Your Home on Autopilot

We talk a lot about what happens with a smart home while you are there. As my family and I live with this technology what strikes us more and more is how valuable the technology is in our day to day life when we are not home.

I’ve been reading a story my late grandfather wrote years ago describing his life growing up as a young boy in small town Massachusetts before, during and after the Great Depression. His descriptions of what it took to start a Model T Ford or get ice delivered to your “box” remind me how far modern conveniences have come in the last 75 years. It really is amazing to think we are on the brink of another major revolution centered around our home and how we make it a more energy efficient, safe and entertaining place. At the end of the blog, I share my Top 3 favorite things that have changed from back then and have become modern conveniences we sometimes take for granted.

Before we get to that, here are my family's top five favorites things that happen in our home when we are not there.

1. Out the door we ago and within 30 seconds our Nest X Yale, locks the door for us automatically. Our Nest security system senses I have left without setting it and asks if I would like to put it on. With a busy weekday and weekend schedule this is very helpful!
2. While I’m out sweating on the soccer field with the rest of my soccer mom crew the temperature in my home automatically adjusts to save on heating/cooling costs.
3. Our Big Ass Fan (yes that’s the brand name!) Haiku smart fan assists with this as its Smart Heating/Cooling feature turns on automatically to circulate air at key times. This works in conjunction with our Nest Learning thermostat. The one two punch makes sure we are getting the most bang for our buck in the circa 1929 home my family lives in.  
4. Our iRobot Roomba smart vacuum cleans our hardwood floors so we walk into a clean gleaming floor throughout our first floor - like I paid to have it professionally cleaned while we were out - free of kitty litter and the animal cookie crumbs my adorable 7 year old left earlier in the day. I scheduled this once in the app to run three times a week when we aren't home and it is by far my favorite time saver as a busy mom and CEO.
5. When we return home our Nest X Yale Smart lock knows it is a family member (we each have our own code!) and automatically disarms our Nest security system. For good measure if it is dark out, our LIFX works with Nest and turns on our lights sensing we may need some visibility when we come home after dark.

The Connected Home's main purpose is to be the opposite of work. We don’t need to do anything to gain benefits from it. I get more time with my family, less maintenance and more enjoyment out of our home overall. When the right products are in place for your Connected Home, they work together and are truly effortless.

Here are my top 3 favorite modern convenience that we no longer need to put much effort in:

We've brought well over 1,000 homes into Connected, Smart home living in the last year and are just getting started. Bring on 2018 and beyond!

Stay Smart,

Jen Mallett

CEO and President, Level Up Your Home