Where to start with your smart home
When you first look into smart home technology, it’s easy to be a bit confused where you start. There are smart versions of everything from your doorbell to your dishwasher, potentially making that first purchase a bit daunting. We’ve outlined the best places to start your smart home below – simply click one of the highlighted products to find out more!
Voice assistants
Possibly the most popular and most common forms of smart technology, voice assistants are many people’s first smart tech purchase. The systems often resemble a small speaker, with some newer models such as the Amazon Echo Show featuring a screen, and are able to provide useful information, play music and even games with a few simple commands.
Recommended Products: To get started with a voice assistant, there are really two main choices; both offer you some great features and integration, so take your choice between the Amazon Echo or the Google Home.
Doorbell
Seeing who’s popped round to visit is now easier than ever before! Smart Doorbells have become a mainstay in the smart home due to the range of uses they have. These nifty devices will live-stream both video and audio to your phone; whilst many models also have 2-way audio and motion-activation, making it just as easy to spot any unsavoury characters around your home as it is to tell your delivery driver where to leave your parcel.
Recommended Products: The premier smart doorbell on the market currently is the Ring Video Doorbell 2. The Ring Doorbell is well-built, features a wide-angle 1080p camera and even infrared night vision, so you’re always aware of who’s at the door.
Security Cameras
If you want to keep an eye on your home, even when you’re away, then smart security cameras are the smart device for you. The latest models of smart camera often feature advanced technology, such as night vision, ensuring that you’re never left in the dark about what’s going on outside your home.
Recommended Products: Our top pick for outdoor security cameras is the Yale All-In-One Outdoor Camera, which is a nice, compact system that is easy to install, and has a range of extra features designed to keep your home safe. These include a motion-activated spotlights and an inbuilt siren, as well as 10m enhanced night vision and Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing you to view the live feed from your phone.
Lighting
Smart lighting systems are a brilliant way to not only protect your home, but also to spice up your movie nights. The main feature of smart lighting systems is accessibility, with most controllable from your phone, but the more modern systems can even feature colour changing technology that can sync with your TV, providing the ultimate backdrop to the latest blockbuster.
Recommended Products: The standout performer in the smart lighting market are the range of smart systems from Philips Hue. These smart lights are a great place to start updating your lights to be smart and integrate with a load of other smart systems; for example, syncing your Hue lights with one of Yale’s Sync Smart Home Alarms gives you the ability to trigger a menacing red glow whenever your alarm trips to scare off any intruders!
Heating
If one of your main goals when you’re looking to get started with smart home tech is to save money, then you should be looking at smart heating controls. These systems allow you to have full control of your home’s heating system from your phone and control it whilst you’re away, reducing your bills and ensuring that you’re always toasty and warm the minute that you step through the door.
Recommended Products: Tado’s Smart Thermostat is our choice from the range of smart thermostats on the market; the simple device is sleek and attractive, and features some innovative technology, such as geo-location tools that heat up your home as you get closer, keeping your house warm and your bills low.
