The smart home industry is growing rapidly, and new companies are joining every day. All these companies are trying to get a piece of this ever-growing market while also working to provide more automation solutions to their customers.
As a homeowner, it has become a bit confusing to know which brand is suitable for your home automation needs and which one isn’t. Everyone wants smart products that are affordable and which are bound to increase their comfort at home.
Honeywell Home is one of the biggest players in the smart home industry, whose main goal is to provide safety, comfort, and energy-efficient solutions to your smart home. The company has been able to live up to this word for years now by providing some of the most reliable and energy-efficient products in the smart home market.
Honeywell Home manufactures basic smart products that are essential for any smart home. The best thing about Honeywell Home smart products is that they come in both DIY and Pro installation methods.
This means that you’re free to install the smart products yourself, or you can also hire a professional to do it for you.
Honeywell Home smart devices are capable of adapting to your lifestyle while also giving you, the homeowner, and all the power to control them whichever way you please from your Smartphone.
With Honeywell Home products, you’re guaranteed that you’ll not only get the comfort and convenience you deserve, but you’ll also end up making some significant energy savings in your home.
Here is a breakdown of everything you might need to know about building the ideal Honeywell Home-Powered smart home;
Honeywell Home Smart Thermostats
A smart thermostat is one of the most important smart products any homeowner should buy when setting up their ideal smart home. This is because they’re big energy savers and play a big role in elevating your home’s comfort and convenience.
Long before Honeywell Home entered the smart home industry, they were widely known for manufacturing both programmable and non-programmable thermostats.
Since the company decided to enter the smart home market, it has been responsible for manufacturing some of the most reliable, energy-efficient, and effective smart thermostats you could get.
This has made the company a worthy competitor with already established brands in the smart home industry such as Ecobee and Google Nest.
About Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostats
This thermostat can monitor and control your home’s cooling and heating system while being connected to your home’s Wi-Fi network. The Honeywell Wi-Fi smart thermostat is primarily controlled from its touchscreen or the Honeywell Total Connect Comfort app.
Regardless of whichever method you choose, you’ll be able to view and change the temperature settings. You can also use the Honeywell Total Connect Comfort app or the touchscreen to tell the temperature both inside and outside your home and also set schedules to blend in with your daily routines.
Installing a Honeywell Smart Thermostat
With the right wiring behind your current thermostat, setting up the Honeywell Wi-Fi smart thermostat is very easy. Before your purchase this thermostat, you need to ensure that your current thermostat is fitted with the C-wire.
This is because you’ll use the C-wire to power your Honeywell Wi-Fi smart thermostat. Since most of the old thermostats do not come with a C-wire, you have to check first by unscrewing the thermostat.
If it has two wires, that means you do not have a C-wire; however, if the wires are more than two, you might have it. However, you do not need to worry about not having a C-wire because if you don’t have one, you can always hire a professional installer to install one for you.
When you already have the C-wire, start by taking a picture of your current thermostat wiring and then disconnect it from the main power supply. The next step is to mount your Honeywell Wi-Fi smart thermostat.
You can use the picture you already took of your old thermostat wiring to help you install the new one on the wall. Once the Honeywell Wi-Fi smart thermostat is on the wall, you can now turn on the power supply and connect it to your home Wi-Fi.
If you’re installing multiple thermostats in your home, this is the right time to give them names for easier recognition. After you’ve named your thermostat and connected it to your home Wi-Fi, use your Honeywell Wi-Fi smart thermostat ID to register your thermostat online to the Honeywell web address that is provided on your thermostat screen.
The last step in your installation process is to download the Honeywell Total Connect Comfort app, which is available for Android and iOS users.
After you’ve downloaded the app, connect it to your Honeywell Wi-Fi smart thermostat. This ensures that you can control and make schedules for the thermostat from your Smartphone.
Unique Features About the Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat
- This thermostat lets you control your home’s system fan. Either heat, cool, auto, or off.
- The Honeywell Wi-Fi smart thermostat comes with a vacation mode which you can activate when you plan to be away from home for a while. This feature enables your thermostat to save energy while you’re away.
- This thermostat allows you to change the color from its touchscreen settings to match your home décor.
Honeywell Smart Home Security
When setting up your smart home, you want to ensure that there is maximum security accorded to it. This can only be done by purchasing the right security smart products such as smart security cameras, motion sensors, and an alarm system.
With Honeywell Home, you get all this in one kit. Although it might be a bit pricey for some people, the Honeywell smart home security package is one of the best you’ll find in the market.
The Honeywell smart home security camera comes with a 2-megapixel, 1080p HD camera, 85-decibel alarm system, Z-Wave radio, door/window sensors, keyfob, and Amazon Alexa in-built. The Honeywell smart security base station is also fitted with two-way audio which ensures that you can talk and be heard by those at home.
The Honeywell base station acts as the main hub and brain for all the other devices. This is because all the other security devices you want to include in the Honeywell smart home security kit must be plugged into it.
Also, if the motion sensors that come with the Honeywell smart home security kit aren’t enough for your home, you can always add other accessories sold separately. They include the Indoor MotionViewer, Indoor motion sensor, and the Outdoor MotionViewer.
Setting up a Honeywell Smart Security Kit
The setup process for the Honeywell smart security kit is very easy as you only require a few things. The most important component of this setup process is the Honeywell Home App which is available for iOS and Android users
This is because the Honeywell Home App takes care of most of the controls you’ll need for the smart security kit. Through this app, you’ll be able to connect the camera and the motion sensors to your home Wi-Fi and set up geofencing because it requires your mobile phone’s location.
Geofencing is required to switch between the home and away mode on the Honeywell Home App. You also need the app to input your Amazon Alexa credentials to activate this digital voice assistant.
The Honeywell smart security kit also features facial recognition, which can be activated by taking four pictures of your face from different angles. This helps with reference. It’s important to note the Honeywell smart security kit facial recognition is available for free to all users, unlike other platforms such as Nest, which charge an annual fee.
Although the Honeywell smart security kit doesn’t come with professional monitoring, you can benefit from it by paying for an affordable monthly subscription. For example, you can pay $50 a year, and $5 a month, you’ll get 30 days worth of storage and 1500 video clips.
How Honeywell Smart Home Security Works
The Honeywell Home mobile app is responsible for most of the interactions that happen with the Honeywell smart home security kit.
Through the Honeywell Home mobile app, you can check out a live feed of your house, sort out the security kit’s notification history and also switch from Home to Away mode and vice versa. If you need to add any additional smart cameras or your Honeywell Wi-Fi smart thermostat, you can do so using the main screen of the Honeywell Home app.
When your alarm system is armed, it shows a countdown that pops up on the Honeywell Home app and you have the option to disarm it or call the police. You can also activate your Home or Away mode for the smart security system by saying some phrases to Amazon Alexa.
For example, you can say ‘OK, Security’ to engage the system and ‘Bedtime’ to disengage. The base station is fitted with Z-Wave, which you can use to pair up with compatible smart devices such as smart lights and dimmers.
Honeywell Smart Home Integrations
- Google Assistant
- Amazon Alexa
- Apple Homekit
- IFTTT
Final Thoughts
Although some of the Honeywell smart products might be a bit pricey for some homeowners, the benefits they are bound to bring many benefits to your smart home.
With Honeywell Home smart devices, you get to experience all the comfort and convenience you’d ever wish for in a smart home.
If you are still feeling a little muddled up and looking for some help, then check out my Smart Home in 8 Weeks course designed to take you from zero to a fully integrated smart home!