Are you looking to jump on the smart home bandwagon? There was a time, not so long ago, when if you told someone you had a smart home, they might have thought you meant you had a sharp looking house, or maybe you had installed thermopane windows or a heat pump or something. Today smart home technology is evolving so quickly that soon a merely smart home will be considered the same as average intelligence, compared to the super-smart new model down the street, or the nearly stone age house next door that still uses last century’s technology.
Still, you have to start somewhere, so if you’re ready to join the new wired age, here are some cool smart home devices to consider installing in your home.
Keyless Door Locks – You’ll never have to worry about losing or forgetting your keys again with these. Smart locks use Bluetooth technology to unlock your doors electronically, and many are capable of detecting your phone when you’re nearby and unlocking it automatically. You can use your smartphone to unlock your doors wherever in the world you happen to be, to let in a repairman or a friend to feed the cat. They are also equipped with a keypad to use as an alternative, and you can program temporary passcodes to give to people you want to have access while you’re away. You can also monitor your locks remotely to see who unlocks them and when.
Smart Lighting – Now you can change your home’s lighting instantly to fit your mood or needs with a smart lighting system. The system works by connecting smart light bulbs in a network controlled by a central hub that you plug into your router, although some models use WiFi. Then you can use your smartphone to control the lighting, or just use voice commands if you have a voice assistant system. You can control the brightness and even the color of the lighting in your home, turn lights on and off immediately or on a schedule, and do it all remotely.
Smart Home Climate Control – This is one of the most popular smart home products because it’s super convenient and it saves you money. You can control the heating and air conditioning in your home with your smartphone or tablet or with spoken commands. You can also control the climate remotely, and set up schedules to lower the heat or air while you’re away but having things comfy when you return, saving you as much as 20% on your energy bills. These smart home systems can be installed in most HVAC configurations, and can also control things like pool heaters and humidity appliances.
Smart Window Blinds – Yet another of the smart home devices that not only increases the aesthetic and physical enjoyment of your home, but saves you money too. Smart window blinds can be custom fitted to any window in your home, and you can control the blinds in each room remotely or with your voice. You can also set them to open and close on a daily or weekly schedule according to the time of day and the seasons. Some models can even track the sun to keep light constant in a room. Smart blinds allow you to use solar heating and shade to best advantage in individual rooms and thus save money on electric bills, while automatically providing you with the levels of natural lighting you desire.
Smart Home Theatre – The latest smart home theatre systems are truly impressive. The speaker systems are fantastic, and you can have cinema-quality sound in just one room or throughout your house. You can use Bluetooth technology for both speakers and headphones for wireless listening, and control your stereo playlist and TV viewing with a click of the remote or smartphone, or by spoken command. No smart home would be complete without one.
Smart Home Security Systems – The variety of smart home products designed for security is wide and growing, and you can make your system as simple or as complex as you’d like. You might choose to just have a video doorbell with facial recognition features to let you know who’s at the door and communicate with them, and you might augment that with remote controlled outdoor video cameras. You can install an alarm system with motion detectors, either as a standalone system or through a service that’s monitored 24/7. Most systems will also monitor environmental conditions inside your home and send you an alert if something like a gas or water leak occurs or any other major change. There are many more products and capabilities available, so choose one to fit your budget and the level of protection you need.
Smart Baby Monitor – If you have a newborn in your home, you can set up an electric eye to watch over them all the time, alerting you when the baby wakes up or changes position. Newer systems are capable of recording vital signs like heart rate and blood pressure without having any device physically attached to the infant, and they will even record and analyze sleep patterns. And of course, you can say soothing things to your little one even when you’re not in the room.
These are just a few of the smart home products that are available today. There’s something out there for every budget and taste. Find an AVU store near you and ask one of their experts on how to best integrate smart technology into your home.
