Many Australians have the mistaken idea that home automation is expensive. In the past this was so, but the price of home automation systems has come down considerably in recent years and there is no longer a need to install a complete system initially. This brings the initial cost of home automation within the reach of the average Australian and makes sound economic sense, too. By installing an energy saving home automation system, you can enjoy its benefits and start saving money at the same time.

Home Automation: The Basics

The heart of a home automation system is the master control unit. This can be a hand-held wireless remote control device, a wall mounted LCD screen or a combination of devices. Once you have the master unit, you can decide how automated you want your home to be. Some of the most common components of a home automation system include:

• Home Entertainment
• Air Conditioning
• Lighting
• Home Security
• Irrigation
  

A fully automated home may also include automated curtains, shutters, door locking, remote survelliance and even a number of kitchen appliances. If you want to put your home automation system to work at saving money for you, make reducing your energy consumption your goal, starting with your air conditioning. In the un-automated home, we are caught between a rock and a hard place: either we have to overuse the air conditioning in order to fully enjoy its benefits or we have to sacrifice the benefits of having air conditioning in order to save on energy consumption.  An automated air conditioning system automatically resolves your dilemma in two ways:

1. When you leave the home, you have a choice between leaving un-automated air conditioning on and returning to a pleasant indoor environment or turning it off and returning to a sweltering or freezing home. With an automated system, you can turn the air conditioning off when you leave in the morning and either set it to turn on again at a pre-set time or even turn it on from your office computer before you leave work.
   
2. If, as so often happens, someone in your household forgets to turn off the air conditioning when they leave the house, you can do it from wherever you happen to be.

How many times have you found yourself walking through the house turning off lights in an effort to stop unnecessarily wasting electricity. If no one is in the bathroom, the bedroom, the garage or the laundry room, why are those lights left blazing? On the other hand, you don't want to stumble down a dark hallway, walk into a dark bedroom and fumble for the light switch several times every evening. Home automation solves the problem of wasted electricity in many ways:

• Sophisticated motion sensors can be installed to turn on the lights when someone enters or approaches an area and switch them off again a few minutes after they leave.
  
• Light sensors can be installed to control the lighting based on ambient light.
  
• You can set the lights to come on at pre-set times: no need to leave the porch light on all day just so you have it on when you return home in the evening.

Of all the ways home automation can save you money, home security may be the most important. Automated home security can be as simple as being able to control your lights remotely when you're on holidays to as elaborate as installing home video surveillance. If you have motion sensors installed, you can program the system to send you an SMS if motion is detected in the home when no one is expected to be there. You may never know whether or not your home security system has saved you money, but even just installing automated lighting will deter thieves and give you greater peace of mind when you are away from the home.

These are just some of the ways home automation can save you money. Find a home automation expert in your area and discover all the advantages of home automation. You may find yourself enjoying life more and saving money with home automation sooner than you thought you could.