With the arrival of summer, the muggy air and the intense heat, carrying out everyday tasks can feel even more tiring than usual. Coming home from work is just as exhausting as driving through traffic, and the only thing we want once we get home is to relax, rest and take our minds off everything.
There is, however, a silver lining. As the summer holidays approach, it’s finally time to enjoy the comfort of home. So why not make your home smarter and more comfortable with some automations specifically tailored to the summer season?
Here are five automations (or Habits, as we call them) that are essential for improving your daily comfort during these long, hot days.
Gradual lowering and raising of shutters with the Freedompro Shutter Module
Have you ever heard of circadian rhythms? These are natural cycles of around 24 hours that regulate various biological processes in our bodies, such as sleep, wakefulness, body temperature and hormone production. These rhythms are mainly influenced by the alternation of light and darkness and help to synchronise our physiological activities with the external environment. The ‘master clock’ that coordinates these rhythms is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the brain, which receives information from light via the eyes.
Maintaining a regular circadian rhythm is essential for well-being and general health, and smart automation of your roller shutters can help you achieve precisely this.
With the Shutter Modules from Freedompro’s Smart Modules range, you can make your home’s roller shutters smart by automating them and integrating them into your daily routines. We’ve explained in more detail how to do this in this in-depth guide.
To make the most of this Habit during the summer, we suggest setting the shutters to lower and raise gradually. How? Simply set up an automation using “Postpone” – you can also do this via our Freedompro Home app – which closes the roller shutter by 20% at a specific time in the evening, by a further 30% a few hours later, and finally by the remaining 50% during the night. A quick reminder: “Postpone” is a delay function which, when used within an automation, allows you to delay an event.
As well as allowing you to benefit from the natural light/dark cycles typical of summer, this automation also boosts your security: there’ll be no more risk of falling asleep in front of the TV with the shutters open and finding them still open the next morning, nor of ‘baking’ in the house because the shutters were closed too early.
Similarly, by setting a reverse Habit, you can gradually raise the shutters from a certain time (for example at dawn), so that you can wake up to natural light.
Automating your floor fan with Freedompro Smart Modules
Who doesn’t love a bit of fresh air during the summer? Fans are designed precisely for this purpose, and floor fans are particularly handy because they’re lightweight, affordable and easy to move around. They do have one drawback, however: generally speaking, they’re not smart at all and have to be switched on using a button on the unit itself or, at best, with a remote control.
Why not make them smart instead, using the Wi-Fi-connected relays from Freedompro’s Smart Modules range? You can do this either with the Smart Outlet Modules, which act directly on the power sockets (you can find out how in this article) and therefore also on non-IoT devices connected to them, or, alternatively, with the Dry Contact Modules, the smart, professional actuators (also connected via Wi-Fi) designed for devices with pulse or dry contact outputs, i.e. those that respond to simple On/Off commands. Here too, we have an article ready for you that explains exactly how our solution works: you can find it here.
The only requirement to make this automation work is to keep the device plugged into the mains and with the button in the ‘ON’ position, at the speed of your choice (provided it’s above zero!).
Why is this Habit one of our favourites? Simple: because by connecting a pedestal fan to one of our Smart Modules (which, as well as being super-easy to set up, are also Matter-certified), you get a simple yet effective automation that allows you to schedule when the fan turns on and off according to your needs, ensuring a consistently cool environment without having to switch the device on manually.
Automation of the dehumidifier and air conditioner
For those living in areas particularly prone to high humidity, the synergy between dehumidification and indoor air cooling is ideal for enhancing home comfort during the summer. As is well known, high levels of humidity increase what is known as ‘perceived heat’ because humidity hinders the evaporation of sweat, reducing the body’s natural ability to cool itself.
If you have a dehumidifier and an air conditioner, the problem is easily solved with Freedompro solutions. In this case, you can set up your Habits using Easykon, our range of bridge devices that takes KNX and BTicino Home automation to the next level by integrating – in addition to automations – voice commands and remote control (please note, however, that for certain specific models of air conditioner, you can also use the Freedompro Outlet Module).
In this case, we suggest you configure an automation that switches on the dehumidifier before the air conditioner, in a virtuous cycle that ensures not only greater control over indoor humidity (and therefore over indoor air quality), but also optimal energy savings – especially when compared to switching on both appliances at the same time.
Dehumidifier and air purifier: with the Outlet Module, well-being is a team effort
Did you know that dehumidification followed by air purification increases home comfort during the summer?
By reducing humidity, it actually improves the human body’s ability to cool itself naturally. Similarly, a less humid environment is less conducive to the growth of mould, dust mites and other allergens that thrive in such conditions.
After dehumidification, using an air purifier removes dust, pollen, bacteria and other pollutants from the air, creating a healthier environment: cleaner air reduces allergy and asthma symptoms, boosting overall well-being.
If you have these devices, our suggestion is to make them smart using the aforementioned Smart Outlet Modules from Freedompro’s Smart Modules range: you can control both directly from the power socket, and all you need to do is leave the plug in to switch them on or off and integrate them into your daily automations with a tap on your smartphone.
And there was light: automating outdoor lighting with Freedompro’s Light Modules
It’s inevitable: with summer and rising temperatures, the windows and French doors in your home tend to stay open longer than usual, not only to let air circulate indoors but also because people are constantly going in and out of the garden.
With Freedompro’s Smart Light Modules, also part of the Smart Modules range, you can make not only your indoor lighting smart, but also the lighting outside your home – for example, by automating your patio or garden lights. To find out just how simple and effective these Wi-Fi-connected relays are, you can read our in-depth guide on the subject.
And if you want to know why you should use them for your outdoor lighting, we offer you two reasons: on the one hand, you increase security (for example, by setting up a Habit that keeps the outdoor lights on during the night, then switches them off automatically at dawn); on the other, you create a cosy atmosphere for your evenings outdoors.
Automating your electric barbecue with the Freedompro Outlet Module
We know: we said we’d be talking about five truly essential summer automations. But this last one is simply too ‘tempting’ to ignore – and the choice of word is no accident!
The warmer months are also perfect for al fresco lunches and, consequently, for barbecues in the garden. If you have an electric barbecue, you can install the Smart Outlet Module from Freedompro’s Smart Modules range and instantly make the appliance smart: simply leave it plugged in!
In practice, this means you can switch it on or off directly from your smartphone, without leaving the kitchen, where you might be busy preparing the food to cook. Automatic switch-on is perfect for saving time and ensuring the grill is nice and hot, ready for use; automatic switch-off, on the other hand, improves safety by minimising the risk of people or pets getting burnt by an electric barbecue left switched on. Thanks to the Smart Outlet Module, both these functions are automated directly from the power socket to which the accessory is connected, using our Freedompro Home app.
Final bonus: two useful automations if you’re not at home during the summer
We conclude this overview of the most beneficial summer automations by suggesting two that you can use when you’re not at home to ensure greater security, real convenience and tangible energy savings.
To make your home less appealing to potential intruders, you can set the lights (indoor or outdoor) to switch on automatically at certain times of the day, perhaps combined with the TV or radio to give the impression that someone is at home. In this case, all you’ll need are the Smart Light Modules (for the lights) and the Smart Outlet Modules (for the radio and TV), which you can control directly from your smartphone.
Finally, remember that you can also use Smart Outlet Modules to make non-IoT appliances such as fridges, freezers, microwaves, electric ovens and induction hobs smart and control them remotely. You can choose to switch them off from your smartphone so they don’t use energy whilst you’re away, or monitor their operation to ensure there are no unpleasant surprises waiting for you when you return home.
All the automations we’ve suggested significantly improve your home experience, whether you’re actually there or somewhere else – perhaps on a tropical beach, gazing out at the ocean.
