Is Your House Ready for Back to School?

As summer wanes and the kiddos are heading back to school, have you asked yourself: Is my house ready for back to school? Here are some things to consider, and some of the benefits you can realize when adding some Smart Home Automation features.

Smart Home Automation devices can make your living space more comfortable, easier to study in, and more fun! Here are some of the top items to consider that will make your back-to-school life so much easier:

Streamline your children’s morning routines

With a smart home automation system, you can create a “Wake Up” scene that automatically adjusts the thermostat and gradually turns up the lights each morning. Program the shades to rise in your children’s bedrooms to wake them up automatically.

Automate Everything: Lighting, Temperature, Security, & More!

Life is busy enough without worrying about whether you turned the lights off as you raced out of the house or if you really did lock the front door before putting the kids to bed.

Every smart device comes with options to automate powering on and off and can even set schedules, so you never have to fret over these nagging questions again. Better yet, automating your smart home devices will help you reduce your energy consumption and save money on your monthly utility bills!

Security

Smart door locks, cameras, and doorbells are easy additions to any home that will not only help you feel safer, but also help busy parents keep track of kids coming and going. For younger kids, you might automate your doors to unlock at the same time their babysitter arrives for after school care to avoid keeping track of keys. Have independent high school-aged kids? Cameras and doorbells will empower you to see when they get home from school, who’s with them, and check in if they’re running a little later than usual. With an entry door security camera, you can easily see and communicate with anyone who approaches the front door, side door, garage, gate, etc., all accessible from within a single app, whether you are at home or away. Installing an exterior door system also can help your children see who is at the door without opening it when you aren’t home.

Temperature/Climate Control

Smart thermostat rebates are hot right now. If you’ve recently installed yours, be sure to automate your home heating and cooling. Turn it off when you all leave for the day to save energy and money on your utility bill. Many smart thermostats also allow zoning automation to individually heat or cool specific rooms or groups of rooms based on your unique schedule. Bentley Electronic Systems can help you select the right thermostat for your home and your needs, can expertly install the system, and add the device to your Smart Home Controls.

You can also add your programmable shades and blinds to your Smart Home Controls, allowing them to close during the hot, dog days of summer, and to open them to warm the home when temperatures are cool but the sun is shining — all helping you save money on your utility bills. As the evening gets dark, you can program the shades or blinds to close for evening privacy. And imagine how much harder it will be for your teen to hit the snooze again when their blinds open on schedule, allowing the bright sunlight to pour in!

Enlist Your Smart Speaker to Help with Homework

Smart speakers can help your children complete their homework, answering simple questions, and providing instant help whenever your kids need it. Smart speakers can be used to set study timers or programmed to play classical music to keep kids focused during homework time. They can also remind students about upcoming tests and initiate quizzes to test their readiness. Ask your children’s teachers which smart speaker tools they use in the classroom to provide a more cohesive educational experience for your kids at home.

Remotely Start Appliances

Smart appliances like dishwashers, clothes dryers, and washing machines can be started remotely — even when you’re not home! Just load them up the night before and set them to start while you’re at work to come home to clean clothes and dishes. No more nagging the kids to do the laundry, or coming home to dinner still uncooked in the oven because they forgot to turn it on.

Keeping the Kids Occupied and Entertained

Once homework is done, your children can entertain themselves with music from an indoor or outdoor sound system or home theater system.

And, what better way to unwind and enjoy some family time after dinner than to sit down to a favorite movie together on your updated home theater — with movie theater sound and high resolution images?!

You can rely on Bentley Electronic Systems’ decades of expertise in Smart Home Automation to recommend the very best products to suit your needs. And there is no need to do it all at once. Start with one element (like a security/camera system) and add other components as you are ready. Bentley will ensure that all of your components work together and can be controlled through one device for all of your systems. Reach out to us below to start your updated back-to-school routine!