Mediterra | Golf and Beach Community Blog

Smart Home Features to Further Customize Your High End Home

Written by Arelys Alexander | August 6, 2020

Smart home technology can make our lives so much easier and the different devices and appliances used don’t have to be confusing.  Discover the many ways custom home automation can benefit the way you live in your luxury custom home with these technological tools.

For starters, making your home a smart home isn’t just about the devices.  Our smart phones launched our society into a world where any information needed is right at our fingertips and we’ve expanded that idea into phones that can give us directions, start apps, music, and internet searches without you having to even pick up your phone (here’s looking at you, Siri), and yes, even controlling our smart home appliances through convenient apps.  But the whole idea behind smart technology is to be able to collect and interpret data to create more efficient, accurate, and cost-effective strategies to make our lives more convenient. Smart home technology can do that every time you want a light turned on, the temperature to be a bit cooler, or you want to see who is standing at your front door even when you are not home.  Understand the benefits of smart home features in your high end home with these common variations of smart home technology.

Home Appliances and Devices

Your custom home can now be at your command with various smart home appliances and devices that will assist you in your everyday life.  The kitchen sees the most smart appliances simply because it’s the one room in the house that everyone frequents.  Smart refrigerators can take a picture of its contents and send it to your smart phone so you can literally see what’s in there.  Some smart appliances can even take inventory and let you know what products are about to expire in your pantry.  Smart microwaves can figure out how long it takes to cook a certain food.  Outside of the kitchen, a smart vacuum can be activated from your smart phone so you can come home to a clean house.  Other systems are smaller, but highly convenient, like the Amazon Echo with its voice activated Alexa.  This system is a hands-free device that can play music, control other smart home devices, read the news, set your alarms, play music, and even order items from Amazon.  Your bathroom can even feature smart home devices, like the Kohler digitally controlled super shower system installed in one of London Bay Homes’ previous models.  This system featured a programmable interface that set the rain-head and body jets to individual steam and temperature settings. A Numi toilet added to the experience, offering personalized settings, which included wireless Bluetooth music sync capabilities, heated seat and foot warming options, and ambient color lighting alternatives.  Every room in your home can feature smart home technology.

Security

One of the most important aspects of home automation is increased security.  Smart home security allows you to keep surveillance of your home through the internet, which means you can view the camera feeds of your security system through a protected website. If you are lucky enough to enjoy summers in the north and winters in the south, then you can utilize this technology to keep watch over your home during your extended absence.  If you are a full-time resident, then this system is still extremely useful.  A smart home security system goes beyond door, window, and motion sensors to include being able to monitor door locks, garage door openers, lights, smoke/CO detectors, water sensors, and much more, all through a website or smart phone app.  Even your doorbell can utilize smart technology by allowing you to see and speak to someone at your door even when you are not home, increasing the chances of home security in your absence.

Lighting

If you drive south for the winter or frequently explore the many beautiful areas of the world, the latest lighting technology is ideal for you.  Smart lighting will allow you to set timers for any of the lights in your home, or just turn them on or off at your command using an app on your phone, to make it seem as if you are home when you are not.  It is also a convenient tool when you’ve already gotten comfortable for the evening, but can’t remember if you turned off the lights in the other room.  With smart lighting, you can use a remote or an app on your phone to dim the lights or turn them off completely. 

Heating and Cooling

If you like to sleep with a chill in the air, but keep the temperature a little warmer in your absence, smart home technology can extend to your heating and cooling system to make that happen automatically.  Smart thermostats can save you money by learning from your behaviors and allowing you to control the temperature of your home from your smart phone device.  They also show your energy consumption in real-time and can adjust themselves to control things like the humidity in your home.  Florida summers are hot, hot, hot but you don’t want to increase your cooling costs by keeping your home extra cool when you are not home.  Instead, use the smart phone app to adjust the temperature before you arrive so your home is comfortably cool.  The smart thermostat even tells you how much time it will take for you home to reach the desired temperature.

Mediterra partners with Naples custom home builder, London Bay Homes, to offer all of these custom smart home features and much more, as well as ensure all of our clients have the luxury custom homes of their dreams in an award-winning luxury home community.  Contact us if you are ready to live a life of luxury and convenience in a 10-time Community of the Year winner.