How To Choose A Home Network Solution That’s Built To Last
As technology improves, so does the need for a fully connected, automated home. Not only does this make life so much easier, but a smart home is without a doubt the future. Imagine being able to control everything in your home with the push of a button. Sounds inviting, doesn’t it? But how do you know which network to install? After all, you don’t want to have to upgrade in a few year’s time when your exciting system becomes obsolete. Future-proofing your automated home is an essential part of your peace of mind.
Power Management Is Essential
It is a well-known fact that the power supply can be interrupted without any notice. This is especially true in our country. Having a smart home without any emergency power management is pretty much a waste of time. When you choose your home network solution be sure to investigate how it is powered, both during normal supply and in the case of interrupted supply.
There are various options that you can explore:
- including a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply),
- a backup battery system,
- or an inverter or generator.
The UPS will keep your system going long enough to save any work that you may be doing on your PC, and then shut down correctly. At the most, you can look at 30 minutes of power, depending on the current device load.
A backup battery system is better, although quite expensive. These can run houses for up to a few days.
Generators and inverters are a longer-term solution, and one that can keep your automated home powered indefinitely.
Which ever one that you choose, it needs to be an integral part in your home network selection.
Consider Future Trends
Not everything remains the same, and this is also very true for home network solution components. For example, it is currently prudent to install a network outlet near your TV for smart TV’s in the future. However, you could invest in various smart appliances in other parts of the house as well.
Adding network ports to the kitchen, bedrooms and even the laundry is a good idea when considering future trends. When you choose not only your home network, but also the company that is going to install it, be sure to check that it is flexible enough to adapt to what is coming.
Make Everything Accessible
A home network solution comes with a lot of hardware. Many devices in your home can be added to the automation systems, such as speakers, projectors, appliances, lighting controls, and even your window blinds.
This will invariably involve a lot of cables running through conduits, probably inside your walls. The conduits should be the correct size to be able to handle both the current cabling and potentially extra cabling in the future. Making these conduits or arteries accessible for future installations or augmentations is a vital part of future-proofing your home automation solution.
Building or setting aside a small room to be the hub of your system is also recommended. That being said, be sure that the room is well ventilated to prevent overheating. All conduits can lead to this room, which will house all your tech components such as the router, UPS, and even battery bank. This leaves your decor free of clutter – one of the many benefits of home automation!
Don’t Skimp On The Wiring
Although everything these days seems to be wireless, correct wiring really does separate the good from the great when it comes to home automation systems. CAT5e or, even better, CAT6wiring is essential to handle both current and future network requirements as your automation system grows.
Linking your whole Internet of Things in your home will require bandwidth, and good speeds, none of which is possible without a good wiring infrastructure. Be sure that all of your wiring has enough termination points and really good labeling!
