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How Technology is Improving the Home

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Technology is integrating into every aspect of our lives including the home. To a certain degree, a lot of these technical advances have been available for several decades. Until recently its affordability and the ease of installation made it accessible to everyone. The goal of technology in a home has two main objectives. Improve the tenants quality of life and cut costs. Here are a couple areas where technology can improve your home ownership experience.

Security Systems

Security systems have seen the biggest change over the last decades from a consumer standpoint. You can now order a security system online, ship it to your home and install it yourself. Additionally, you can pay month to month for your security service. No need for multi-year contracts and service fees.

Your smartphone and wireless internet now play a key role in your home security. You can monitor all cameras you’ve installed on your smartphone and the video feed is connected via wireless internet. You can also turn on or disable your alarm with the security company’s app in addition to a whole list of settings. Want to learn more about home security options, pricing and suggestions? Visit this page.

Smart Home Devices

Glance around your home and see what areas of your house you’ve already opted to add a smart component to. Home assistant’s are increasing popular like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. If you’re an organized person and have a busy life home assistants come in handy for scheduling, getting quick answers and making snap purchases on important grocery items or basic house neccescities.

Smart Lighting

Want to control every aspect of your home’s lighting? There are smart lights systems for that, here’s a popular item, the Philips Hue. While it may be easy to turn on and off light switches for in your home consider what a burden it is to accurately light up your front and back yards. Additionally, you can set a timer for when they turn on and off, saving you both time and money. Smart Lighting also can set ‘moods’ in your home depending on your activities. Hosting guests? Have a preset option for parties. Watching a movie? Find the right hue for a better home theater experience.

Home Entertainment Center

This segways perfectly to the next area of smart homes, the home entertainment center. A lot of homes are cutting cords and choosing to stream all of their content. This means less reliance on cable boxes and more focus on the wireless system. Smart Televisions even take it a step further by installing streaming applications directly so you don’t have to use third party software like Amazon Fire Stick or Roku. Smart speakers can communicate wirelessly with your phone or television giving users the ability to enjoy a surround sound experience without the hassle or mess of wiring a system. Finally control all aspects of the entertainment center with your smartphone. The only controller you’ll ever need.

Smart Vacuums and Lawn Mowers

Chores can tend to be a burden when you want to relax at home after a long day. Smart vacuums and lawn mowers can help save some time, keep your floors clean and lawn tidy at the push of a button. These smart devices are programable to run certain times of the day, built with sensors to avoid harm to anyone or property and do a good job. Simply clean and charge when their cycle is done.

Smart Thermostat

Thermostats have taken a step into the future by replacing touchpads with sleek touchscreen LED displays and smartphone integration. Like other smart home applications smart thermostats can be controlled, programmed and updated on smartphones or computers. Additionally, it provides up-to-date analytics so you can see your home’s energy performance over time. This can lead to energy savings with the right plan of action. To view popular smart thermostats visit this page.

Doug MartensHow Technology is Improving the Home
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Doug Martens Construction is Certified ICF(Insulated Concrete Forms) builder!

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Doug Martens Construction is Certified ICF(Insulated Concrete Forms) builder!

Here are some benefits with a ICF home:

Energy efficiency – Minimal, if any, air leaks, which improves comfort and reduces heat loss compared to walls without a solid air barrier

• Fire protection – ICF walls can have four- to six-hour fire resistance rating and negligible surface burning properties.

• Vermin – Because the entire interior space of ICF walls is continuously occupied (no gaps as can occur between blown or fiberglass insulation and a wood frame wall) they pose more difficulty for casual transit by insects and vermin.

Doug MartensDoug Martens Construction is Certified ICF(Insulated Concrete Forms) builder!
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We’re proud to offer green sustainable homes!

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We’re proud to offer green sustainable homes!

Why build green? Here’s why:

Economic benefits:
• Reduce operating costs
• Create, expand, and shape markets for green product and services
• Improve occupant productivity
• Optimize life-cycle economic performance

Environmental benefits:
• Enhance and protect biodiversity and ecosystems
• Improve air and water quality
• Reduce waste streams
• Conserve and restore natural resources

Social benefits
• Enhance occupant comfort and health
• Heighten aesthetic qualities
• Minimize strain on local infrastructure
• Improve overall quality of life

Doug MartensWe’re proud to offer green sustainable homes!
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