to find and contact home automation installers in your area. Or request a quote and we’ll do the legwork for you by reaching out to recommended smart home installers in Eastleigh.

The way to set up home automation depends massively on which smart home systems you’re planning to introduce in your home, and the extent of those systems. For example, if you’re just opting for a smart thermostat then often it can be done quickly and easily – either by hiring an engineer or doing it yourself.

On the other hand, if you want a fully integrated smart home system installation with extensive home automation that includes heating, lighting, security, locks and anything else you can automate – that’s going to require much more detailed knowledge and expertise to set up the system correctly.

As a first step, we always recommend speaking to local smart home installation companies to get their professional advice and to find out what the options are. From there you can decide what home automation you want or need, and start planning your personalised smart home system.

How to find the best smart home installation companies

When it comes to home automation, you want to make sure you’re hiring one of the best smart home installation companies – particularly if it involves smart security for your home.

Here are some of our top tips for hiring a smart home installer:

• When looking at the options, choose a qualified smart home installer who trained and/or is accredited by a recognised organisation, such as CEDIA.

• Always check their customer reviews and ratings, like on their Checkatrade profile to see what level of service they offer.

• Get in touch and ask for a free quote for the work, most reputable smart home installation companies will be happy to offer this service to local customers

• Check that they have the necessary professional insurance to cover the work they’ll be doing in your home, including public and third party liability insurance.

• Ask for references of previous customers that you can speak to, and get in touch with them to find out the standard of their smart home installation service.

Hire a local smart home installation service

Our handy request a quote feature makes it super easy to get multiple quotes from local smart home installation companies. We’ll do the legwork and the tradespeople will get in touch with you directly. Try it now - it’s quick and easy!

The average home automation system cost depends massively on the type of smart home system(s) you want to install, as well as other key factors. Below you’ll see we’ve put together the average cost of home automation for the most popular smart home systems in the UK.

Smart lighting costs

The overall cost of smart lighting depends on the size of your home and the number of lights you’ll need to fit with smart bulbs. Here are some of the prices you can expect to pay:

• Smart bulbs – £7 - £50 per bulb

• Smart hub – £20 - £90 per unit

• Dimmer switch – £20 - £60 per unit

• Smart lighting for the whole house – £3,000 - £10,000+

If you need to hire an electrician to carry out work on the lighting for your home automation system the cost will be around £35 - £45 per hour.

Smart thermostat costs

One of the biggest factors that affects the cost of a smart thermostat is the make and model that you choose. Here are some of the most common smart thermostat options and the average prices:

• Tado installation – £50

• Tado unit – £120

• Hive (materials and installation) – £175 - £300

• Nest (unit only) – £190 - £205

• Wave (unit only) – £180

• Ecobee (unit only) – £130 - £200

• Honeywell (unit only) – £135 - £210

To find out more about smart thermostat costs, check out our guides to Hive installation costs and Tado installation costs.

Smart lock costs

Smart locks can be an extremely useful upgrade to your home’s security system, and the cost of smart locks varies depending on the type and quantity of locks that you need in your home.

Here are some average prices for smart locks in the UK:

• Smart door lock installed (Yale) – £200

• Smart basic door keypad lock (no labour) – £63

• Smart Keypad (Nest X Yale lock with Nest Connect) – £185

• Smart RFID door lock – £95

• Smart Bluetooth door lock – £125

• Smart WIFI door lock – £185

• Smart Biometric door lock – £210

• Smart Z Wave door lock – £230

Want to know more about smart home system costs?

Your local smart home installers will be more than happy to discuss your smart home project, offer advice and provide accurate quotes for the work. Use our super useful request a quote feature and we’ll contact multiple local tradespeople for you to get them to contact you directly.

As you can imagine, the average home automation system cost can vary massively, depending on a number of factors. To give you an idea of prices, here are some example costs of home automation:

• Heating and lighting controls in one room – £400 - £800

• Simple smart home with lighting, heating and security controls – £5,000 - £10,000

• Mid-level smart home, with additional door access and intercom controls – £8,000 - £15,000

• Advanced/custom smart home with multi-room audio for larger homes – £20,000 - £150,000

Factors affecting a smart home cost

There are a number of factors that will affect the total price you pay for your smart home system, including:

• Size of your home

• Type of smart home systems you install

• Quantity and quality of devices used

• Complexity of the installation

• Number of tradespeople needed to complete the job

• Time taken to complete the job

Because of the wide range of options available for smart home installations, we recommend speaking to home automation experts in Eastleigh to discuss the details of what you want for your smart home. By understanding the specification of what you need, you can then plan a budget for the project.

Quotes for home automation costs

To get accurate costs for your home automation system, it’s always sensible to contact local smart home installers to discuss the details and specification of your project. And, as with all home improvement projects, we always recommend obtaining at least three quotes from different tradespeople in your area.

By shopping around you can make sure you're paying a fair and competitive price for the work. And, thankfully, we've got a tool that makes finding multiple quotes super easy. Our request a quote tool is perfect for getting quotes: you post details about the work you need doing and we’ll send it out to local tradespeople in your area. Try it out – it's quick and easy!