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How to create smart home automation actions and scenes in your Charleston home

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

Home security is more than alarms and wires. Today, your innovative system centers on smart home automation and pre-programmed scenes. Through your command panel or cell phone app, you can integrate custom actions that enhance your conveneince and security. See how to design your own in only a few straightforward steps. 

What can you do with smart home automation?

Modern smart homes allow you to do so much, like adjusting thermostat settings or checking video streams straight from your phone. But that’s merely scratching the surface. Smart home automation allows different parts of your home to work off each other. 

Here are several examples of what you might configure:

  • Deactivate your alarm when a door opens with a PIN
  • Unlock your door when a CO or smoke detector activates
  • When doors are unlocked, have them lock again following a specified duration
  • Program indoor cameras to record if a motion detector triggers or door opens
  • Arm and disarm your system at designated hours

Your possibilities are practically limitless. You can even establish a comprehensive nighttime scene that secures doors, lowers lights, and activates your system all at once. The best home security systems in Charleston make it effortless with user-friendly smartphone apps.

Creating home automation actions in your Charleston home

If you’re intimidated by technology and think you can’t master creating your smart home automation, think again. Cell phone apps like the one from Vivint enable you to add convenience to your life in only a minute or two. Vivint’s app even comes pre-loaded with various recommended automation actions you can simply toggle on.  

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

  1. Launch the Vivint app on your cell phone.
  2. Touch the menu icon in the top left of the display and select “Smart Actions.”
  3. Touch the “+” sign to create a new rule.
  4. Set the action by selecting what you would like to occur. For instance, you could wish to turn on a light, arm your system, or commence a surveillance recording. You’ll find numerous possibilities.
  5. Next, determine what will initiate the action. To illustrate, you may want a light to illuminate when a motion sensor activates or a surveillance camera to record when a smart lock opens. You might also have an action occur simply based on the hour.
  6. The last step is to check your action, save the new rule, and toggle it on to enable it.

If it seems complex, it’s not. Thanks to the app's user-friendliness, you can virtually just touch what you want and toggle rules off or on. If you would like a video camera to record when a door opens, you can select which camera to use from a list. You'll also choose the door if there’s more than one option. The rule may be programmed for all hours or only for particular times of day.

Find advanced smart home automation by installing a Vivint security system

Take some of life’s daily responsibilities off your to-do list and let your new Vivint smart home take care of them for you! By using smart home automation, you’ll benefit from a new level of convenience while attaining better protection for your loved ones. Customize your smart home in Charleston today by placing a call to (304) 902-6244 and connecting with a Vivint professional.