Best Smart Home Solutions
Smart Home solutions are becoming increasingly popular, especially with the continuous value they add to our routine. On top of that, many of these are becoming simpler to implement with the time and these does not need a lot of expertise. Always remember the key to have a successful smart home is to look for solutions that add value to your routine and lifestyle. In this post, I will cover some of the favorites that I consider to be the best Smart Home solutions. These are also sometimes referred by other names, such as smarthouse, intelligent home, homesmart, house control, automation system, and so on. I will keep this post updated. So, feel free to bookmark and check occasionally for any updates.
My Favorite Smart Home Solutions
Following is the list in no particular order. Feel free to jump to the specific one that you are interested in.
- Automate indoor lighting and devices using Smart Switches/Dimmers
- Automate lock/unlock the door using a Smart Lock
- Manage heating/cooling smartly and more efficiently using Smart Thermostats
- Automate lighting and devices using Smart Outlets
- Use voice to perform simple home automation tasks like turn lights on/off using a Smart Voice Assistant like Alexa
Automate indoor lighting and devices using Smart Switches/Dimmers
Key Benefits
- Turn on/off remotely.
- Turn on/off on an event, such as a sunset.
- Turn on/off on a schedule, such as 9 PM on weekdays.
- It can also be used as a regular switch. Yes, I do get this question asked from time to time. It means that you can turn it on/off manually.
- It could be used in combination with other smart devices to make more useful scenarios, such as in the morning turn off the lights and start the coffee maker attached to the outlet.
Click here to learn more.
Automate lock/unlock the door using a Smart Lock
Key Benefits
- Keypad support: Several smart locks now offer keypads to enter the unlock key and to program keys.
- Programmable keys: A smart lock allows setting up multiple keys. For example, depending on your needs you can set up a key for each family member and for anyone who regularly visits home. The advantage of a key per user is you can track which key was used to unlock. Not everyone may need a key for every single user. But, you would at least want different keys for family members versus other people coming into the home regularly. In any case, it is good to know that such a capability is available if need be.
- Open/close lock remotely: This capability is precisely what it says. You do not need to be on your home network to lock/unlock the door remotely.
- Open/lock with a key like a regular key. This is useful for regular access or in case the lock battery dies.
Click here to learn more.
Manage heating/cooling smartly and more efficiently using Smart Thermostats
Key Benefits
- Automatic presence detection and switching to/from the energy-saving mode.
- Schedule-based settings (such as different settings for sleep versus during the day).
- It can easily be integrated with a smart hub to perform more intelligent functions. For example, when you depart home, you can trigger a routine or a scenario that locks the doors and puts the thermostat in the Away mode.
- Traditional thermostat capabilities, such as changing the temperature on the fly, turning the fan on/off, turning the heat on/off, etc.
Click here to learn more.
Automate lighting and devices using Smart Outlets
Key Benefits
- Turn on/off remotely.
- Turn on/off on an event, such as a sunset.
- Turn on/off on a schedule, such as 7 AM on weekdays.
- It could be used in combination with other smart devices to make more useful scenarios, such as in the morning turn off the lights and start the coffee maker attached to the outlet.
Click here to learn more.
Use voice to perform simple home automation tasks like turn lights on/off using a Smart Voice Assistant like Amazon Echo
Key Benefits
- A Smart Voice Assistant like Amazon Echo (or Alexa) can help in making a voice-enabled smart home to control typical devices like smart lights, switches, outlets, thermostats, cameras and so on.
- It is a platform that continues to become better and offers a lot more capabilities. For example, Alexa offers several skills ranging from general knowledge, science to entertainment.
- It can be used as a speaker.
- It also supports audio out.
- It can be paired with a Bluetooth speaker.
Click here to learn more.
Enjoy your smart home!
– Nitin
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Also published on Medium.