South Carolina is a beautiful place to live, with cities like Charleston and Greenville coming to mind. The city of Columbia should not be overlooked, as it offers warm Southern weather and charm, stunning scenery, a wide array of things to do and eat, and a low cost of living.
Columbia houses for sale are a hot commodity in this sought-after area. There are many types of real estate to choose from.
No matter where you end up living, consider making your home a smart one by setting up internet-enabled appliances and devices that make life a little easier.
Appliances
Appliances already make life easier. A good stove or refrigerator makes for an efficient kitchen, and a high quality washer and dryer system makes chores feel less grueling.
Appliances can do so much more for us than they are already capable of, and this can change the way we interact with our home.
Smart ovens make cooking much easier as they are paired with an app that can help program the appliance from anywhere. Running late and wanting your oven preheated before you walk in the door? Use your app.
Set a time or change the temperature from the comfort of your couch.
It also helps in the way of safety. Perhaps you left the house in a rush and aren’t sure if you turned the stovetop off. Check in on it with your app, and turn it off if you did leave it on.
Utilities
Smart utilities can help you save time and money, and even have an impact on the environment as a whole.
Smart sprinklers help you water your lawn and landscaping on a timer, eliminating over watering that can not only kill your greenery but cost more money than necessary.
Smart water systems can also stave off disaster. Burst pipes or leaks can be detected by the system, which will automatically shut things down to minimize damage. An alert can be sent directly to your phone so you’re aware of the problem immediately.
Smart heating and cooling systems are helpful to keep your house at a comfortable temperature no matter the season. They also have the ability to program temperature controls for specific times of the day so you aren’t wasting heat or cooling off an empty home when no one is around.
Surveillance and Safety
Your home should be a place of comfort and safety. Nothing compromises that like an attempted (or successful) break-in.
Outdoor surveillance cameras, doorbell cameras, and door and window locking systems can give homeowners peace of mind.
It’s easy to keep an eye on your house when you’re traveling or at work. Many of these systems have alerts in place that are sent to local authorities, ensuring help will be on the way even if you, yourself, can’t get to a phone.
Installing motion detecting lights is also a good safety measure to take, as it will be harder for potential predators to sneak around your property when the spotlight is literally on them.