Advances in technology have affected the way we work, communicate, date and play. Now these same advances in wireless connectivity and smartphone ubiquity are helping homeowners to monitor and automate tasks in the house.

Can you imagine using your smartphone to be able to turn your home lights on or off, or monitor your home heating/cooling system? It’s already here and more people are taking advantage of it. From monitoring lights in your house, to raising or lowering window shades, wireless home control networks are playing a big role.

And having remote access to your home systems via smartphone, you can control more of your home environment while on the road for business or pleasure. This has benefits in saving money on air conditioning or heating usage, refrigerator control, lights, shades and more.

Home automation via wireless network controls is a growth industry. Technology market research firm ABI Research estimated in its 2012 Home Automation, Security and Monitoring report that by 2017, 90 million homes worldwide will use automation systems. That’s a solid 60 percent growth during the next five years.

ABI suggested smartphone applications are the key drivers in letting homeowners control and check their homes from wherever they are. And that’s helping to drive down costs for connectivity options via monthly subscriber offerings rather than traditional high costs of large up-front installation and equipment purchase.

Getting Started

For most folks, the first step into a smart home (home automation) technologies is to create a wireless control network that controls simple devices such as lights or blinds. To get started in creating a home wireless control system, two popular protocols exist for home automation control. One is ZigBee and the other is Z-Wave.

These wireless protocols are low-power, short-range wireless systems that incorporate mesh networking to enable coverage throughout the home. Plus, these networks don’t interfere with more common Bluetooth or Wi-Fi wireless networks you may already have in the home.

Here are some of the ways wireless control networks are already automating your home’s basic functions with technology. These systems are being integrated in new homes and homeowners are looking to upgrade in older models.

Wireless Home Security

If you’re a homeowner that works away from home, you know the value of a good home security system. For years, traditional home systems were wired to a phone landline and monitoring stations, and that has led to products like intruder alarms, door access control systems and outdoor surveillance cameras tied to closed circuit security systems.

The rise in cellular technology and smartphone usage is bringing newer home security systems tied to cell signals and Internet access to the masses. These wireless systems work even in the event of a power outage, downed Internet access or even when phone lines are cut. Affordable and easy to install, wireless systems are highly recommended to anyone who wants to avoid installing equipment into walls or forgo complicated wiring without compromising security.

One company, LifeShield (www.lifeshield.com), offers a Web and mobile app called LifeView that gives homeowners real-time access to home security systems, and it’s accessible to users through their smartphones, tablets or PCs, at no extra charge. Having this accessibility to your home security system while on the go will likely be a huge boom to homeowners in the coming years.

Kitchen Food Needs

RFID (radio frequency identification) technology via home automation systems is becoming more of a useful tool to identify refrigerator contents, control your ovens, coffee makers and other appliances.

Use your smartphone in connection with a home automation system to manage perishables and leftovers to better reduce spoilage, leave a digital note on your fridge door’s LCD screen, or stream a saved episode of a cooking program to your refrigerator door video screen while you cook.

You can also program and synchronize clocks and schedules, download new recipes from the Internet, and get text or email notifications when certain cooked foods or your coffee is ready!

Household Appliances

With a wireless control network set up, homeowners can work remotely with household appliances like washers and dryers in new tech ways. You can download new wash-cycle programs from the cloud; go online to check the status of your laundry, and if the event of any malfunctions, automatically notify the manufacturer or a repairman using your smartphone.

Heating & Cooling Systems

This may be one of the more crucial advantages to having remote access to your home. You can remotely program your temperature settings in the home while you’re away. This is super important if you’re leaving town for a few days and don’t have to keep the home cool or warm for pets. You can remotely set the temps to keep costs low and reset for when you’re returning from an extended trip.

Lighting & Blinds

In autumn and winter, the sun sets earlier and nights start sooner. It’s time to readjust your network lighting controls to turn lights on or off earlier. You can also set a schedule to open and close your window shades to keep potential burglars guessing if you’re at home or not. Plus, you can reduce money on heating and cooling bills by remotely letting in sunlight to give warmth, or keep shades down in the hot summer to control the cool air within.

Recently, the former CEO of CEDIA (Customer Electronic Design & Installation Association) is starting a new company that looks into the future and finds a business model that hopes to build a cloud-based home automation service and sell ads to subscribers that might include the subscriber’s choice of TV stations, home temperature settings, arrivals and departures and more.

Whatever way you look, the future keeps getting more tech advanced for home automation needs. No longer will you have to return home in the car because you forgot to lock the door. There’ll be an app for that.

After getting her Computer Science degree in NorCal, Alana Bender’s interest in writing about technology took over & she started freelancing for various blogs & publications. Alana loves the beach & Apple products.

Like what you read?

If so, please join over 28,000 people who receive our exclusive weekly newsletter and computer tips, and get FREE COPIES of 5 eBooks we created, as our gift to you for subscribing. Just enter your name and email below: