Don’t DIY Your Smart Home System: 5 Reasons to Hire a Pro
When DIY Smart Homes Go Wrong
New plug-and-play devices like video doorbells lead many homeowners to think they can build a smart home system themselves. But a high-end automated home may include hundreds of smart devices (including lights and sensors) and require complex programming for custom scenes. If you try to assemble a system without experience, you’ll probably waste hours on a system that doesn’t work.
If all you want is one or two smart devices, then proceed with DIY. But a smart home system that unifies all your technology will require assistance from a professional.
Read on to discover five reasons to hire a smart home professional for your Frisco, TX home. And to learn more about home automation each month, subscribe to our free newsletter here!
SEE ALSO: How We Support Our Customers with Managed IT Services
1. Wired Systems Offer Greater Scope
Many DIY smart homes use Zigbee or Z-Wave wireless technology to sync devices. It’s notoriously challenging to build a whole-home system with Zigbee and Z-Wave due to their short range. They offer low data speeds, so while the wireless connections are less complex than other wireless options like Bluetooth, it will be hard to connect an entire property over Zigbee or Z-Wave.
Wi-Fi also has its limitations. With too many devices on your wireless network, you'll surely clog the bandwidth and slow down speeds. A professional can wire your smart home system to free up space on Wi-Fi, letting everything in the house run smoothly and swiftly.
2. DIY Lacks Design Consideration
There are many moving parts to a smart home, and without design experience, you may find yourself in over your head. How far can the system’s hub reach? What manufacturers should you use for each solution?
An integrator knows how to build a system suited to your house’s layout, using a special software to outline circuits and circuit breakers in each room. The final results will have interior design in mind, too. Hidden wires and custom keypads create a sleek, stylish smart home with devices in the optimal location.
3. Professional Systems Are Easier to Expand
Smart home systems like Control4 are compatible with 16,000 third-party devices, so you’re free to mix and match the technology you want. But Control4 requires a technology integrator to program the installation. If you’re building your smart system, you might run into issues adding new devices to the network. When there are too many devices on a Z-Wave system, for instance, the signal won’t know where to go, causing delays. The products aren’t the problem; it’s the implementation.
4. Complexity of Whole-Home Systems
Integrating security, audio, video, HVAC, and lighting into one system is tricky! If one circuit is down in your DIY smart home, will it affect the whole network? How do you find where the error originated? Professionals know how to track down issues and solve them.
If you have hundreds of devices in your house, that’s an enormous opportunity for failure. You need to ensure all your electronics are communicating properly; a professional will establish this for you, so you won’t need to troubleshoot yourself.
5. Preventing and Handling Power Failures
A smart home integrator can build your system with surge protectors and battery backups to avoid power failures and malfunctioning technology. Outdoors, we know how to implement weatherproof wiring and devices to last outside all year long. Homeowners interested in energy management can trust a professional system to integrate power solutions in the system. In DIY smart homes, energy management is another step that many folks skip.
Ready for Home Automation?
If you’re interested in a smart system for your Texas property but don’t know where to start, you aren’t on your own! Texadia Systems designs and installs custom smart homes to automate lighting, audio, security, and more.
Send us a message below or connect with us here to schedule a no-obligation consultation. We look forward to helping you!
