Technology is advancing at an ever-increasing rate, and these days, there are fantastic tech upgrades that can add new features and functions to your Aspen home. By upgrading the technology in your home, you can enhance your property's aesthetic and increase the resale value.
From smart home appliances to renewable energy to artificial intelligence and beyond, here are ten tech upgrades that can take your Aspen home to a whole new level.
Smart home security
A security system is perhaps the single most important feature you can install in your home. After all, what's more important than your safety?
These days, there are a number of excellent smart security systems that allow you to monitor your house 24/7 via their respective apps. Some of these systems use cameras integrated into your doorbell to monitor who's coming and going from your property, whereas other systems rely on wireless cameras mounted around the exterior and interior of your home.
Either way, being able to check on your home while away provides the ultimate peace of mind. A smart home security system is an investment in your home and well-being.
Smart lighting
The days of buying color light bulbs are thankfully behind us. Nowadays, many companies produce smart home light bulbs and RGB light strips that allow you to change the color and brightness using your voice, an app, or remote control.
The ability to adjust the color of your light bulbs allows you to set a mood or change the entire room's ambiance, which is very cool and practical. In addition to changing the color or brightness, you can also turn the lights on or off remotely, which is very convenient. Best of all, most of these smart lights can be controlled with your voice via an A.I. assistant, making them another must-have home upgrade.
Smart door locks
In terms of security, smart door locks are a new and dramatic improvement over the deadbolt locks of days gone by. By installing smart locks on your doors, you can control who enters your home by sending out one-time or multi-user access codes, which means you'll never need to worry about losing your keys or somebody creating a copy of your keys.
The best smart locks also allow you to program fingerprints so that you can simply touch the door to gain access. Many smart locks on the market today also feature long-lasting batteries, so you won't need to worry about being locked out due to your batteries dying. Some smart locks have batteries that can last for years, and they’ll send you a warning well before the batteries need replacement.
Smart home appliances
The next category to discuss is a broad one, and that's smart home appliances. These days, just about all major home appliances are available as smart devices, which means that you can control them remotely through an app or with voice commands using a smart home assistant.
Smart refrigerators allow you to keep track of what groceries you have in stock. Smart coffee brewers automatically brew coffee at a specific time, and smart washing machines let you do your laundry remotely, even when you’re out of town.
Smart home appliances are relatively new to the market, but they will eventually replace their non-smart counterparts as the industry standard before the decade's end.
A smart thermostat
The temperature in your home is perhaps the most significant factor affecting your comfort. If it’s too hot or too cold in your home, you won’t be able to relax or feel comfortable. In the past, adjusting the temperature in your home used to mean manually changing the settings on your thermostat, turning on fans and air-conditioners, or plugging in a heater.
These days, a smart home thermostat can automatically control the home’s temperature. If you want to raise or lower the temperature, simply ask the thermostat! Of course, you can also control things like air-conditioners and heaters via your smart thermostat if those appliances are smart-home enabled.
A smart sprinkler system
The final smart home system on the list is a sprinkler system, which can help you keep your lawn looking its best all year round. Only a few short years ago, maintaining a healthy lawn required you to water it with a hose, which could take forever depending on the size of your property, or manually set up and activate your sprinkler systems.
Fortunately, these days you can activate and deactivate your sprinklers remotely with the help of a smart sprinkler system. Even when you're out of town, you can still take care of your lawn to stay green and healthy consistently.
Solar panels
Next on the list is solar panels, which have been gaining traction over the last decade as more and more people understand the importance and practicality of clean, renewable energy. By installing solar panels around your home, you can ensure that you have an additional power source in an emergency. You can even sell the excess energy you produce for cash or discounts on your energy bill.
Modern solar panels actually provide a surprising amount of power — often enough to power your entire home for hours. Considering that all you need to recharge them is some sunlight, this is a significant investment that will pay off for years. Plus, by subsidizing your home energy supply, you’ll be helping to combat climate change.
A.I. voice assistants
All smart appliances mentioned on this list work best when paired with a smart home assistant such as Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri, or Amazon’s Alexa. These devices allow you to control your home appliances using natural voice commands, but they do much more than that.
With an A.I. voice assistant, you can find the answers to many questions without looking for information on Google. You can stream your favorite music, get traffic updates and weather reports, and even shop on Amazon just by using your voice. More smart home appliances will continue to be released, which means that having an A.I. voice assistant will continue to be useful well into the future.
USB power outlets
These days, more and more appliances and electronic devices are powered via USB, but most home power outlets still don’t have built-in USB chargers. By installing the new generation of wall outlets, which feature USB and the standard AC/DC power supplies, you can make charging your phones, tablets, cameras, and everything else that runs on USB power much more convenient, and you’ll never need to worry about repurchasing another USB power adaptor. Alternatively, you can buy wireless charge pads, but those aren’t home upgrades like USB power outlets.
Ductless air-conditioning
Last but not least, ductless air conditioning units are relatively new on the market, but they are, without a doubt, a dramatic leap forward from their less energy-efficient counterparts. Ductless heating and air-conditioning units feature inverter technology that allows the devices to maintain a steady flow of fresh air circulating throughout your home while using only a fraction of the energy that older duct-based air-conditioners consume. In addition to having more evenly distributed cool air throughout your home, ductless air-conditioners can also save you a considerable amount of money each month on your energy bill, as they require less power to operate.
Ready to buy or sell in Aspen?
Smart home systems and energy-efficient appliances are becoming more commonplace and eventually become standard. A.I. voice assistants are beneficial and can automate many mundane tasks that used to require manual effort, and all of these things can be controlled remotely via apps or with your voice.
As technology evolves, homes will continue to get smarter, which only benefits homeowners. By installing these smart tech upgrades today, you can significantly enhance your Aspen home, making it more aesthetically pleasing and functional. These upgrades can also increase the resale value of your home substantially, making each one an excellent investment that will pay off immediately and over time.
Joshua Saslove and Riley Warwick are the premier realtors specializing in Aspen real estate. From Red Mountain to the Central Core and beyond, the team at Saslove and Warwick are the experts you can trust for all things Aspen real estate. If you’re looking to find Aspen homes for sale or if you want to sell your house in Aspen, be sure to get in touch with Saslove & Warwick today.
