Let’s face it: Texas homeowners are not well equipped to deal with cold weather. Anything below 70 degrees is practically foreign territory, and your home’s heating system (if you even have one) is likely rusty from lack of use. That said, the Southlake area has already seen some chilly days, and the fickle Texas weather could turn even colder at a moment’s notice. Is your home prepared? In this blog, we discuss how motorized shades can help keep your home cozy warm without blasting the heater 24x7.

The Need for Insulation

The big trend with home architecture these days is large windows in every room. While these windows promote an open, airy feel to the house, that ambiance comes at a price, a very tangible cost seen each month on your energy bill. That’s because glass is not a very good insulator. During the summer, those glass windows focus the sun’s heat, essentially baking each room and causing your HVAC unit to work overtime to keep things cool.

In the winter, the problem is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Your home’s heat seeps out of the glass, so even though your heater might be running, the odds are likely that you’ll still feel a chill in the air whenever you go into rooms with large windows.

The Solution: Motorized Shades

Obviously, you don’t want to cover up your beautiful windows for the entire winter season, so the trick is to find a solution that balances your view of the outdoors with smart energy management. Motorized shades are a perfect fit.

Window treatments form a barrier between your well-heated room and the glass that enables the heat to pass outside, essentially trapping the warm air in the room. You can achieve this effect through multiple shading styles, such as traditional drapery, but one of the best types of window treatment for heat harnessing is the honeycomb style. The design has pleats that open up to create and trap warm air pockets.

As smart home technology becomes more and more popular, there are several terms that you’re going to hear quite frequently. One technology that is often considered an essential part of smart home automation is lighting control. If you’re unfamiliar with this term, don’t worry. We’ve put together a quick guide that goes over the features and benefits of lighting control systems so that you can decide for yourself if this innovative technology is right for your Colleyville, Texas home.

What is Lighting Control?

Lighting control refers to technology that allows you to easily adjust the lights throughout your home. Technically, anything from a light switch to a lamp dimmer is a form of lighting control, but in modern terms, lighting control typically refers to systems that automate the process of managing all the lights throughout your home. So instead of relying on individual switches for each light, all of the lights are connected to one centrally managed system you can control right from your smartphone or tablet.

SEE ALSO: 5 Ways to Manage Your Lights With Smart Control

What are the Main Advantages of a Lighting Control System?

The short answer to this question is that lighting control makes your life more convenient and comfortable. The longer answer is that the versatility of lighting control makes it possible for you to gain the benefits that matter most to you. Here are just a few of the ways a lighting control system can make life easier:

• Energy Management: The intelligent system ensures that you never waste energy lighting rooms that aren’t in use or burning bulbs at 100% brightness when natural sunlight is available.
• Security: Through automated “scenes,” you can use your lights to make your home look occupied while you’re away, thus convincing would-be burglars to move on to easier targets.
• Time Savings: Instead of walking throughout the house every evening to turn off lights one by one, imagine being able to push a single button on your phone turn off all the lights immediately.
• Interior Design: You can use your control system to display art and décor in the perfect lighting for every occasion.

How Does Lighting Control Fit into a Full Home Automation System?

Modern smart homes are fully customizable, so you can start with as little or as much smart technology as you want and then add on other elements as time goes on. Many Texas homeowners choose to automate their lights initially, then add on other smart home control elements such as audio video systems, home security, motorized shades, etc. The great thing is that all of these different technologies use the same interface that you’re already comfortable with, so each new addition won’t require learning a new system.

These days, you can find just about anything you could possibly need for home networking at your local electronics store. They’ve got routers, wireless access points, Ethernet cables…you name it. Yet despite the availability of DIY home network solutions, savvy Texas homeowners still consistently opt for a professional installation, and with good reason. If you’re questioning whether to DIY your own networking solution or invest in a professional network installation for your Westlake area home, then read on.

Smart Homes Require More than the Minimum

It’s tempting to grab the cheapest router on the shelf, set it up with the default settings, and call it a day, but if you’re planning on using your network with multiple smart devices, that process simply isn’t going to cut it. DIY is still possible, but be prepared to do extensive research on the best products, setup, and maintenance for smart home success.

There are several aspects of a professional installation that you simply cannot get with a DIY solution, and they all boil down to the level of knowledge and experience that comes from working in the home automation and networking industry.

SEE ALSO: 3 Signs Your Smart Home’s Network Probably Isn’t Cutting It

The Benefits of Each Option

DIY home network installations definitely have some worth. They don’t cost as much (although keep in mind the value of your time spent on research and manual labor), and they offer you an opportunity to stretch your technical skills and create something incredibly useful. However, these benefits pale in comparison to the security, reliability, and ease of having a professional installation.

Music is continuously evolving. Just a few decades ago, CD players were considered “high tech,” yet now you can store thousands of files virtually and have them accessible at the push of a button. You might be familiar with different music file storage types like WAV, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, or DSD, but are you aware that the type of file and how it’s encoded has a huge impact on sound quality?

For a high-end audio system in your Texas home, you need more than just quality speakers—you need music files that are able to reproduce the top-notch sound of the original recording. To learn about these file formats and the difference they can make in the listening experience, read on. 

Why File Format Matters

When you think of music files, MP3 probably comes to mind. It’s a very popular method of storing music because you can hold a lot of songs without taking up much space. However, MP3 uses lossy data compression, which means the smaller the file, the lower the music quality. It used to be the case that if you wanted high-fidelity sound, you had to store huge music files, but new advances in file format types have made it possible to preserve original sound quality while keeping storage size small.

The rule of thumb when it comes to file formats is always to go lossless when you can. Some of the most popular lossless file types include FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format), and DSD (Direct Stream Digital). Each of these formats has its own merits, but honestly, the file format isn’t as important as the coding, which brings us to MQA.

MQA: A Must-Have for High-End Audio

MQA, which stands for Master Quality Authenticated, is a type of encoding method that reduces the size of high-fidelity music files without any loss in quality. Developed by Meridian Audio, MQA makes it possible to not only store tons of lossless music on your computer but also stream it! While popular music streaming services like TIDAL have not yet made MQA publically available, the launch is likely not far off.

For Westlake, Texas homeowners who want something a little more flexible than a dedicated home theater system, a media room provides an excellent option for entertainment of all sorts. However, with any multipurpose room, the most common mistake is taking a “jack of all trades, master of none” approach. To create a space that provides a top-notch environment for all of your favorite activities, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. We’ve listed the top design mistakes and how to fix them below.

DON’T Permanently Block Out Natural Light

Sunlight is the bane of any dedicated home theater. It washes out projector visuals and creates a glare on television screens. Since you’ll likely want to enjoy movies and shows in your media room, your first instinct is probably to create a room without any windows. The problem is that the room needs to be available for other activities, like chatting with friends or playing a game of cards. In those cases, natural sunlight is great to have.

DO Install Blackout Shades on the Windows

The solution is to keep the windows, but include motorized shades that completely block out the light when you need a dark environment. With motorized shades, you have more flexibility for creating the perfect lighting for each activity, and changing the lighting is as easy as pushing a button.

DON’T Clutter the Room with Equipment

Bulky speakers, gaming equipment, and a pile of remotes on the coffee table create the distinct feeling that everyone is supposed to stare at the screen and jump right into a movie or video game. If you want the space to be open for other activities such as a fun party or relaxing with a good book, you don’t want to be distracted by the presence of AV equipment.

SEE MORE: 4 Unique Uses for Your Brand New Media Room