Simple Ways Home Automation Can Improve Your Workday
Just a year ago, only one in five Americans who claim they can do most of their work from home actually worked at home all or most of the time. But now, thanks to the pandemic, more than two thirds of these workers are doing their job from home all or most of the time. More than half indicate that, given the choice, they would continue working from home after the pandemic retreats.
Now, a year since stay-at-home orders surfaced, it looks like many may be spending increasingly more time at home even if there are plans for their offices to reopen. As a result, it may be wise to reflect on your work-from-home environment and how it could better serve you. Consider your office furniture, lighting, and surroundings to see how they are supporting or detracting from your work environment and ability to be productive throughout the day.
The sooner you take steps to improve your work-from-home environment, the quicker your work environment will be a more effective space that works best for you. Smart devices are a great help for an easier work day. Smart technology helps automate tasks throughout your home to improve your workspace and make your daily routine more convenient and productive. Below we’ll outline several ways smart technology can improve your work environment while at home.
1. Adjust the Lighting of your Workspace Throughout the Day
Depending on your desk’s location in the house, you may be receiving natural light for a portion of the day or not at all. As the day goes on, you may need to adjust the lighting at your desk or workspace. Smart lighting technology allows you to adjust your lighting to dim lights or turn lights on and off completely as you need them. You can even set your lights to turn on when you’ve entered or left the room.
Simply transition the conventional lightbulbs throughout your home into BrightSuite smart light bulbs; a warm-white, long-lasting LED light bulb. With the smart plug-in dimmer, you can adjust the lighting of any lamp or standing light. You can also access any of your smart lights through the BrightSuite app to adjust your lights from your phone while you’re at your desk on calls or focused on work. This eliminates the distraction of getting up during a video call or to brighten your workspace as it becomes darker.
2. Adjust Your Home’s Temperature & Monitor Energy Expenditure
We no longer need to worry about the freezing or boiling temperatures in an office building now that we’re at home. You’re in control! However, you still may feel uncomfortably cold or warm sporadically throughout the day depending on your home and the area you live in.
Additionally, now that we’re home more often, you may be worried that you’re using more energy and racking up a large electricity bill. For both these reasons, installing a smart thermostat can help.
Smart thermostats can be set-up to respond to occupancy in the home and current weather conditions to make automatic thermostat adjustments. This means your home is more likely to stay at a temperature of your liking throughout the day. The BrightSuite smart thermostat also has technology that helps you save on energy costs and alert you to any potential maintenance requirements for your HVAC system ahead of any potentially costly repairs. BrightSuite customers with a smart thermostat will receive a monthly Heating & Cooling Health Report so you can keep tabs of how your system is performing. Learn more about the BrightSuite smart thermostat to see how it can work for your home and improve your working environment.
3. Start Coffee or Begin Charging Your Computer
Many home-office workers miss the perks of a prepared office. The coffee is no longer brewed before you arrive, and your technology may not be fully charged and ready to go. For those who are now their own office managers, having a little smart home technology can bring back some of those little perks.
BrightSuite can help automate routines to get your workday started smoothly. From automatically turning on your desk lamp, to starting your morning coffee to triggering your devices to turn on, you can turn any plug-in device into a smart device with the BrightSuite Smart Appliance Plug.
4. Check-In on the Other Room
Work-from-home parents have calendars that likely include meeting notifications like “make sure Johnny is dialed in for math class”. Make that reminder easier with BrightSuite videos. Our indoor cameras can be placed anywhere inside your home and, with two-way talk, can make it easy to check in on the room and communicate with whomever is there.
Even if you leave the house to run a quick errand, our 180° WellCam allows your kids to reach out and call you directly with a push of a button!
Conveniently Adjust Smart Technology Features
As you can see, there are endless options to automate your home with BrightSuite smart technology and turn your home into a smart home. As you’ve read, the BrightSuite app lets you easily control the smart technology throughout your home to automate your day for a seamless work-from-home routine. And the automation doesn’t end there; BrightSuite smart technology is compatible with voice assistants for even further integration and more nuanced home automation; click here to find out which voice assistants are compatible with BrightSuite smart technology.
Learn more about BrightSuite smart technology features like the ones we’ve reviewed here so you can begin automating your home for a more convenient work from home setting. Contact us at BrightSuite today to get you one step closer to a more hassle-free home with BrightSuite smart features.
