Let\u2019s face it: Smart home technology really isn\u2019t that fanciful in\n2020. The concept of a connected home has become quite mainstream and\ncommonplace, even if all you have is a smart thermostat or a voice assistant\nyou occasionally ask for help. But as more people introduce artificial\nintelligence into their homes, it\u2019s more important than ever that you ensure\nyou only use the best smart home devices available today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this article, we\u2019ll discuss the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our goal is to help you understand the hows, whens, and whys of\nsmart home technology so you can choose for yourself what you need in your\nhome. With any luck, you can make your life a bit more convenient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s one potential answer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A device that\nconnects with other Wi-Fi-enabled devices to create a network by which a user\ncan more effectively manage various household operations.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But what does that mean in actual human language? Let\u2019s try this\nexplanation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s any piece of\ntechnology that can talk to other pieces of technology and simplify some\nactions around the house.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Whew! That\u2019s a bit better. Smart home technology should be more\ncommon sense, in our opinion, especially if the industry wants to keep\ngrowing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The logic is pretty straightforward: If you can get the devices\nconnected to the Wi-Fi in your home, you can get them talking to each other and\nthen program them to do certain tasks automatically so you don\u2019t have to think\nabout it. It should be about creating your own Jetsons-style home that\nmaximizes your convenience at the end of a long day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And just like The Jetsons<\/em> and Rosie, it all starts with a\ncentral device that you can use to control everything else. The industry calls this\na \u201chub.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In one sense, the \u201cright\u201d hub for you can be a simple decision \u2014\npick the one that matches your brand of smartphone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Simply put, if you\u2019re going to dive headfirst into creating a\nsmart home you can control through voice commands no matter where you are in\nyour house, you need a hub to serve as your base of operations. You also need\nto invest in a router and satellites throughout your home to support the\nincrease in activity on your Wi-Fi network \u2014 and for that, we recommend the Nest WiFi Mesh Router<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To be clear, we love smart home devices of all shapes and sizes.\nWe\u2019ve introduced a range of these into our homes over the years to get a feel\nof what we like and don\u2019t like about the technology. That\u2019s why we usually\nstart our recommendations with the following piece of advice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start small by only\nusing what makes sense for you right now.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Does the idea of a smart sprinkler system that monitors rainfall\nlevels and weather predictions to determine exactly how much and for how long\nit needs to water your yard sound totally awesome? Of course it does! But do\nyou need it today? Probably not! And that\u2019s ok because you might need it\nlater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, we\u2019re going to start by providing our favorite products that\ncreate a classic smart home. Sure, there are more bells and whistles you can\nadd, but you can\u2019t call your house a smart home without these five devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For most people, their smart home journey either begins with a\nvoice assistant or with a smart thermostat (which we\u2019ll discuss later). If\nyou\u2019re going to create a home that you control with your voice, you need\nsomeone to talk to. To be honest, this one really does come down to what you\u2019ll\nuse the assistant for and the type of smartphone you have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, the Amazon Echo Dot<\/a> is nearly ubiquitous\nat this point, especially if you\u2019re a shopper. But if you\u2019re either an Android\nuser or you already enjoy your Nest Learning Thermostat, you could easily fall\nin love with the Google Nest Mini<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Both of them serve as a decent smart speaker, but there are\ndefinitely better-sounding options available (which we\u2019ll talk about down the\nline). Also, you can upgrade in the future to a handy display panel option for\nboth these devices, as they provide more nuanced control over key aspects of\nthe connected devices on your network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The experts are split between the Ecobee Smart Thermostat (with voice control)<\/a> and the Nest Learning Thermostat<\/a>. Both of them offer control from your smartphone, and both of them work best when you program a baseline set of preferred temperatures and then let them optimize those temperature settings based upon your activities and the weather in your area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reigning champion for high-quality smart light bulb technology remains the Phillips Hue<\/a>. The prices continue to drop as the options and capabilities grow, including color, hue, lighting level, voice control, and beyond. Choose from standard bulbs, light strips, decorative lamps, and more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re fans of two different brands of smart plugs: Kasa<\/a> and SmartThings<\/a>. Both brands give you the ability to set specific schedules for\nwhen and how you want to use the device plugged in. This makes them perfect for\nfloor lamps and holiday lighting. They also provide the capability to monitor their\nenergy usage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re especially a fan of the smart power strip from Kasa, which\ngives you independent control over every single outlet. This allows you to\nlimit the vampire power wasted when keeping consumer electronics plugged in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using smart devices for home security purposes has become one of\nthe biggest developments for the technology. We\u2019ve broken down your options\ninto three categories: cameras, doorbells, and full security systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Nest, SmartThings, and other brands offer excellent in-home\ncameras, our recommendation will always go to Arlo<\/a>. Why? Because they\nmake the best outdoor cameras on the market, complete with wiring and batteries\nbuilt to withstand nearly any sort of weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The top choices on the market come from Ring<\/a> and Nest<\/a>. Both provide\nsmartphone notifications so you can see who\u2019s at your door, and both offer some\nvideo recording for free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only true choice is Simplisafe<\/a>. Not only do you\nhave the ability to set up the cameras on your own terms based on the location\nyou think is best, but you also have a secure app to monitor and control\neverything. Even better, the security contract you sign with this company is on\na month-to-month basis instead of something long-term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are the extras, the add-ons, the stuff you\u2019d love to have but don\u2019t need to create your core smart home environment. But trust us, once you add them to your home, you can\u2019t imagine what life was like before you had them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s face it: If you\u2019re a hardcore audiophile looking for\npristine sound clarity for your vintage vinyl, there probably isn\u2019t a smart\nspeaker on the market that will make you happy. But for the vast majority of\nmusic lovers out there, especially those of us who want to have music piped\ninto every room of the house without wires trailing everywhere, you should get\nthe Amazon Echo Studio<\/a> or Sonos One<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They have the best sound clarity of all the major smart speaker\nmanufacturers, complete with the ability to modulate the audio settings for a\nsong based upon its style. Sonos One is compatible with more streaming services\nand voice assistants, but Echo Studio has a slightly cleaner UX and more\nintuitive features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take your aforementioned home security system to the next level\nwith a smart lock for your front door. The best in the business is the August Smart Lock<\/a>. Unlike other products on the market, this one fits over your\ncurrent lock and allows you to still use a key \u2014 perfect for times you have a\npower outage in your neighborhood. Even better, you can connect it to your\nsmartphone and voice assistant, complete with a secure PIN. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s where the fun stuff really starts \u2014 the chance to never get\nyour hands dirty with yard work ever again. While you\u2019ll still need to weed\nyour flower beds, you can now purchase a smart lawn mower from Husqvarna<\/a>. Operating basically\nlike a Roomba for your lawn, it uses sensor technology to determine where it\nshould and should not go, and it can also determine the height of its blades by\nthe height of your grass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can then take lawn care to an even higher level with Wi-Fi lawn watering from Rachio<\/a>. This fantastic system will first accept your programmed schedule for watering your yard, but it uses the latest technology to customize a watering pattern for you. By monitoring the wetness of your yard in relation to recent rainfall and what\u2019s predicted, it can modify your watering schedule in terms of amount, length, and intensity. The goal is to give you the healthiest lawn possible lawn with the least amount of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the category where things can run a little bit off the\nrails, even for the supremely tech-savvy. We\u2019ve seen \u201csmart\u201d everything in\nrecent years, from hairdryers, flat irons, and toothbrushes to microwaves, sous\nvide machines, and slow cookers. Sometimes, we\u2019re just not sure how such\ndevices make your life more convenient since you still have to do some of the\nwork manually. You can control a smart thermostat or speaker with your voice to\nmake it work, but you still have to hold your \u201csmart\u201d hairdryer in your hand to\nuse it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our opinion, there are two smart home appliances that are\nactually worth the money and trouble: the vacuum and the refrigerator. The Roomba<\/a> remains the gold standard for in-home vacuum cleaning at the\ntouch of a button, and the battery life and suction just keep getting better\nwith every single iteration. <\/p>\n\n\n\nChoosing the Right Smart Home Hub<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Top 5 Smart Home Devices for Every Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n
1. Voice Assistant<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Thermostat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Lights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Plugs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Home Security<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Cameras<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Doorbells<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Security Systems<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Go Next-Level with 4 More Cool Smart Home Devices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n
6. Speakers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
7. Locks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
8. Lawn Care<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
9. Home Appliances<\/h3>\n\n\n\n