5 Ways to Bring Smart Technology into Your Home

Image by Highmark Builders via flickr

You’re running late to work. You’ve quickly left the house and are driving to work when halfway there you start wondering if you’ve left the garage door open or locked the front door. Maybe you didn’t unplug something or you left all the lights on.

Instead of feeling anxious all day, these simple smart products can ease your worry with a few taps on your smart phone – from anywhere! Check out these 5 smart home solutions:

1. The Nest Thermostat

Image by Global Panorama via flickr

It’s a thermostat that learns your schedule and preferences. It learns over a week of use and then automatically adjusts the thermostat for you. It learns you generally leave the house around 8 and return around 5. It will turn the thermostat down during the day while you are gone and then adjust the temp. back up before you get home. It will adapt through the seasons and alert you through its app if something is wrong, like your furnace is acting up. You can also use the app at any time to check what the temperature is at your house and change it.

2. August Smart Lock

Image by Jonathan Suh via flickr

This is a smart lock that installs on the inside of your front door. It can automatically lock your door when you leave or unlock your door when you come home. You can also set up virtual keys for guests or give them limited access for a few hours or only during specific times. This could be great if you have a dog walker or cleaning service and only want them to have access to your home for a short period of time. You can also monitor your home and receive notifications whenever your front door is opened with their 24/7 monitoring.

3. Chamberlain Whisper Drive Wifi Garage Door Opener

This is a full garage system that you can control from your smart phone. It is an actual belt drive system that is installed rather than working with an existing opening system. It will automatically close your garage door after you leave and has wireless key entry. It is extremely quiet, comes with backup batteries that ensure a power outage doesn’t lock you out of your garage and can control the interior lights in the garage. If you don’t want to use your phone it comes with user friendly, fully programmable remote controls.

4. Philips Hue Lights

Image by Mike Mozart via flickr

This is one of the most fun smart home products on the market. The starting setup includes a base and three bulbs to control however you can expand the system to every light in your house. With a touch of a button you can turn on or off the lights whether you are home or not. You can also set up the system to automatically shut the lights off when you leave and turn specific lights on when you arrive home. The fun part of this product is that you can change the color of these bulbs to anything. This isn’t limited to daylight, bright white or soft white, though you can choose that too. You can also create scenes for parties and holidays on a whim.

5. Insteon On/Off Outlet 

With these outlets you never have to worry if you’ve left an appliance on when you leave the house. It’s an outlet that replaces your current wall outlet. What’s nice about this smart outlet is that is has two plug-ins. You can control whatever is attached with either a wireless remote in the house or your smartphone from wherever.  It’s tamper resistant and comes in 7 colors to match your decor. 

If you are interested in more fun ways to bring technology into your home check out these videos:

Google Home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KpLHdAURGo

An upcoming way to integrate the technology in your home and have google at your fingertips.

Honda Miimo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJiaSEqS5CM

A robot that quickly and quietly mows your lawn for you.