Connect Your Entire Property With Smart Home Automation

The most appealing aspect of smart home automation is the high level of convenience it provides throughout your Rochester Hills home. With one touch you can lower the shades, raise the lights and turn on the AV system. But what if your home consists of more than one building, say with the main house and a satellite garage or pool house? Can you still enjoy the convenience of one-touch controls across your entire property? Of course, you can! In this blog, we’ll show you how smart connections can be made between each of the buildings on your property. 

See Also: How Easy Is It to Control Your Connected Home?

Expanding Your Network

To ensure that the system in your main house is the same one controlling devices in the pool house, you’ll need to expand your network connections across the entire property. Within the walls of a single building, this is a relatively easy process that may include running wires behind walls, or setting up a wireless network in areas where hardwiring is impossible. Achieving consistent service across the backyard, however, may present unique issues.

Hardwired Network

As with your home’s interior spaces, a hardwired network is preferable because it will provide reliable connections between each device. For instance, if you’ve transformed your garage into a man cave that sports your car collection and an excellent AV setup, you can stream a movie from the Kaleidescape server on the rack in your basement seamlessly. Additionally, you can prep the man cave for movie time from your bedroom, by adjusting the lights and shades with the same interface you’d use in your main house.

However, if wired connections are possible between each building, it will initially require some construction, as fiber optic cables will have to be run underground. It’s essential that the connections are secured and weatherproofed, as one of the leading causes of system failure across outdoor spaces is damage at the connector. However, a hardwired network will ultimately lead to less maintenance in years to come.

Wireless Network

Another option is integrating a wireless network. But don’t think of it as just installing a router and hoping it reaches to the satellite garage. Instead, it’s important to integrate a Zigbee wireless network to ensure reliable connections.

A traditional wireless network doesn’t reach that far. If you step outside, you’ll notice a distinct loss in connection quality on your smartphone or tablet. However, Zigbee works differently. It turns each device into an individual “node”, which generates its own wireless signal. As opposed to a network that runs slower with more components, a Zigbee network actually gains strength.

So if you want a secure private network that covers your entire property, it’s best to integrate connected devices throughout your yard. In-pool and landscape lighting fixtures, as well as outdoor home theater gear, will help ensure your network signal reaches every corner of your property.

Are your ready to enjoy the same smart home automation convenience across every building on your property? Contact us today.