What is home automation
The term home automation is the one we see the most. It basically refers to smart devices and appliances what we have at home. We will be able to control all of them from another device, such as a mobile. For example, you can use your automated washing machine and control it from your phone.
It is, therefore, the capacity of the devices to connect with each other and be able to use them from a different one. Logically, a washing machine, oven or any conventional appliance cannot be controlled from the mobile. As soon as this is possible, when we can connect another device and have control, then it is when we talk about home automation.
In other words, these devices are now considered smart. They become connected to the network and can be controlled. What examples can we give? We can talk about smart bulbs that we can turn on or off from the mobile, electrical appliances such as an oven, washing machine, dishwasher… These devices will have a Wi-Fi network and will be able to connect to the mobile.
What home automation allows is to be able to control devices without having to adjust it manually, physically. That is, maybe we are in a room and we want to turn on the oven simply from the mobile, without having to go to the kitchen, so that it starts to preheat. That is home automation.
what is automation
After explaining what home automation consists of, it is easier to see the differences with automation. Although in a certain way both are similar in terms of gaining comfort, saving time or even on the electricity bill, in reality there are differences. You will see them when we explain what it consists of.
Automation means automatic control of certain functions. For example, home automation refers to being able to control the turning on or off of light bulbs from the mobile. Automation would be that these bulbs can turn on or off by themselves, depending on some parameters. For example, they could turn on when we enter a room, turn off when there is enough sunlight, be on only at certain times, etc.
The same can be said of other home automation devices that can be automated. For example, a robot vacuum cleaner, which autonomously starts cleaning at certain times, some days of the week. We can also name blinds that automatically open at certain times, surveillance cameras that automatically send us images or warnings when they detect something strange, etc.
In short, the term automation is directly related to home automation, but they are not the same. In other words, there can be home automation without automation. Therefore, if you want to make your home smart and you start reading manuals and see many devices that you can use, you already know what the difference is between these two terms.
