You live on a street with tough holiday competition. Beginning on Black Friday, the house down the street lights up like Times Square, and the neighbors next door throw the best ugly sweater party on the block.
Every year, millions of homeowners spend countless hours stringing holiday lighting and decorations. And the addition of festive lighting is just the beginning of all the holiday preparations that happen in most homes. Music, video, and other form of merriment needn’t add to your stress level, however. Automation systems can manage the entertainment components, lighting, security devices, thermostats in ways that will make your neighbors envious of calm, cool composure and your home’s elegant yet festive vibe. Here, users of Control4 automation systems share how they are using get a leg up on the holidays to become the envy of their neighbors.
Customized Holiday Lighting Inside and Out
Holiday lights are symbolic of the entire season, and who doesn’t want to have a home full of sparkling lights to show off to family and friends? Control4 lets you sync holiday lights to turn on when your music does, and set smart timers, alerts and scenes to turn lights on and off at certain times of day and night. You can set exterior lighting to turn on the minute you walk into your home and off as you go to bed.
Take your seasonal entertaining up a notch and create scenes that automate every corner of your home. Impress family and friends with a single tap that turns on specific lights around the house, starts the holiday music, and even sparks the fireplace. A “Holiday Party” scene can quickly get your guests in the holiday spirit by dimming the lights to illuminate key decorative elements, piping a custom playlist through speakers, and start playing “A Christmas Story” on your living room TV.
Voice Control That Ups The “Wow Factor”
Let’s face it – the holiday season is busy for everyone and saving a minute here or there can add up quickly. With the addition of Control4’s Smart Home Skill for Amazon Echo, you can control your entire home using just your voice. Use Echo to activate simple voice commands like “Alexa, turn on Holiday” or “Alexa, set thermostat to 72 degrees.” Even cooking the holiday meal or baking cookies is made simpler with scene commands from Amazon Echo. Commands like “Alexa, turn on Cooking” can drop the temperature in the kitchen, brighten the lights, and turn on your favorite foodie podcast so you can get to work quickly.
Holiday Music That Rings Through the Whole Home
One of the best parts of the holiday season is undoubtedly the music. Listening to festive tunes is one of the best ways to get into the spirit, and with Control4 you can easily stream and schedule music to play through programs like Pandora, Napster, TIDAL, and more. Set music to play when guests arrive for holiday dinner and change the playlist from jazz to the top hits as the night wears on. If your piano has an audio source, hook it up to a multi-room audio system to let caroling ring throughout every speaker in the home – a trick that is sure to make your neighbors say, “I need that in my house.”
Security That Mimics Your Behavior At Home
In the holiday classic “Home Alone,” Kevin uses a myriad of tricks and traps to keep burglars at bay – but not without destroying a few of the home’s prized possessions along the way. Prevent break-ins without the destruction by programming your home with Control4’s Mockupancy security feature. Mockupancy is a type of “occupancy simulation” that makes it look like you’re home, even if you’re not. Control4 tracks your lighting, entertainment and shades usage while you’re at home and can replay those behaviors (using slightly randomized times) when you put the house in “Away” mode. To a potential burglar, it will look like you’re home, watching your favorite shows and turning lights on and off as you move throughout the house.
The post 4 Ways Your Smart Home Can Give the Neighbors Holiday Envy appeared first on Electronic House.
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