A Brief Guide to Home Automation Systems Home automation is a relatively new concept, and it refers to the notion of residential automation of the housework, the home and the household activities overall. Otherwise states, home automation systems can include heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, security locks, appliances as well as lighting systems. Homeowners typically choose to automate their homes due to a number of reasons: it helps them synchronize multiple systems quickly and effortlessly, and it also helps them save a lot of time and money over the year. At the same time, home automation systems are particularly popular amongst the elderly and the disabled, as it offers them full control over the heating and the lighting system and improve their overall quality of life. As their popularity increased over the past few years, home automation systems have become considerably cheaper as well. These systems now come with better, more user-friendly interfaces and they allow you to control them through your PC, your tablet or even your smart phone – as a matter of fact, homeowners typically have full, remote and wireless control over their automated home systems and this certainly saves them a lot of trouble. In addition to the basic systems that are found in every home, you can also couple house plants, pet feeding and watering systems as well as home entertainment systems and make them all communicate with one another in an efficient, energy-efficient and highly convenient manner. The automated homes are commonly referred to as the “homes of the future”, and for a good reason given the convenience and the ease of use of all these systems. Overview Of Home Automation And Its Benefits: In spite of the fact that the concept of home automation has only grown in popularity over the past couple of decades, the idea has been around since the early 1960s. Nowadays, homeowners opt for home automation due to the fact that it is very energy-efficient, it is easy to use and it also offers them a sense of security along with the peace of mind they need, knowing that they can easily set all the systems in their home within seconds (including the home security system). For example, they can set the lighting system to automatically shut itself down whenever the homeowner leaves the home and the home security system is activated. The same principle can apply to water heaters, washing machines, doorbells, TVs, telephones and virtually any other electrical appliance. It often happens that the most commonly automated home system is the HVAC, or the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, as this is usually the one that consumes the most amount of energy. By automating your HVAC, you can set it to automatically turn itself of when the home is unoccupied. The system can also be linked to the fire detector, the alarm monitoring company, the fire department and such – this way, you can be sure that your home will be fully secured and protected, even when you are not around. If used and implemented correctly, home automation can prevent disasters from occurring and it can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the years.