How to Set Up a Smart Home, Step by Step

Created

9/9/2021

Did I turn off the lights in the living room? Did I lock the front door? Did I turn off the heat in all the rooms? A smart home helps us answer these everyday questions. With it, we have everything under control. All I have to do is look at my phone’s screen.

Few people remain untouched by smart devices—whether they’re cell phones, lighting fixtures, or security systems. But how do you connect them all into a single system? And can they communicate with each other? Yes. In a smart home, dreams become reality. But how do you set up a smart home? We’ve put together a detailed guide for you.

Let Go of Your Prejudices

We often find that people think setting up a smart home requires laborious cable installation, changing the layout, and other complicated modifications. The opposite is true. Modern technology makes it much easier.

The foundation is a unified network to which individual devices are connected. These devices communicate effectively with one another, forming a controllable system. We can then control all of these devices using a smart device. How can you get started on the right path to creating a smart home?

Start with the basics

Decide what you want to control—is lighting enough for you? Or do you also want security features? There’s a wide range of options. Take a moment to stop and write down your priorities.

Compare the different systems—there are a number of smart systems on the market, ranging from Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa to our Immax NEO. If you want to control everything together, the Tuya platform is the ideal choice for you.

Purchase your first products—start connecting them to the system one by one. We recommend starting with lighting and security cameras.

Start exploring their endless functionality—and, above all, automation

Smart Home Award

Investing in a smart home can vary widely. For some, controlling the lights with a cell phone is enough, while others dive headfirst into the technology and fill their homes with a host of smart devices, including heating, garage doors, blinds, air conditioning, refrigerators, and much more.

For more complex systems, the price can run into the hundreds of thousands of crowns. Immax NEO offers significant savings when building a smart home. For a few tens of thousands of crowns, you get a comprehensive smart home solution.

Smart Single-Purpose Kits

Single-purpose kits are only a short-term solution and cannot be expanded later. As the name suggests, these are devices that perform only one function. If you purchase a smart air conditioner, for example, you can easily control it using the corresponding mobile app.

But what if we decide to add more devices later? Connecting them to the air conditioning system is out of the question, so we’ll have to buy everything all over again. In this regard, we need to find a more comprehensive solution.

Comprehensive Solutions

A mobile app with the right cloud platform—one capable of connecting individual devices into a single, controllable system—is becoming the heart of the smart home. But what should you watch out for? A smart app should be able to control devices that communicate via different systems. The most common of these are Bluetooth, ZigBee, and Wi-Fi.

ZigBee

This is the most advanced technology in the field of smart home communication. The goal of this wireless system is to connect all devices in the home while keeping energy consumption low. To do this, it uses a unified language, the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol. The individual devices then exchange information with one another. Everything is controlled by a central unit.

The Benefits of ZigBee Technology in Our Previous Article.

WiFi

A Wi-Fi network also plays an indispensable role in a smart home. It provides a strong enough signal to support even the most demanding devices. Unlike Zigbee and Z-Wave, however, it requires a central router to function and is dependent on it—not only in terms of operation but also in terms of its effective range.

Go to the advanced settings

Interconnectivity is a fundamental feature of a smart home. The current range of smart devices is very broad, and different manufacturers use different systems for communication. As a result, you can never be sure that the product you have your eye on will be compatible with your existing setup.

The Tuya platform was developed for these purposes. This specially designed chip makes it possible to integrate devices into a single, controllable unit. Today, it is used by more than 500 types of smart devices from 180,000 development companies around the world.

For more information about the Tuya platform, see our previous article.

How to Use Voice Assistants?

A smart app is a must-have, and every comprehensive system offers one. One of its features is voice control, which works in conjunction with your smartphone’s operating system. So if you want to turn on the lights in your home, all you have to do is say a single command in English.

Voice assistants from major manufacturers are becoming increasingly popular. Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple Siri are among the most sought-after. These assistants, built into smart speakers, are the centerpiece of the smart home.

Smart Scenes and Automation

The key to a smart home is what are known as “smart scenes.” All it takes is a single tap in the app or a voice command, and all devices will activate their preset functions. The entire process can be further automated based on detected motion, outdoor weather, or room temperature. We explained how to set up smart scenes in our previous article.