Here is a popular routine idea - a routine to shut down all of your automated devices when you go to bed.
This routine is adaptable to whatever level of automation you have, from a single light bulb to a fully automated house. If you only have a few devices now, this routine will grow with your system.
There are some terrific options on the market today for thermostats that can perform some pretty impressive feats, such as react to the weather forecast at your location, learn your preferences and even know whether you are home or not. These are pretty cool, but do they really qualify as "smart" devices withing a smart home? Let's break it down.
I am going go over five types of thermostats and explain the intelligence level of each one:
Make your home Smart this Christmas
It's Christmas time! With only a few weeks left until Christmas, many people are still putting up Christmas trees and outdoor lighting.
Thankfully, most people have found ways to turn these lights on and off rather than just plug and unplug them (which still works great if you have kids, btw!).
We have all been through the ringer in 2020. If you are fortunate enough to work for a company that migrated its workforce to a remote worker setup, you are no doubt grateful for the opportunity. Has your home made it easier to work or harder?
So, why are we talking about this on a smart home website? Well, simply stated, there is smart home tech that can improve your work experience by miles, and you might be able to get your office to pay for some of it to boot!
Don't skimp on your internet and networking gear. It just isn't worth the frustrations you will experience in the long run if you cut corners here.
The internet and network are the foundation of your connected home. Build your smart home on a poorly designed foundation, and you are asking for nothing but issues and potential misery.
A smart home is only as smart as the information that it has access to.
A modern car has so many sensors installed that, as long as you have the correct tool, the car can tell you what is wrong and how to fix the problem! You've seen them, tire pressure sensors, seat belt sensors, gas tank sensors (to tell you how much gas is left in the tank), door open sensors, oil pressure sensors, temperature sensors and on and on and on. Those are just the ones that you can see! There are hundreds of sensors throughout the various systems of a car today. All of these sensors are talking to a central computer that can put the car in "limp" mode to limit major damage but still get you home or at the very least a safe place or a mechanic.
A smart home uses sensors in the same way.
What is the one door that you always hope you remembered to close?
The garage door.
We've all done it, driven off to work or (heaven forbid) vacation and we have that sudden dread come across our mind: "Did I remember to close the garage door?" You frantically look for your neighbor's contact information to see if they can check, but they don't respond right away leaving you thinking "I forgot to close it, and the door to the house is unlocked. I just left my house open for anyone that wants to come in and help themselves."
The answer? Smart garage door openers.
Google Home and Alexa have revolutionized the smart home industry. Any consumer-focused electronic device now has to integrate with one or both of these smart home ecosystems.
These speakers are great for the do-it-yourselfers and anyone wanting to automate their home and use their voice to control their home. Smart speakers are great inputs for the more robust, professionally installed smart home systems, too.
If you are considering installing a system yourself to dabble in smart home technology, there are a few things you need to be aware of:
