The month of May means that summer is around the corner. But in Southlake — or most anywhere in Texas — the summer heat has already arrived. Higher temperatures likely mean higher energy usage — and consequently the associated costs — when using your climate control system to cool down your home. But consider an alternative: motorized shades work easily to provide convenient energy efficiency.

You may already know that shades can add to a room’s aesthetic, create privacy, and more. But in this blog, we’ll discuss the unique energy-savings benefit of motorized shades. Read on to learn more.

See Also: Why Smart Window Shades Are a Great Addition to Any Space

Automate Shades to Work with Your Smart Home Control System

Use your smart automation system for full control of your technology and home. Set it to close the shades when it detects too much heat — that way your climate control system doesn’t kick in and use unnecessary energy. Instead, the shades will know when to close and block out the sun.

This is especially true with blackout shades, which completely block any sunlight — and thus heat — from entering the space at all.

In many blogs, you’ll read about the features and benefits of smart products or homes, but we say confidently that you should be just as informed about how to protect your Keller, TX home, and use home networking as a security tool.

In this blog, we will discuss how you can use home networking to ensure that your data is safe and without risk of being tapped into. Keep your property safe from cyber-attacks by reading more below.

See Also: The Essential Piece to Your Smart System

Network Name & Password: Don’t name your network after something obvious (family name, address). Moreover, create a password that won’t be easily-guessed by others; or, alternatively, randomly generate a string of letters, numbers, and symbols. All your devices are tied to the same network in your home, so taking this first step to protecting them is key.

Traffic-Encryption: When your network encrypts the traffic running through, it shuffles the messages sent through your network. Even if tapped into, they can’t decipher the info. Devices should have matching encryption to ensure that they can still communicate.

Are you looking to spice up your outdoor spaces?  With the warmer spring weather in Dallas, it could be the right time to add dramatic outdoor lighting to your pool, patio, and landscape.

According to a recent survey by the home design website Houzz, 45% of landscape design projects incorporate some outdoor lighting components.  Why? Outdoor lighting can extend your outdoor entertainment well into the warm Texas spring and summer evenings, and set just the right tone and mood for you and your guests.

Interested in hearing more?  Let’s explore how outdoor lighting and lighting control can make your outside time more fun in the seasonal months ahead.    

SEE ALSO: A Quick Guide to Outdoor Sound Systems

Accenting Your Outdoors

There are many ways to add flair to your outdoor spaces.  LED lights can illuminate pathways in your patio and through garden areas.  Up-lights can add a dramatic effect to parts of the home, in the front and back, and at the street level at stanchions or gates. They can also illuminate trees and bushes, drawing the eye to the view you want to stage when the sun goes down. 

Here in Texas, we know that summer can sometimes be a double-edged sword.

While it’s the perfect time of year for outdoor fun, summer also delivers higher temperatures – and, naturally, increased energy bills.

At DB Media Solutions, our team of custom technology experts love working with local homeowners in Westlake and throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to lower their energy consumption levels through smart home automation.

In this post, we explore three of the best energy-efficient smart home devices you should add to your house – just in time for this summer.

SEE ALSO: 5 Must-Have Smart Home Automation Technologies

When designing the interior of a home to include projectors or screens, your priority is most likely to meet your client’s expectations — if not go above and beyond. Many homeowners in the Colleyville area are interested in audio video solutions to hide their screens so that it’s not overtly on display all the time.

In this blog, we will look at some of the ways that you can best design a homeowner’s space to find the best solution — whether it’s subtly hiding the screen out of sight or disguising it with décor.

See Also: What Does Hidden Audio Video Look and Sound Like?

Hide Inside Artwork

The benefit of artwork that hides projector screens or TVs is twofold.

Any artwork can enhance the aesthetic of a room by complementing the existing décor or functioning as a statement piece. Then when the homeowner wants to put on a film or show, they simply use their automated system to move the artwork to display the TV or screen.