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Homeowners understand the tedious journey of managing a smoothly-operating home that uses its fixtures efficiently. Your lighting is the perfect example; it can be annoying to constantly turn off the bathroom light after your children or wake up at 4 am to realize you fell asleep reading your book with your bedside lamp still on. These small moments have the power to impact our mood, sleep, and even safety. However, automated lighting is a perfect solution that maintains your family's wellness, and SounDesign offers many systems and products perfect for Houston residents. Whether you prefer to operate your systems through your smartphone or integrate your lighting with your smart home system, here are several reasons for you to own a smart lighting system.
Automating common tasks helps your whole day run smoothly. Allow exterior lights to welcome you home the moment your car enters the driveway, and let kitchen lights greet you when your arms are full of grocery bags. Sensor lighting is also highly accessible for family members of all ages and capabilities: a small child, your wheel-chair using mother, or your cousin on crutches won't be forced to fumble in the dark. You can create "living zones" in high-traffic areas of your home through customized lighting that ensures your commonly-used spaces feel inviting. If you ever want to adjust your lighting settings, it's easy to control them from your mobile device along with the rest of your smart home solutions.
Energy efficiency translates to savings in your wallet and can be achieved in a variety of ways. The easiest fix is to make the switch to LED light bulbs, which consume 80% less energy and have a 25x greater lifespan than standard lightbulbs. LED lights are included in many smart home lighting systems because they radiate less heat, easing your AC unit's workload. Program your smart lighting systems to automatically turn off all the lights in the home at a time when everyone has left the house for school or work, so it isn't such a big deal if someone forgot to turn off their bedroom light before their departure. Most modern systems come equipped with sensors that only switch on if someone enters a room with an appropriate brightness based on the time of day.
Want to improve your sleep cycles and wake up each day feeling fully rested? Studies have shown that lighting can help. In the evening, your body increases the production of melatonin, a hormone that induces sleep, triggered by lower lighting conditions. However, the blue light from a TV, mobile phone, or computer screen in the evening can disrupt your body’s melatonin response and result in a restless night. Many of us spend late nights scrolling through social media, binging a new TV series, playing video games, or working at our laptop without feeling tired. However, smart lighting can save the day. If you program your home's lighting to dim approximately an hour before you get ready for bed, say 8 pm, it can be a good reminder for you to turn off your screens and wind down under soft golden light instead. Furthermore, you can achieve the opposite effect for energizing mornings that ease you into the day. Over time, you may find your sleep improving.
According to research, bright lights influence the intensity of human emotions. Dimming your home's lighting can reduce feelings of stress and help you make decisions with a more calm and relaxed mind. However, if you need to get moving and cultivate a feeling of productivity, turning on bright lights will help motivate you to finish a project or deep-clean the kitchen. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is experienced by many people during the darker winter months due to a reduction in serotonin, the mood-regulating hormone, as a result of less exposure to sunlight. Smart lighting can help by keeping your lights bright and cool during the day, and warm and soft in the evenings. Increase the brightness on grey winter days to increase your morale, and consider adding some sunlight lamps to help your serotonin production. Warm-toned ambient brightness can increase feelings of warmth within oneself and influences us to perceive others as more attractive or even aggressive.
Your smart lighting systems can help keep your property safe. If your home will be unoccupied for long periods, "Mockupancy" is a method that will fool passersby into thinking you're still at home through programmed lights that switch on and off at different rooms during the day to replicate that someone is moving through the home. Furthermore, your exterior lighting can be triggered when anyone steps on the property; an external security light that sets off an internal light is enough to intruders or suspicious activity. Go the extra mile by integrating your lighting system with your security system, so a triggered light sensor will nudge your security cameras to automatically begin recording the scene.
Your lighting can impact your wallet, safety, and health, so why not allow it to assist you in living your best life? Whether you're ready to bring smart lighting solutions to your Houston household or you have questions about particular products or capabilities, give our team at SounDesign a call today!