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How to implement smart home automation actions and scenes in your Washington DC home

June 03, 2025
Man using a home security app on his smartphone

Home security is more than alarms and wires. In today’s world, your modern system focuses on smart home automation and pre-programmed scenes. Through your hub or phone app, you can incorporate custom actions that improve your home’s safety and convenience. See how to make your own in just a few easy steps. 

What can you do with smart home automation?

Modern smart homes permit you to do so much, like examining video streams or changing temperature settings remotely from your cell phone. But that’s really just scratching the surface. Smart home automation lets different parts of your home to function together. 

Here are some examples of what you can do:

  • Deactivate your alarm when a door is opened with a PIN
  • Unlock your main entrance when a fire alarm or CO detector triggers
  • Lock doors a set amount of time after they are unlocked
  • Set indoor cameras to record if a motion detector trips or door opens
  • Arm and disarm your system at specified times of day

Your possibilities are nearly limitless. You might even configure a comprehensive nighttime scene that activates your system, locks doors, and dims lighting in unison. The top home security systems in Washington DC make it a breeze with user-friendly smartphone apps.

Setting home automation actions in your Washington DC home

Customizing smart home automation is simpler than you think, even if you are hesitant about new technology. Cell phone apps like the one from Vivint let you add convenience to your life in merely a couple of minutes. Vivint’s app also comes pre-programmed with many optional automation actions you may simply switch on.  

Here’s a general rundown of how to create a new action, also referred to as a rule:

  1. Launch the Vivint app on your mobile device.
  2. Touch the menu icon in the upper left of your screen and pick “Smart Actions.”
  3. Tap the “+” sign to initiate a new action.
  4. Begin by selecting what you wish to occur. For instance, you could wish to arm your system, start a camera recording, or turn on a light. You’ll find numerous choices.
  5. Next, indicate what will initiate the action. For example, you could want a light to illuminate when a motion detector activates or a surveillance device to record when a front door lock activates. You might also have an action occur based on the time of day.
  6. The last step is to check what you’ve done, save the new rule, and toggle it on to activate it.

If it appears complicated, it really isn’t. Thanks to the app's user-friendliness, you essentially just press what you want and toggle rules on or off. If you would like a video camera to record when a door lock activates, you may choose which camera you want from a list. You'll also select the door if there’s more than one option. The rule can be programmed to run all day or only for particular times.

Find advanced smart home automation by installing a Vivint security system

Take some of life’s everyday responsibilities off your plate and let your new Vivint smart home take care of them for you! Through smart home automation, you’ll discover a higher level of convenience while obtaining better security for your family. Design your smart home in Washington DC today by calling (202) 780-3214 and speaking to a Vivint expert.