Even with today’s rising real estate prices, investing in your home is important for making it more appealing to future buyers and increasing its value. The right home investments can also reduce your expenses. Here’s some more information about the best home investments this year.
1. A Home Monitoring System
Advanced home monitoring systems, also called smart homes, let you control a variety of devices through Wi-Fi with your smartphone or computer. You can also get frequent updates from cameras, smart locks, motion sensors, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and other devices. That way, you can correct any problems before they become more severe. If someone drops off a package, you can check your doorbell camera without needing to go to the door. If you don’t feel like checking these devices by yourself, you can pay a small monthly fee for professional monitoring from a home security service.
The initial investment you’ll make to purchase the equipment you’ll need is small, and even with a monthly monitoring fee, you’re likely to save money on your home insurance. You can also increase your peace of mind, deter criminals, and keep better track of who comes and goes when you’re not at home.
2. Voice Activation
Smart hubs like Cox’s Homelife Home Automation Hub can respond to voice commands and act as speakers. When they’re connected to other smart devices, you can use them to take care of tasks like locking your front door or adjusting your thermostat with a simple voice command. You can control a wide variety of devices and do everything from playing some music to preheating your oven.
3. Smart Outlets
A smart wall outlet can let you control almost any device wirelessly. It’s a device that plugs into a standard wall outlet, letting you turn anything connected to that outlet on or off remotely through a smartphone app. You can control devices like coffee makers, patio lights, indoor lamps, and space heaters from anywhere through your smartphone or voice activation. You can also use a smart plug to avoid overcharging other devices, preserving battery life as much as possible, and keep your appliances from using power while they’re not working, reducing your power bill.
4. A Smart Thermostat
A smart thermostat can connect to the cameras and motion sensors in your home monitoring system and then learn your routine over time. It can make adjustments automatically to help you save energy while staying comfortable. For example, you could set it to turn down your air conditioner when you leave your home and then reactivate it about half an hour before you normally return.
Many smart thermostats can control multistage heating and air conditioning systems with several settings or a system with multiple zones that people can keep at different temperatures. If you have a large home, using a smart thermostat with zoning can help you save energy by avoiding heating or cooling empty rooms.
A smart thermostat can also track your energy consumption and let you know if your HVAC system or any other devices are using more power than normal. It can let you know when you need to change your heater and air conditioner’s air filter and when it’s time for a professional inspection.
These technologies are convenient and affordable, and many of them can eventually pay for themselves by reducing your expenses, helping you save valuable time and increasing the value of your home.
