Did you know that the latest edition of Gerard’s smart house book describes the A to Z of how to control your home lighting, thermostats, IP cameras, music, kitchen, garden, safety and security alarm systems on your smartphone or Tablet device?
Well, Yes and I am happy to announce the publication of my latest edition of the book, titled’ Manage Your Smart Home with an App!’
Millions of people around the world are interested in controlling their homes with a Smartphone or tablet device over the Internet, but don’t know where to start.
However, with the entry of large number of players including Google! the smart home market has been witnessing a piling of too many solutions available to end consumers, which is causing confusion for consumers.
With his new book, I am de-mystifying Smart Homes by using easy-to-understand language in the book, which walks you through the process of setting up your own next generation smart Home automation system.
This book is intended to be read by the following people:
- Anyone interested in controlling their lighting, alarm, heating and entertainment systems on their smartphones or tablets while out and about or at home.
- Home builders interested in identifying specific home automation ideas that will differentiate their offerings and improve overall property sales.
- This Book is a useful tool for electrical contractors and alarm installers who are unsure about how to start offering Smart Home installation services to their customers.
- Anyone else curious about how to setup a Smart Home system at a reasonable cost!
Included in this new version are several new chapters, including four special chapters that my customers have been asking for since pretty much the beginning.
The chapters emphasized in the book are;
INTRODUCTION TO SMART HOUSE AUTOMATION
The first chapter starts with a definition of next-generation home automation (HA 2.0) and lists some reasons why you should at least consider installing elements of a smart home system in your house.
An overview of the various home controller types is also provided.
This first chapter concludes with a categorization of smart home functionalities, namely essential and nice to have.
CHOOSING A SMART HOUSE TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM
In this chapter I focus on the most popular technology platforms used by smart home systems, namely:
- Structured wiring
- Z-Wave
- Insteon
- Zigbee
- Of course I also mention Wi-Fi……
STEP 1 – SELECT A SMART HOUSE AUTOMATION CONTROLLER
Here is how I describe a Smart Home Hub in this chapter:
A smart hub is best defined as an electronic bridge (a plastic box basically!), which links various off-the-shelf Smart Home 3.0 devices together. It’s basically the brains of your home that allows you to wirelessly control a range of popular smart home devices, regardless of the protocol they use.
I go on to describe the features and benefits of using this important piece of equipment in your smart home.
STEP 2 – USE SMART HOME SYSTEM TO ENHANCE FAMILY SECURITY LEVELS
In this chapter, I address readers who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of smart home alarm systems. Here are six key smart systems that are covered in detail:
- Smart HA 2.0 Alarm Systems
- Smart IP Cameras
- Smart Combo Alarm Devices
- HA 2.0 Access Control Systems
- Smart Locks
- Smart Doorbells
STEP 3 – USE SMART HOMES TO ENHANCE FAMILY & PROPERTY SAFETY LEVELS
Smart Homes are synonymous with entertainment and increasing your security levels, but they can also improve the safety of you and your family.
In this chapter, I provide an overview of 3 key systems that you should consider implementing to enhance the property, safety, and health levels in your house.
STEP 4 – ADD LIGHTING CONTROL & SMART BULBS TO YOUR SMART HOUSE
In this chapter, I describe the various benefits of automating your lights at home.
Furthermore, the chapter outlines the steps required to install wired and wireless smart home lighting control systems.
Detailed descriptions about smart bulbs are covered towards the end of this chapter.
STEP 5 – ADD HEATING & SMART THERMOSTATS TO YOUR HOME
Smart House systems help you save money by reducing your energy consumption.
In this chapter, I explain how to use energy-saving devices such as smart thermostats to reduce your monthly electricity bill.
This chapter also explains how to use your smart house system to track where and when electricity is used around the house.
STEP 6 – ADD MULTI-ROOM MUSIC 2.0 TO YOUR SMART HOUSE SYSTEM
This chapter addresses readers who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of next-generation Multi-room Music (MRM) 2.0 systems – both wired and wireless versions!
STEP 7 – ADD WHOLE HOUSE HDTV DISTRIBUTION TO YOUR SMART HOME 2.0 SYSTEM
In this section of the ‘Manage Your Smart Home with an App!’ book; I explain how to build a multi-zone HDTV distribution system around your house using Cat5e/6, wireless, or Powerline technologies.
STEP 8 – ADD BLIND & DRAPE (CURTAIN) CONTROL TO YOUR SMART HOUSE SYSTEM
Why not make life easier and let your Smart Home Automation system take control of your blinds and curtains?
In chapter 10 of the ‘Manage Your Smart Home with an App!’ book, I describe the ‘ins and outs’, of blind, curtain, and drape control.
Key benefits as well as how to automate your window dressings are all covered in this chapter.
STEP 9 – ADD A HOME CINEMA TO YOUR SMART HOME
In this chapter, I describe how to set up an area in your home to support a home cinema.
In addition to explaining each of the elements required to build your home cinema system, this chapter also describes how to plan and install a Wi-Fi to IR system – such an addition allows you to use a smartphone or tablet to control your home.
STEP 10 – ‘SMARTIFY’ YOUR KITCHEN
An end-to-end connected kitchen consists of a mix of intelligent appliances including a smart oven, a smart fridge, a smart washing machine, and a smart dishwasher.
In this chapter, I examine the emergence of the Smart Kitchen.
STEP 11 – ‘SMARTIFY’ YOUR GARDEN
Weather permitting and of course when you have your home smartified!
Why not connect your garden to the Internet.
Seriously, here are three different systems that I cover in this chapter.
- Smart Garden Sprinkler Systems
- Smart Garden Plant Management Systems
- Outdoor Music Systems
STEP 12 – EMBRACE THE INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT)
It is official! – the smart home is part of a fast-growing new trend called the Internet of Things. In this final chapter, I provide some thoughts and insights on IoT will impact your home.
As shown, each chapter includes technical illustrations, examples of how smart homes are helping people and insights from myself.
The book is out now in ePUB (Apple and other Readers), MOBI (Kindle format) and limited Print edition.
It’s also worth noting that I am providing a customized experience by offering three different content packages:
- Package 1: Includes Book, Audio Version, Videos, Limited Signed copy, live coaching with myself!
- Package 2: Includes Book and Audio Version read by myself
- Package 3: Includes Book (Downloadable EPUB, MOBI and PDF)