Fall in Denver rarely is notoriously unpredictable. A sunny 70-degree afternoon can turn into a hard freeze and a dusting of snow two days later. The National Weather Service puts Denver's average first measurable snowfall at October 18, but in 2020, it arrived on September 8, just days after summer heat. 

Are you switching the thermostat between cooling and heating every few days while chasing the sun with your window shades? Smart home automation takes that routine off your plate. When shades, climate, and lighting follow the same set of rules, your Denver, CO, automatically home adjusts as the weather changes.

SEE ALSO: New to Motorized Shades? Start Here.

Automated Shades Respond to Sun and Cold

Your windows do a lot of work in the fall. On a bright October afternoon, a west-facing living room heaths up quickly, and glare washes out the TV. A few days later, those same windows are losing heat overnight as temperatures drop.

Motorized shades can be programmed to handle both situations. On warm days, they lower automatically when hit directly by the afternoon sun. On cold, clear days, south-facing shades stay open to let sunlight warm the room, then close at sunset to hold that heat inside.

Because the schedule tracks local sunrise and sunset times, nothing needs to be reprogrammed as the days get shorter. You still have manual control, too. A keypad by the window or the app on your phone overrides the schedule any time you want.

Climate Control Reacts to Outdoor Conditions

Most smart thermostats can already check the local forecast, but on their own, they can only adjust the heat and AC accordingly. Once your thermostat is connected to your home automation, a shift in the weather can trigger a coordinated response.

When a cold front drops the outdoor temperature, the system can switch your HVAC from cooling to heating and close the shades to reduce heat loss through the glass. When the next warm spell rolls in, it eases off the heat and opens the shades to let the sun back in. No one has to remember to flip the thermostat mode twice in one week.

This also helps when you're traveling and a storm moves in. From your phone, you can check the temperature inside your home and make changes from anywhere. If a room isn't holding heat, you'll know about it before you get back.

Lighting Schedules Keep Pace With Shorter Days

Sunset in Denver moves from about 6:45 p.m. in early October to around 6 p.m. by Halloween. Then daylight saving time ends on November 1. Clocks fall back an hour overnight. Sunset suddenly arrives just before 5 p.m. A lighting timer set back in June is now over two hours behind. 

Lighting schedules automatically keep up with the changes. Exterior and landscape lights come on at dusk every night, whether that's 6:45 p.m. or 4:45 p.m. Entry and hallway lights can turn on at a low level as it gets dark, so your family never walks into a dark house after work or practice.

Scheduled lighting also supports your home security. A house with no lights on after dark looks empty. That stands out more once night falls before 5 p.m. When you're away, your system can turn lights on and off in different rooms throughout the evening. Your home looks occupied while you're gone.

Why One System Beats a Handful of Separate Devices

Some homeowners try to piece these features together with a smart thermostat, a couple of plug-in timers, and shades that run on their own app. Each device does its job, but none of them know what the others are doing. The thermostat can't tell the shades to close, and the lights can't respond to the weather.

A whole-home automation system connects it all under one set of rules. At Electronic Integration, we typically build these systems on Control4, which lets us program your shades, HVAC, lighting, and security to work together. You get one app and keypads in the rooms you use most. From there, your home handles the adjustments on its own.

Colorado's fall weather will keep changing its mind. If you'd like to see how automation helps you keep up, Electronic Integration is ready to help. 

Our team will walk through your home with you and recommend a setup based on your needs. Contact us here or start a live chat below to schedule your consultation.