Smart Homes = Peace of Mind

Building a brighter Tennessee through technology

All kinds of devices and appliances are getting smarter these days. You probably already know about TVs, thermostats, and phones; however, the technological advances don’t stop there. Everything from lightbulbs to washers and dryers, refrigerators and security systems are now available with internet capabilities that allow for convenient, more automated control of the devices in your home.

Smart home technologies allow you the freedom to customize the management of the energy use and security of your home through remote control voice command or an app on a phone, computer, or tablet.

You can also receive alerts and information about an action being finished (such as the dishwasher cycle being complete) or a potential issue (like a water leak).

Many SVEC members are finding that including “smart” features in their homes make life a little easier and gives them peace of mind, especially when they are away. One SVEC area smart home belongs to Mike and Margo Smith of Jasper. Chicago natives, the Smiths chose a mountain bluff for the site of their retirement home.

“When we started thinking about the plans for our new home, we knew we wanted the smartest home possible — one with all the latest technology,” says Mike Smith. “I did a lot of research on what was available, and we worked with a company called Control 4 to help design our ‘smart’ system and with Chattanooga Smart Homes to get it installed. I highly recommend designing your smart system before you begin the building process. It is much less invasive. You will be less likely to have to cut into your walls or ceiling if you have the smart installations in the original plans.” 

One can spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars on smart gadgets for his or her home, but there is one other key component to consider when designing your smart home: a reliable, stable internet connection.

“Having fast, reliable internet service — enough bandwidth and upload and download speed — is a necessity for a smart home,” says Smith. “The whole ‘brains’ of the house — a compact unit that sits in a small closet — works on gig speed fiber optic internet service and Wi-Fi. We were so lucky that the service was available here from SVEConnect. The technicians and customer service representatives were so knowledgeable and helpful. There was some difficulty in pulling the fiber because of the lay of the land, but the SVEConnect system engineer was right here working with the installers until the problem was solved. We couldn’t be happier.”

“With us living in Chicago most of the time, having the ability to monitor and manage our home remotely is the only thing that makes having dual homes practical. We can check in on our home and the work still in progress and control all our systems — lighting, music, sprinklers, HVAC and security — from our phones, iPads or laptops. I can even run my iRobot vacuum cleaner remotely!

“We couldn’t have any of this without internet and Wi-Fi. We have phenomenal service from SVEC — much better than in Chicago. There, I have spent thousands of dollars on boosters and extenders and still have slow internet service. Here, we have the Gig and the SVEConnect staff who worked tirelessly to get everything installed correctly. We have found great people here and great service, not only from SVEConnect but also from SVPropane and SVEC. For example, we like to pay our bills with autopay, and the ladies I talked with to get that set up were great. They got it done quickly with no problems. In Chicago, it still wouldn’t be set up! We are just counting the days until we can live here permanently