Smarthome

SMART HOME AUTOMATION DEVICES

Once nothing more than fiction, the Smart Home is here and now, and it's affordable for everyone.  Whether you need to control or monitor a single device, a few things, or an entire house, we have affordable solutions available.   Use your phone to control and monitor your home, cottage or business.  Get alerts, or use voice control assistants like Alexa, Siri or Google Home to command your smart home devices.   A smart home system can increase the home's value and definitley enhances convenience and even security by automating the home based on schedules or motion sensing.

Aartech Canada was one of the first smart home automation distributors in Canada and today offers the broadest selection of smart home products with our best price guarantee and local Canadian service and support.  We have our own in house technical support staff and most of our employees use the technology in their own homes.

TECHNOLOGIES

Smart Home technologies primarily include WiFi, ZWave, Zigbee, as well as Lutron's Clear Connect technology used in Caseta and RadioRA.  Each has their own unique advantages.

WIFI SMART HOME DEVICES

WiFi devices are quick to install, don't require a smart home hub and are a great option for single and small installs.  Larger installs will require some extra care and consideration.  Most WiFi smart home devices will work out of the box with Alexa, Google Home and Siri voice assistants.

ZWAVE SMART HOME DEVICES

ZWave devices are broadly available from many different manufacturers, and are supported by alarm companies and smart home hub manufacturers.  Most smart hubs now work with Google Home and Alexa for voice controls through the smart home hub.

ZIGBEE SMART HOME DEVICES

Zigbee is a mesh wireless technology similar to ZWave.  It supports a huge number of devices per system with virtually unlimited hops making up for a shorter wireless range than ZWave.  Zigbee support is built in to some popular smart home hubs like Vera and SmartThings.  It is also supported by the Amazon Echo Show.

LUTRON CASETA AND RADIORA

Lutron created and patented the wall dimmer as we know it, so when it came time to create smart home lighting products it's not surprising that they developed something special.  Lutron's Clear Connect uses a frequency that has nearly no interference from other devices.   It's fast and efficient.  Clear Connect is used in their Caseta Wireless and RadioRA devices.  Both product lines allow for local/manual control, remote app control and integration in to smart home systems.  Both offer scene lighting using keypads.  Caseta Wireless is available to pro and DIY installers.  RadioRA is available only to pro installers who been trained and have access to configuration software.  

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE

For more information about the various technologies, please check out our Smart Home Guide .

CLOUD VS SMART HUB

WiFi devices typically connect to your existing network and use a cloud based server to provide remote control, notifications, timers and event actions.  This makes it easy for different vendors to talk to each other to create smart home routines either directly or using services like IFTTT.  It also allows multiple sites to be included in the same automation app more easily.

Cloud based events can be slower to trigger since the smart home device has to relay every event to the cloud via an Internet connection, where it's processed and then sent back down to the home.  Also if the Internet connection breaks, all automation events also break.

Smart Home Hub based automation systems are most commonly used with Insteon, Wave and Zigbee devices.  In this case, the device communicates with the hub.  Some hubs like Vera or Hometroller or ISY will keep all programming and all logic in the hub so that events fire much more quickly, and if the Internet breaks, all routines, triggers and schedules continue.  Some hubs like SmartThings use a combination of local processing and cloud processing so most events will work without Internet but some will not.

VOICE CONTROL

The newest trend in home automation is to control devices by voice.  Most WiFi based devices and most of our smart home hubs are now compabitible with Google Assistant or Alexa so the user can talk to the home control system instead of using a tablet or smart phone if it's more convenient.  This is great for quick actions like turning some lights on or off.  It's also fabulous for users who cannot operate a smart phone such as the elderly, blind, etc.  Voice control assistants are making a huge impact in assisted living.

NEED HELP?  BETTER THAN BIG BOX

Aartech Canada is very different than big box stores or most other distributors and Etailers.  We have our own in-house technical support, and we'll help with processing warranty issues for the full manufacturer's support period, not just for the first 15 or 30 days.  Our customer service team can also help answer questions before your purchase.  We encourage you to read the materials and guides we've created and then reach out if you have questions.