In recent years, the minimalist lifestyle has gained some traction in homes around the country. People are choosing to surround themselves with less stuff and simplify their lives. They tend to prefer fewer, but more meaningful, items in their homes and focus more on people and experiences than physical things. It’s a lifestyle that many find extremely freeing, as well as fulfilling.
Just because you have chosen a more minimalist lifestyle doesn’t mean you can’t also have a smart home. In fact, in many ways, smart home technology can enhance your minimalist lifestyle.
Think about all of the “controls” you probably have around your house if you’re a typical homeowner. You have remote control for your television (or maybe multiple remote controls), a thermostat on your wall to manage the internal temperature, control panels for your home security system, a panel or remote that controls your pool, spa, and other water features, a sprinkler control system, a remote for your home audio system, remotes for your ceiling fans, and possibly countless other control devices.
It’s a lot for any homeowner, but for someone who desires a more minimalist household, it can be way too much!
Crestron Programming to Simplify Your Home
What if you could manage all of the systems in your home from a single device—either a wall-mounted touchpanel or a wireless device like an Apple iPad? How much simpler could that make things—not only visually, because you have far fewer control devices around you home, but also because you only need to know how to operate a single device to be able to control all the systems in your home?
Let’s be honest, not all homeowners are tech-savvy. So, only having a single control device and a smart home system that’s programmed in such a way that it’s intuitive and easy to operate is important. At AVPA, we use Crestron programming to make things simple for the end user—in this case, homeowners. Crestron programming allows homeowners to manage their home’s systems in a way that’s intuitive. If you can use a tablet or smartphone, you can almost certainly learn how to operate a Crestron controlled smart home!
When things are simpler, it frees you up to focus on the things in life you really enjoy.
Crestron Programming to Make Your Home More Environmentally Friendly
The minimalist lifestyle typically goes hand-in-hand with an eco-friendly lifestyle. It makes sense that a person who is attracted to surrounding themselves with less clutter and a cleaner space would also want to do their part to help create a world that’s cleaner. A well-designed smart home can help homeowners manage their energy and water usage by monitoring them and alerting the homeowner to areas that can use improvement.
One specific way a smart home can help with energy consumption is through daylight harvesting. With daylight harvesting, homeowners can make use of the natural light coming in through their windows, patio doors and skylights, and reduce the use of artificial light in their homes. Shades can be programmed to open up when it’s sunny out and electric lights can be set up to dim or shut off automatically in response to the changing light levels in a room.
Water consumption can also be reduced with smart home technology. You can have a water monitoring system set up that will alert you in real time to possible water leaks. Often, water leaks can go undetected for days, weeks, or even months. The leak may not be visible to the naked eye, and you could be contributing to water waste without even knowing it. A good water monitoring system will alert you to everything from a slow-but-steady water leak to a major leak so you can have it addressed in a timely manner. A water monitoring system is especially helpful if you are someone who travels frequently. You could be alerted of a leak and also be able to shut off your home’s water remotely.
Whether you identify as a minimalist, or if you are just wanting to simplify and more efficiently use the systems in your home, a custom smart home system may be just what you’re looking for. Contact AVPA to learn more about our Crestron programming capabilities. We have offices in San Diego and Lake Tahoe, allowing us to serve all of California, but we have served customers throughout the United States for residential and commercial programming project.
