Home automation is pretty awesome when you start digging into the details. For example, did you know that it is possible to control devices in multiple homes from either one? Not every hub is capable of multi-home control, but many are. Even smart speakers like Amazon’s Echo are capable of multi-location control.
Just stop and think of the implications of that for a minute. Let us say that you are a snowbird. You spend the majority of your time up north but spend winters in the South. Equip both homes with smart devices and Amazon Echo smart speakers and you will be able to control everything in both homes from either one.
Two Hubs, One Router
The secret to making multi-location control possible is your router. You have routers at both homes, but you only use one for home automation control. You also have two hubs; one in each home. With the right equipment, all you have to do is set up the system so that everything talks to the hubs through a single router.
Let’s say you begin the process in your northern home. You hook up your smart speaker, which has a hub built in to it, and then connect your smart thermostat, lights, electrical outlets, etc. A simple voice command will turn the lights on or off or adjust the thermostat.
Once you make it to your southern home for the winter, set up your second smart speaker just like you did your first. However, do not run it through the local router there. Instead, it should connect to your router up north. If you don’t do it this way you will not be able to control your smart devices in both directions.
After setting up your second smart speaker, you can add all of the devices for your southern home. There is one more catch: the time zone on your southern smart speaker has to match the northern time zone or the whole system goes haywire.
Lights, Camera, Action
A system set up correctly becomes seamless regardless of the house you happen to be in. Comfortably ensconced at the southern command, you can use your smart speaker to turn on the living room lights up north. You can turn surveillance cameras on or off, change their positions, and so forth.
Next summer you will be enjoying your northern home. Your home in the south will not be so far away thanks to multi-location control. For example, a hurricane might blow through in late August. Check your southern property’s cameras from your smartphone or laptop. If you are concerned there might be damage to the inside of your home, flip on the lights and take a look through one of the interior cameras.
Everything at Your Fingertips
Multi-location control is just one of the many benefits of modern home automation, explain the people at Vivint SmartHome. They say the modern smart home is safer, more energy-efficient, and more convenient to live in. From turning lights on and off remotely to managing smart blackout shades, smart home technology can do a lot.
The best part of it all is that you have ultimate control at your fingertips. That means you have control whether you are home or not. Imagine heading home from work in the dead of winter. It is dark, so you know you will arrive home to a dark driveway and front porch. Unless, of course, you have smart lighting with remote access.
Smart lighting will allow you to use your phone to turn on lights in advance of your arrival. Just bring up your home automation app and use it to turn on the porch light. If you’d like, you can turn on the entryway and kitchen lights as well.
If your system has geolocation capabilities, you might not even need to do that much. Geolocation uses your phone’s built-in GPS to track your location so that, as your car approaches the house, the lights turn on automatically.
There is a lot you can do with today’s smart home technology. If you are tech savvy, you can create a system that allows you to control multiple locations from either one, using a single router. Simply amazing.
