Kevin Hiser is a very busy guy. He has to balance launching technology startups and raising his two-year old son with wife Allison in Columbus, Ohio. A a longtime user of Wink, we recently caught up with him to learn more about how his smart home is making everyday life just a little bit easier:

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO MAKE YOUR HOME "SMART"?

We have a pretty sprawling single family home and wanted to be able to easily control lighting throughout the house and manage security.

WHEN DOES A SMART HOME COME IN HANDY?

Multiple times I’ve found myself deciding that I want to turn off my thermostat when it wasn’t scheduled to do so, from as far away as Dallas. It’s also great for when you want to turn multiple lights on/off or open the garage door remotely to let someone inside the house.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO GO WITH WINK OVER OTHER SMART HOME PLATFORMS?

I liked how easy Wink is to use. Our family has found the interface is nice easy to understand and visually brilliant. I appreciate the ability of the Wink HUB to manage devices that run on a variety of communication protocols (Zigbee, Z-Wave, WiFi, etc). As more smart devices become available, I won’t have to worry about whether or not they’ll connect with what I already have set up.

DO YOU CONNECT YOUR SMART PRODUCTS SO THEY WORK TOGETHER?

Yes! The Robots feature in Wink is great for this. For security purposes, I have one set up that automatically turns on the hall light outside my bedroom if someone triggers my GoControl motion sensor after midnight so I can see what's going on.

For "peace of mind" I have another Robot that turns on a lamp in my foyer if my wife and son are coming home after sunset. They never have to enter a dark house! I also use a Robot to help me keep the temperature of my home within a certain range and send me alerts on my phone when it’s nearing the minimum or maximum.

DOES YOUR FAMILY LIKE IT?

My two-year-old actually loves turning the lights on/off on my phone!

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF HAVING A SMART HOME?

It takes the thinking out of doing everyday tasks in my life.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE CONSIDERING THE SMART HOME?

Start out by selecting a connected device that doesn’t require a ton of technical know-how in order to operate. Keep it simple and don’t lock yourself into a closed system.