How to pick right smart home automation devices for your needs

Summer vacations are here, and all homeowners have already begun planning their yearly renovations. In all your research for creative ideas and service providers online, one term that must’ve caught your attention is “Smart Home Automation.” 

This is no longer a novel concept to Indians, and most new property projects already come with in-built smart tech that allows you to remotely control your appliances through a mobile app or voice automation (via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant).   

The boom of smart products available on Amazon is a double-edged sword. With so many options available right at your doorstep, it can quickly become overwhelming for many people. You might be confused about which device serves which functions, and what package or solution is the right fit for your lifestyle.

So in this blog, we’ll match each of the common appliances with its most compatible smart Pert device, so you know exactly what you’re going to get. Pert offers 100% customizable packages for the number of switches, appliances, or rooms you want to automate. So you can pick & choose as per your needs.

You can even start with just one appliance or room, experience the convenience and comfort of automating things, and then upgrade/scale to more smart devices over time. 

Some top features of our products are: 

• Work locally without live internet (uses your Wi-Fi router network) 
• Suitable for Indian homes & lifestyles
• Sturdy & durable material for long-term use
• Built-in surge protectors to handle power cuts
• Hassle-free installation, lifetime support, and customer service

Learn more about our products by browsing our catalog here: www.bit.ly/Pert-Catalog 

1. For Lights & Fans, choose Retrofit Switches

The most common point for beginning your smart home journey is by automating your lights, fans, and other loads connected to your living room or bedroom’s switchboards.

Pert’s Retrofit Switch Modules, more popularly known as the “Nucleus” Series, are small boxes that fit snugly behind your normal existing board’s gang box. So there’s no extra wiring hassle, wall damage, or remodeling required. 

Each Smart Node automates one switch, and you can choose the number of Nodes, which come in iterations of 1, 2, 3+1 (with fan dimmer), 6, 8, 16, 32, and more. 

By installing these retrofit switches, you’ll be able to turn on/off your lights & fans from anywhere in the world with just a single tap. You can also schedule them to automatically turn on at set times (e.g Turn off the lights at 7 AM/sunrise every day). 

Plus, you can combine different lights and loads into one group or routine, and activate them together using our “Smart Scene” feature (e.g. Turn on all bedroom lights at 6 PM).

The 3+1 Node model comes with a hum-free noiseless fan dimmer, too, and it allows you to control the fan’s rotation speed as per the room’s temperature.  

2. For TV & AC, choose Universal Remote

Do you have a drawer or shelf just dedicated for all the remotes? Our IR Blaster (commonly known as the Cuboid Universal Remote) is the perfect solution to clean up that mess. 

It’s a small cookie-shaped device that replaces all the manual remotes, bringing your appliances onto the Pert mobile app. From there, you can remotely control & schedule them to switch on/off anytime from anywhere. 

The IR Blaster is compatible with 80,000+ devices & brands, so you’ll be spoilt for choice. People mainly use it to control the AC, TV, DVD Player, Music System, Home Theatre, LED lights, remote-operated curtains, and other infrared wave-based appliances.

You can also pair it with your Echo or Google Nest Speaker for voice commands. Some examples of this feature are: 

• Alexa set the AC to 23°C
• Ok Google, turn off the AC at 2 AM 
• Ok Google, play my Old Hindi Songs on the Music System
• Alexa, lower/increase the AC blow/temperature 
• Ok Google, schedule the living room TV to turn off at 10 PM (it’s bedtime) 

It’s one of the top-selling products on our shelf, and for a good reason. 

3. For Geyser & Charging, choose Smart Plugs

While Retrofit Switches can handle your lights & fans, we recommend using a portable Smart Plug for appliances with higher capacity loads, such as your geyser and microwave. 

A Smart Plug looks just like the regular one, except it has IoT features to connect with your local Wi-Fi, enabling you to remotely control the electricity flow from that socket (plug point/outlet). 

The model is non-intrusive, so just plug it into any normal socket, configure the settings in less than a minute, and start controlling your connected appliance from the mobile app. 

A Smart Plug can also be used for charging stations. We often leave our phones and laptops on charging mode overnight, which may lead to battery trickling down once they reach full charging. 

These small units can add up over time. So as you go to sleep, just schedule your charging station/strip to turn off after a few hours.

4. For Bathroom Lights & Exhaust, get PIR Motion Sensor

Do your kids often forget to turn off the bathroom lights after they’re done using them? It’s not just an inconvenience to manually control them but can also waste a lot of energy. 

Installing a PIR motion sensor in addition to the smart switches can help you automate this room as well. When you enter the bathroom, the sensor will detect your presence, and command the lights and exhaust fan switches to automatically turn on. 

Once you leave, and no motion has been detected for a while, it will turn off the switches, too. How cool is that? 

5. For Ambiances, choose RGB Light Strips 

Last but not the least, we come to the crowd favorite: our Smart RGB Light Strips. After all, what good is a smart home if you can’t show it off to your guests?

With 16 million colors & patterns to choose from, the Strips help you create gorgeous ambiances that suit the occasion or mood. For a public gathering/party, choose a warm & bright yellow color, and for an intimate dinner date night, go for a dim blue or purple hue. 

You can also make movie nights more interesting by turning the room into a theatre with the right red & blue light effects. 

The Strip is ultra-flexible and can be stuck on any glass, wooden, or concrete surface. Because of its long cord, you’re not restricted to power outlets. Use it anywhere, such as: 

• Ceilings of living room/bedroom
• Under the bed
• On the kitchen platform/floor
• On the bookshelf or wardrobe 
• On the gallery/balcony glass
• Behind your TV/laptop & study desk

6. For Curtains, choose our Curtain Controller

The Smart Curtain Controller is retrofitted into any existing horizontal curtains and enables you to open/close the blinds/shades from your phone. 

You can automate them to open at sunrise so you wake up to natural sunlight every day. Similarly, schedule them to close at sunset so you can enjoy some privacy for the night. 

An interesting security application of remote controlling your curtains is to automate them to randomly open and close while you’re away on holidays. This mimics human presence, giving the impression that someone’s home, and it may help in discouraging intruders, burglars, and other prying eyes.  

Key Takeaway: Customize your Smart Home Project with Pert

In this blog post, we saw the various types of popular smart devices offered by Pert, and which appliances they’re most compatible with. Of course, we have an ever-growing list of new additions, so you can follow our Instagram @getpert to stay updated on the launches.

The beauty of Pert is you can go for any of our offerings to try them out exclusively, but the more appliances you automate, the more possibilities it opens up. 

For example, if your TV, lights, and AC are all connected with Pert, you can group them into one Smart Scene to get things done faster (e.g. Alexa, turn on Movie Night = dim the lights, turn on Netflix, set AC to 22°C).   

If you’re excited to start your smart home automation journey and would like to explore the best smart products in town, download our catalog right now: https://bit.ly/Pert-Catalog

We’re also inviting you for a free live demo at our Live Experience Center in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, so give us a call to book your appointment today. 

☎️ Sales Hotline: +91 91009 20031 (WhatsApp)
📩 Email: hello@pert.me
️🌐 Website: www.pert.me

The Pert Team is quite excited to be part of your smart home project soon!