At the start of the year we predicted integration would be a determining factor in whether a smart product was successful or not. So far this has proven to be true with integration allowing your smart home to be as smart as it can be.
Our homes are only as smart as the devices in them – and they need to work the way they are meant to. However, not all devices will ‘talk’ to each other the way they should, to give you the kind of service you dreamt about. Here is how to easily integrate both MyAir and MyLights to make this dream a reality.
The Importance of Integration
The growth of integration has been one of the biggest tech trends in Australia so far this year. There is no denying that us Aussies love our convenience and smart home products that can be controlled from one central place offer this.
Also known as centralised home automation – where users can control every connected appliance and device in their home from the one interface – their aim is to create a smoother environment by seamlessly integrating. This makes them easier to manage and simplifies our lives, which at the end of the day is what smart home technology is all about.
Introducing the MyPlace Touch screen
As a result of the push for further integration, homeowners are beginning to invest in true home automation hubs. A hub acts as a central location to connect devices for use wirelessly from a remote control panel, tablet or smartphone.
Fortunately, when you install Advantage Air’s MyAir and MyLights, you don’t need to worry about figuring out integration for yourself. As both systems are from Advantage Air, MyAir and MyLights work off the same MyPlace touchscreen and app.
An 8-inch colour touchscreen that is permanently powered and wall-mounted, MyPlace is designed to be a complete home hub. Simply tap on what you want to do and follow the prompts. Under the MyLights tab, our intuitive navigation has four main sections:
- Home: These are the buttons which are most commonly used on your device. The intuitive system will automatically include them for you.
- Groups: These are the groups of lights, e.g. an open plan living area could have a dining group, a kitchen group and a living group, or they could all be in the same group. You can set groups yourself and your MyPlace will remember.
- Scenes: These are the light settings, e.g. ‘Movie Night’ where you have most of the living area light dimmed or ‘Sleep Tight’ where the children’s rooms are dimmed to allow them to go to sleep but still have some light in the room.
- Help: Simply tap the help button if assistance is required at any point in time.
Then simply switch over to the MyAir tab and start controlling all the heating and cooling in your home from the very same place. The home screen displays all the essentials: whether the system is on or off, set to heating or cooling, the set temperature and fan speed.
Once you have adjusted the temperature from the home screen, you can tap through to zones to fine tune the airflow in every room. Here you can unlock the full functionality of each system by simply tapping the unit name to display all your options.
Homeowners don’t want to be rocket scientists in order to manage or learn about their smart devices. They just want them to operate automatically and give them the benefits for which they were purchased. Like all the best tablets, MyPlace is super intuitive and easy to use.
The entire system is designed to be technophobe friendly, so even the most technologically challenged can use it with ease. You can also upgrade from the 8-inch touchscreen to the 10-inch touchscreen making everything larger and easier to use. See what this Queensland couple had to say about using MyPlace.
Integration at the Touch of your Fingertips
As daily life migrates online, it is handy to have a dedicated touchscreen for the home. So apart from MyAir and MyLights, MyPlace has a wide range of other useful features. Doubling as an Android home hub, when connected to the Internet it lets you:
- Check the weather
- Organise the family calendar
- Play music
- Order groceries
- Google recipes
- Go on Facebook
- Pay bills
- Plus so much more
That’s right – with the touch of the Android icon, it switches to your other apps and systems to make everyday life a little more comfortable. So we think it is fair to say the connected home is well and truly here thanks to MyPlace.
The real value of smart home products is achieved when they are interconnected. Have a chat with Advantage Air today about installing a MyPlace home hub that controls both MyAir and MyLights.