Here’s one of the biggest (if not the biggest) controversy in the home automation field. Should you install a DIY solution for your home, or get a full home control automation system?
First, I’ll start this post by clarifying something. As you might know, Neocontrol is a home automation company. Therefore, we are biased towards having full home control. However, we will focus on explaining the Pros and Cons of both solutions. We also believe that NOT everyone needs to opt in for the full home control experience. Some may fare better with a DIY solution.
So… Sit back, select the “Relax” scene (or not) and get ready for a fast ride.
THE PRICE ADVANTAGE: IS COST YOUR DETERMINING FACTOR?
Price is undoubtedly the biggest decisive factor when choosing a solution for home control. More than 44% of early adopters feel home automation is too expensive. This is something that many DIY solutions try to overestimate and an equal amount of home automation systems try to undermine. The real answer is… It depends. Not a very eventful answer eh?
Let me explain this further. It depends on the size of your home, how much home control you want, and the total “connectiveness” of the home.
For DIY smart home solutions, it is hard to point to an average price. Some people claim that you can automate your home for $500, but that is just to get started with some basic home control. While based in the UK, here are some case studies of homes that were completely automated using DIY solutions. The total cost here was somewhere in the $3000-4000 range. This also took many years worth of experimenting and proficient technical ability.
On the other side, we have a full connected home. Here the price is more relative to the size and total functionality of the home. It is said home automation costs about 1-5% of the total home value. This is where the “price” factor comes up a lot. If your home is worth $400,000 it might not be too expensive. However, if the value is $2,500,000 then just taking the minimum of 1%, it could cost upwards to $25,000+ (Though…I’m not sure I’d want to do it myself for a 2.5-million-dollar home).
DO YOU KNOW HOW TO AUTOMATE YOUR HOME?
Technical ability. Installing stuff. Yuck. For most people just thinking of going through cables around and spending time installing stuff sounds scary. While for a large majority of DIY solutions most of the work is easy via WIFI, for a full “connected” experience, you still must get under the cables.
Sometimes I like to refer to this phrase I use when I need to explain something quickly. “Time is Money”. How does this make any sense talking about home automation? Think about it for a second…
If you go with the full home control experience, you might think “Labor costs!”. Of course, you’ll decide that the best solution for that is just to do it yourself. However, if you are saving labor costs, yet spending weeks, months, and even years building your smart home, did you really save money?
Also, we need to take into consideration that it doesn’t get done overnight. It is very easy to spend 1 week building your home, but how will your motivation be when you are 2+ months in, and it is still not done? Worst of all… What if something breaks?!
This again is relative. If all you desire is to control some lights you bought, the AC and make use of Alexa then you might not need to be fully connected.
HOW DO I KNOW WHICH OPTION IS RIGHT FOR ME?
I’ll ask another question to answer that. How connected do you want to be?
A DIY system gives you the ability to give home automation a small, trial run. You can experience, at low cost, the possibilities that a connected home can give you. I believe that unless you’ve ever experienced an automated home, DIY systems can be a great starting point. What I don’t recommend, however, is trying to replicate that full home control experience by doing it yourself. It is not as cheap as you think, it’s tedious and there is a chance you could create some major issues.
When talking about IOT and home automation, it is important to think of a home as a living thing. It’s ok to treat yourself when you have a cold. However, would you diagnose and treat yourself if you had a serious illness?
A fully integrated home automation system doesn’t just treat your home, it makes it healthier. Think of it as eating vegetables and taking your vitamins. It makes your home alive. It connects everything together in such a way that your home understands your habits. Your lights, appliances, AC… Everything works together to create the best atmosphere for you and your family.
What’s the right choice for you?
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