We live in an era where technology brings us many benefits. We’re not talking about the stunning HD TV on your wall, or your very clever electric car, but things in the home that you probably take for granted. The simple truth is that it is far easier than you might think to turn your home into a real, 21st century smart home.
What do we mean by this? Smart systems in the home make life easier for you by controlling for you – or allowing you to control remotely – things such as lighting, heating, audio-visuals, security and much more. Much of this is thanks to the wonders of Wi-Fi, which is very much a driving force behind smart devices.
Let’s talk about a few of the smart devices you can fit in your home, and at surprisingly affordable prices.
Smart Heating
Heating is a necessity in the home as seasonal temperatures can vary considerably. How does smart heating work? In fact, there are a number of ways in which your heating system can become a smart one.
For example, you can fit your existing heating with a smart thermostat – again, there are many different examples – that you can operate via voice commands: some use Alexa, and all you need to do is ask it to change the temperature to your required level, and it will.
Other smart heating devices include those you can command from afar via your smart phone. If you’re going to be late from work, tell the heating to stay lower for longer. If you are arriving early, turn it up!
Some of these systems even use GPS to track where you are, and will turn the heating on when you are a certain distance away! Such systems can save you money, and make your home more energy efficient.
Smart Lighting
Lighting in the home can be quite wasteful; bulbs left on unnecessarily consume electricity, and cost you money. The answer to this problem lies undoubtedly with smart light bulbs.
Once again, you’ll find that there is plenty to learn about these very clever devices – and the ways in which various models work – but one thing is for certain – smart light bulbs are stunning and help you save money and energy, while offering you many new aspects in terms of lighting in the home.
Usually, smart light bulbs come in two forms: those that need a central Wi-Fi hub to control them, and others that have a built-in Wi-Fi connection, and work independently. What can they do?
Variously, you can use voice commands to turn them brighter and dimmer; they allow you to set a timer to make sure they switch off at the required time; they can be controlled by a smartphone app, and some offer you a massive array of different available shades and colours, thanks to the wonders of LED. We recommend you check out smart light bulbs now, as they are going to become very popular indeed.
Smart Security
Security around the home is – as always – of paramount importance. The basic lights and systems you have in place do the trick of deterring intruders, but what if someone takes a chance, and you’re not at home?
Smart security camera systems are quite brilliant and have become very advanced over the last few years. Here’s a scenario: you’re away from home, and someone arrives on your doorstep, or at any entrance covered by your smart camera.
As soon as it detects motion, it sends an audible notification and a live link to your smartphone – wherever you might be. You can check whether it’s a delivery guy or someone less welcome, and with many such systems you can talk through the speaker system, or inform the security services. These systems are very impressive, and the investment will repay itself in peace of mind.
Smart Sound
Here’s a fun one: why not fit a smart audio system in the room where you relax?
A smart, Bluetooth audio speaker is an affordable way of making sure you have music on demand, and you can link it to one of many systems in the home. Tell it what you want to hear, and you’ll get it in an instant. These are sensibly-priced so you could even set up a system where there is one in several rooms, and many of them know where you are and switch the music to your location.
As you can see from the above few examples, smart systems for the home are becoming much more versatile, and they cover the practical, fun and essential areas of daily living. There are many more smart systems besides those we have talked about, so check them out now, and see how you can make your home into a smart home for 2020 at not much cost.
