5 top smart home devices

Smart homes are the newest technology innovation. Want to control your lights or turn on your heating without having to move off the sofa? Want a kettle that can boil just as you get out of bed in the morning? Want a device that can hoover your home by itself, or cut your lawn?

With a smart homes, these things are possible and more! Not only can they save you time but make your life so much easier. And, did you know they could increase the value of your home, too, should you wish to sell it?

Below, I’ve taken the time to list my favourite smart home technologies, so you don’t have to.

 

1. Smart lighting

A smart lighting system doesn’t require a lot of faffing about with installation, which is why it’s the first one on my list. You can simply purchase the smart bulbs, screw them in, download an app and you can control your lighting from your phone.

Some have the ability to set a programme, such as lights that come on and off at certain times – really handy for security purposes when you go away.

But these systems offer so much more too. You can choose the colour of the bulb (and I don’t mean crazy colours like blue and pink). You can choose the level of warmth depending on if you like a cool white or a warm white. You can also adjust the brightness too.

If you were to replace every bulb in your home, it could get expensive, but you could change just a few bulbs in rooms you use the most, such as a living room or bedroom.

Some of the most popular systems include Philips HUE, LIFX and Nanoleaf.

 

2. Video doorbells

Home security is something I’m always conscious of. I hate leaving the house unattended and rely heavily on lights with timers and our alarm system. But now, there are so many more ways you can keep an eye on your home when you’re not there, and video doorbells are the new smart way to do this.

There are plenty of variations on the market but the Ring doorbell has become the most popular. The doorbell can alert you via a smart phone notification when there’s someone at the door or when movement is sensed. This means, even when you’re there, you can speak to guests and tell them to come straight in.

If you’re not in, you can speak to delivery drivers and ask them to leave your parcel in a place and monitor your home for suspicious activity. Most devices will start recording when movement is sensed and save the video to your phone for later viewing.

 

3. Amazon Echo

Alexa has been around for some time, but she’s as popular as ever and Amazon have sold millions of devices with Alexa activated. Not only is Alexa a smart device herself, but she can actually control your other smart devices, which is why she’s number three on my list.

You just speak to her to activate her, by saying ‘Alexa…’ and then you can ask her a whole host of other commands. She can give you recipe ideas, tell you the weather, remind you to take your library books back, turn on your smart lights, show you your smart doorbell (via your phone), read to you, sing you a song and so much more. It’s thought that Alexa has thousands of commands. If you want to know what else she can do, you can just ask her.

 

4. Smart thermostat

I’m all about saving the planet. I do so much to do my bit – we’ve changed to a green energy supplier, we have a smart meter, we only have our heating on between November and February, we recycle, I use a bamboo toothbrush and reusable cotton pads for removing makeup. We’re planning on switching to a heat pump and having solar panels installed to power it.

You might not think a smart thermostat could save energy, but the more control you have, the less energy you use. If you’ve accidentally left your heating on, you can turn it off remotely from your phone. If you have various smart thermostats around the house, you can have different rooms set to varying temperatures. Your bedroom should naturally be cooler than other rooms, and this can be easily achieved with a smart thermostat.

Some can even use bluetooth to determine when the last person has left the house and won’t heat until someone comes home.

 

5. Robot vacuum

Some smart devices are there to make our lives easier, and a smart robot vacuum definitely does that. I wouldn’t say they eradicate hoovering altogether, but they can definitely do the places you can’t reach or a light hoover between using your main device.

We have a robot vacuum and I was amazed at what they can do. I thought they could just hoover up and that’s it. But ours (and most models, in fact) can map out your home so they learn the layout and where there are big objects, like furniture. They have sensors to prevent them from banging into too many things and have a fall detector so they don’t go flying down the stairs.

Ours even returns to its charger when it’s running low on battery to recharge and go again. Ours definitely saves time and makes our lives easier, which is why it’s the number five spot on my list of top smart home devices.