High-Tech Features That Add Comfort to Your Home
As new technologies become accessible to homeowners, prices drop and your old gadgets start to decline with age, investing in high-tech features for your home is becoming more and more feasible. From heated floors to smart thermostats, it’s easier than ever to live in total comfort, all at the touch of a button. Let’s take a look at some high-tech features that are designed to make your life easier.
Heated Floors
Heated floors, technically known as electric radiant heating, were created for installation underneath tile, stone, wood or even carpet. Designed to bring warmth from the bottom-up, this type of flooring offers a warm, soothing treat to the feet – especially in winter. How many times have you dreaded getting out from under your warm covers to take a shower when it’s cold out? Now you can look forward to getting up with heated flooring that makes your bathroom excursions, particularly in the colder mornings, a pleasure. Heated floors also do well in other cold or unevenly heated rooms in your home, such as the kitchen or an addition like a sunroom.
Smart Thermostats
These components are gaining more and more popularity as we as homeowners crave more independence from our heating and cooling systems. When you’re gone all day at school or work, there’s no need to have the heat running. Why not install a thermostat that learns your patterns and knows when to turn on and off? Sounds like something from the future, but the future is here. There are lots of brands out there, from Nest to Honeywell, and they all offer several high-tech benefits such as:
- Auto changeover switches
- Onscreen prompts
- Intuitive controls
- Full memory saves
- Filter-change reminders
- Adjustable cycles
- Wi-fi sensor-enabled features
Programmable thermostats can reduce your energy bill by $180 a year because they can automatically adjust your heating or cooling depending on your lifestyle, says Consumer Reports.
Wireless LED Light Bulbs
If you’re still using a wall switch to turn your lights on and off, you’re already behind the eight ball. Try Wireless LED Light Bulbs, such as those offered by Philips Hue, which contain packages comprised of LED bulbs, a wi-fi bridge, and a mobile app, which puts all the control in your hands. As the homeowner, you can control your lighting through your smart phone or an app, even when you’re in a remote location such as your son’s football game or at work. Not only can you schedule particular room lights to go on and off, you can also alter the tone or color of the lights (white, red and blue) to suit whatever mood you happen to be in.
Smart Appliances
Make your kitchen and laundry appliances come to life with smart capabilities that can be controlled via your smart phone. Smart refrigerators like those offered by Smart ThinkQ and Whirlpool, can connect to your wi-fi enabled devices and can even sync up to blue tooth and your smart thermostats such as Nest. From temperature controls to door alarms to child locks, your fridge has never been so intuitive.
All of these high-tech devices can increase the comfort and convenience of your home, bringing you to the forefront of technology and innovation.
If you would like to talk about ideas for remodeling or renovating your home in Fairfax, Mclean, Springfield, Woodbridge, Alexandria, Arlington, and Falls Church VA, reach out to us at Foster Remodeling. Call now for a free consultation!
