From the sound of it, Smart Homes seem expensive. You think about all the tech that would be required and needs to be installed, high-speed internet, not to 1st Energy mention the monthly bills. But let’s take a look at this assumption.
In reality, your entire home does not have to have expensive tech gadgets installed that automate everything in the house. It can be done one smart device at a time. Whether it is installing something in the living room, or buying a smart kitchen appliance, it can go a long way into turning a part of the household smart as they say.
There is an entire collection of smart products to choose from on the market today. Smart refrigerators, smart coffee machines, smart sprinklers, voice assistants, smart switches, smart door locks, the list just keeps going on. However, it is obviously recommended that people buy a smart product that is useful in their daily routines. Call it an investment, because smart products lean toward the pricier side but they’re worth it. It adds more convenience to managing the home and also saves on energy and home bills at the same time. That’s why smart products are considered green.
Here are three products that every household makes complete use of every single day, so why not start by getting one of these installed so you can get the feel of a smart home.
Smart Thermostat
A smart thermostat may be the best thing for your home. These devices connect to the home Wi-Fi and can be controlled through smartphones, tablets, basically any internet-connected device. That also includes a smart refrigerator if you have one, or a voice assistant. In short, remote control – even if you aren’t on the premises or in an entirely different city. You could be at the grocery store and turn on the heating at home so that your house is warm by the time you’re back. Nonetheless, smart thermostats are energy efficient and help reduce your electric and heating bills in due time.
The bestsmart thermostats on the market, between the price range of $100 and $150 are available at 1st Energy home. One of the popular choices is the Google Nest Thermostat. Retailing at a price of $129.99, this device can be controlled through the Google Home App. So whether you are in or out of the house, you have full control of the thermostat. It even works with voice control, on the condition that there is a device compatible with it – Google Nest or even Amazon Echo.
The Google Nest Thermostat features an energy-saving mode, by which it uses sensors and the location of your phone to detect whether there is anybody home. And then according to that, it can switch to an Eco temperature to save on energy.
Smart Lights
Have you seen those lights that automatically turn on when you walk into a room? Those are one variant of smart lights. Smart bulbs are usually LEDs which means they consume less electricity compared to a standard bulb, which makes them energy efficient. They are available for installation indoors and outdoors.
Getting to the main point, smart lights, just like all other smart devices, connect to the Wi-Fi and can be controlled from a smartphone, tablet, or any internet-connected device as well. That includes being controlled remotely, just like the smart thermostat. Depending on the brand and model, some smart lights can feature sensors that control the lights according to movement in the ‘activity zone’, or can be scheduled according to your routine.
A very simple example of such a product is the Sengled Smart Wi-Fi LED bulbs. In a 2 pack priced at $24.99, get two soft white LED bulbs that require no hub. Simply connect them to the Wi-Fi and control them through the Sengled Home app, which is compatible with iOS and Android, as well as any voice assistant device in the house. So dim the lights, or turn them off if you’ve already left home and forgot to turn out the lights – these smart lights make everything much simpler.
Smart Camera
Maybe this isn’t an everyday product for every household, but who doesn’t have cameras in their homes nowadays? People value their security and rightfully so. Therefore whether you have a nanny-cam, a baby monitor, or just a simple camera to keep an eye on your house, it would be a wise decision to install a smart camera,and here’s why.
Smart cameras are connected to Wi-Fi and have a cloud backup of their video feed too. They allow customers to watch the live feed from their phones and tablets, even when they’re not home. Take a look at the Samsung SmartThings Cam. Retailing at $89.99, this camera delivers a crystal clear HD video stream with sound! Yes, you can hear what’s going on in the video stream and communicate both ways as well thanks to the built-in microphone. The camera features motion detection, with the capability to differentiate between a person and an object in the frame. And when it comes to installation, it’s pretty simple – no hub required! But if you want to take things up a notch then get complete home control by syncing it with the SmartThings Hub.
