Smart Home Routines: Simplifying Your Life with Home Automation

Why Smart Home Routines Are the Future of Convenience

Smart home routines streamline daily tasks. By connecting devices and using automation, you can program your tech to work in a way that suits you with fewer manual steps.

Routines provide consistency, save time and can boost energy efficiency. For example, if you accidentally leave your freezer open, it’s a major inconvenience and a waste of energy (and money if food spoils). If you set up a routine that sends you a notification if your freezer door remains open for two minutes, you can react quickly. You could program more steps, too. So, if you don’t address the notification then the routine could trigger an announcement via your smart speaker.

As well as stopping mishaps that lead to energy wastage, smart routines also make your everyday life easier. You can set up a routine that means lights dim when it’s time for your children to go to bed – helping you to get your little ones settled.

The Most Popular Smart Home Routines

With so many people looking for hacks and tricks to simplify their lives, it’s unsurprising that smart routines have risen in popularity online – particularly on social media platforms like TikTok. We’re here to give you a round-up of the most popular smart home routines.

Morning Routines

• Smart lighting: You can automate your lights based on timing, helping you gradually wake up with soft lighting and natural light simulations. 
• Smart thermostat adjustments: Preheat or cool the home in the early hours so that your room is at the right temperature before you wake up. No more uncomfortably cold mornings or sweaty starts!
• Voice assistant tasks: By using a voice assistant, you can get the weather, news, or reminders before you’ve even got out of bed. Take it to the next level by setting up routines that link multiple devices. For example, connect your voice assistant to your coffee machine so that your wake-up drink is ready for you after you say, “Morning coffee, please”.

Evening Routines

• Smart lighting: You can program a routine where your lights gradually dim to help you get to sleep. So, when you say, “Lights, get me ready for bed”, your lighting will fade away. Alternatively, you can program a relaxation mode in the evening to help you gradually wind down.
• Security settings: Sleep easy at night by locking doors, closing blinds, and setting up security cameras with one command.
• Smart plugs: Save energy by automatically turning off devices that aren’t in use. You can set this routine up based on a timer function or use a voice command like “Turn off all unused plugs”.

Energy-saving Routines

• Automated schedules: Set up time-based schedules for your thermostat, lights, and appliances to stop wasting energy. You can program your heating, lighting and any non-essential devices to turn off when you’re at work or sleeping.
• Smart power strips: Go one step further than a smart plug with a smart power strip that lets you turn off multiple devices at once.
• Sensors: Adjust lighting and temperature based on occupancy. If sensors detect that a room is empty, the lights will turn off – saving energy and money.

Security and Safety Routines

• Smart security routines: Set up security routines for when you leave home or return. For example, you can automate the locking of all other windows and doors when you lock your front door. You can set up your gate to lock behind you based on a motion sensor.
• Automate notifications: Receive alerts to your phone when sensors are triggered (e.g. motion sensors, door or window sensors).
• Video doorbells: You can use video doorbells to monitor deliveries and visitors remotely. You can program a routine where your doorbell calls your phone. That way, you’ll always know if somebody pops by when you’re not in.

How to Set Up the Best Smart Home Routines

There are several ways to create smart home routines, including:

Using Smart Assistants to Automate Your Day

Owning a smart assistant, like Alexa, Google Home or Apple HomeKit, doesn’t mean that you have a smart home. However, if you have other smart tech, you can use a voice-activated assistant to create and trigger routines. Although the functionality of voice assistants is basic in comparison to other devices, they can still do much more than play music or tell you the weather – but only if you program them in this way.

If you own compatible devices or systems, you can use your assistant to set up routines with voice commands. For example, you can tell your smart assistant to turn off the heating whenever you say, “Stop heating my home”. Your smart assistant will then ‘speak’ to your smart thermostat to adjust your home’s temperature.

If you’re interested in setting up a smart home, get in touch with a CEDIA Smart Home Professional.

Creating Custom Routines for Your Unique Needs

Everyone’s needs are different, so you should customise your smart home routines.

If you work nights, you’ll want your blackout blinds to drop down at different hours than in the home of someone working from nine to five. You can set up custom schedules for heating, cooling, lights and devices so that they all suit your needs.

You can also create custom triggers based on specific conditions. For example, “When I leave the house, lock all doors and set the thermostat to energy-saving mode”. If you live with other people, this routine might not work for you. However, it will be better suited to you if you live alone or are always the last to leave.

Using Motion and Presence Sensors to Trigger Routines

You can also use motion and presence sensors to trigger routines.

Perhaps you have a basement room that you rarely visit. If you accidentally leave the light on in your basement, you’ll waste lots of energy as you won’t notice it for a long time. You can use presence detection so that the lights turn off when the room is empty. Motion sensors can also trigger the lights to turn on automatically when you next return.

Benefits of Smart Home Routines

There are several benefits of smart home routines including:

Improved Convenience and Time Management

Automation makes it easier to manage multiple tasks. Things that were once frustrations (e.g. struggling to find the light switch when returning home after dark) become effortless (e.g. your hallway lights automatically turning on when you unlock your front door).

You’ll also save time on repetitive tasks like constantly adjusting your thermostat. Instead, your smart home will take care of everyday routines.

Enhanced Home Security and Peace of Mind

By automating home security measures, you can benefit from an increased peace of mind. No need to worry about whether you locked the door behind you when it’s done automatically.

Notifications, camera feeds, and remote control of locks and other home features also ensure that your property is secure. Plus, it’s easy to check on your home wherever you are.

Energy Efficiency and Cost Savings

Smart home routines can optimise your energy consumption and reduce your utility bills. Any routines that automatically turn off disused appliances and unnecessary heating and lighting will cut waste.

If you want a sustainable, eco-friendly property then home automation routines that prioritise minimising energy use are an excellent thing to have.

Troubleshooting and Fine-tuning Your Routines

You want to be able to rely on your smart home routine to carry out sequences automatically without your interference. While your routine should run smoothly, there are a few things to do to make sure everything will work as expected.

To make sure your routines will be effective and efficient, you need to acknowledge some of the common issues (e.g. device connectivity problems or routines not triggering) and then identify solutions (e.g. boosting your router signal or changing your commands). 

As an amateur DIYer, it can be tricky when something doesn’t work as expected. While you’ll often be able to find some advice online, you’ll need a professional to set up more complicated routines or troubleshoot the things you can’t solve.

CEDIA-certified professionals can help you with installation, set-up and troubleshooting. They’ll know how to configure your devices and desired routines so that you can rely on your home’s automation to perform as planned. Plus, you can use CEDIA professionals for maintenance too. It’s important to keep devices up-to-date to ensure optimal performance. CEDIA experts can install updates and make sure every routine stays working as intended.

Future Trends in Smart Home Routines

Smart technologies are continually evolving. Emerging technologies, such as AI and machine learning, will influence the next generation of home automation routines.

For example, even the process of automation could become automated. An intelligent system will be able to identify patterns and then suggest automation based on your behaviour – saving you from the mental load of coming up with a routine.

Smart home routines offer many benefits. They can save energy, time and money. What’s not to like?

To get the most out of smart home routines, it’s worth experimenting with different automations and seeing what works for you. Once you’ve got the basics set up, you can tweak your routines. By letting smart technology take control of tiresome tasks, you can improve your daily life.

If you’re interested in creating smart home routines, get in touch with a CEDIA-certified member.