Are you looking to upgrade your home tech this year? Here’s a comprehensive list of smart home devices you should absolutely have.
In 2018, there were almost 130 million smart homes. As the years progress, there are more and more people that are putting money into home tech to get the perfect smart house.
The things smart homes can do now pales in comparison to what will be available in the future. There may even already be smart home technology that you feel is futuristic because you don’t know it is already available.
Learning about the best smart home devices can help you upgrade your home and get the function you need out of your space. Continue reading this article to learn more about smart home technology that you’ll know is a must-have for your house.
1. Amazon Echo Dot
It’s likely you already know about the Amazon Echo. A friend probably has one or you’ve seen an advertisement, but what about the Amazon Echo Dot? What does it do?
With the Amazon Echo, you have the ability to order items from Amazon, set times, look up information, play music, and even control your smart home. The big speaker gives you high-quality sound, and you can enjoy some great tunes right from the device.
With the Amazon Echo Dot, you get everything you get from the Amazon Echo, but you don’t get the big speaker. If you don’t plan on playing music through it or needing to hear it from a long distance, you can save money and space by using the Dot instead of the full-size version.
If you do want to use it to listen to music, you can connect a speaker you already have through Bluetooth or the physical audio jack that it has.
All you have to do to get started is to set it up through your smartphone and connect it to your WiFi, and you’re good to go. It’s simple and easy and may be the perfect addition if you have a small home or don’t want something bulky in your way. For those of you that already have a great audio setup in your home, it may also make sense because you’ve already got great speakers.
When you’re connecting all of your smart devices, like the Amazon Echo Dot, make sure you have fast enough internet like glofiber.com to support everything.
2. Google Nest Smart Thermostat
Since no two homes have the same heating and cooling needs, it might be frustrating to try to find the perfect thermostat for your home. You’re trying to do a limbo between comfort and efficiency for your home.
You need some help, and the Google Nest Smart Thermostat is the best helper.
This thermostat learns your habits and creates a schedule off of what it learns about what you like. It takes into account when you’re home and when you’re not, what season it is, as well as information about your HVAC, the weather, and more.
You simply use the thermostat for one week, and it will program itself to give you maximum efficiency without sacrificing comfort.
You can link it to your smartphone or tablet, track your savings on your device, and never have to pay more than necessary on your energy bills.
3. iRobot Roomba i7+
Who wants to dispose of dirt and empty their vacuum? No one!
When you have an iRobot Roomba i7+, there’s no need to think about vacuuming your floors for months. The robot’s bag holds 60 days of dirt, hair, and dust, so you can go about your day without worrying about how your floors look.
This is a very powerful vacuum and will suck the pet hair and dust off your floors.
It learns your home and adapts to what you need. If you notice you dropped crumbs in the dining room, you can use Alexa or Google Voice Assistant to tell it to go clean that room right away. You don’t have to wait for it to go through its routine.
If you have multiple levels in your home, it can learn both levels, so you don’t have to worry about getting two devices. You can also set up keep out zones that you don’t want the robot to clean.
You can also link it to mopping robots, so your mopping robot can clean right after the vacuuming robot is finished.
4. Ring Video Doorbell Pro
Do you wonder who is at the door when the doorbell goes off? You don’t have to wonder anymore when you have the Ring video doorbell pro.
This smart doorbell has a slender design, 1080p video, detects motion, offers on-demand streaming, and doesn’t take a rocket scientist to install it.
Keep in mind that it does cost a pretty penny for this device, but the peace of mind you get is often worth it.
One of the upgrades from the previous version is the pre-buffering of the video before the motion sensor goes off. It’s not very helpful if you go to see what set off the motion sensor, and it is already gone. With pre-buffering, you can see what set off the sensor and make sure everything is safe and see what happened.
Another great feature is that you can use it with your other smart devices through IFTTT, and it has support for Alexa voice commands.
5. Worx Landroid M
Do you despise mowing the lawn, or maybe it is hard for you because of an injury? The Worx Landroid M is a good solution since it is compact and light enough to carry if necessary.
Another pro for its light body design is it can mow even after it rains. Since it is so light, it won’t get stuck trying to go through the grass.
You can simply set it up, leave it and let it mow. It maintains your lawn automatically, and it doesn’t cost much to do. While it might be a little pricey to buy at first, it is going to save you money in the long run.
This robotic lawn mower uses spinning razor blades to slice the grass. The thought behind this is that regularly slicing the grass decreases the amount of stress on the lawn and helps to fertilize it with the grass clippings.
The mower even knows when to charge itself, so you don’t have to worry about taking care of that either.
6. Google WiFi Mesh Network Routers
WiFi dead zones are the worst, and Google is rushing in to save you from them with their Google WiFi mesh network routers.
There are more companies that are putting together mesh networks, but Google wants to take it a step further. When you put their secondary units around your house, they double as voice assistants.
The size of your house has a lot to do with how many secondary points you need, but even one point can cover up to 3,800 square feet, according to Google.
If you’re having problems with WiFi in your home, then this might be the perfect thing for you. When you have a lot of connected devices—it’s almost a necessity.
7. Amazon Smart Plugs
You’ve heard about smart plugs, but what’s all the rag about?
When it comes to the Amazon smart plugs, all the rage is because you can control whatever is plugged into it using Alexa voice commands. You can also integrate it with other Alexa-enabled devices.
Keep in mind that it doesn’t work with other home automation platforms, there’s no IFTTT support, and you won’t get an energy report when you use it.
The plug is small enough that it won’t block the other plug of the outlet, so you don’t have to worry about that. It is a little bulky but not bad.
You can trigger the plug by motion sensors that are connected to your Alexa smart home system using Alexa Routines, so that is a plus.
8. Schlage Sense BE479 Smart Lock
This smart lock is one of the best when you want to improve home security. The Schlage Sense BE479 can detect when someone uses either a key or a keypad to open the door.
If your security is at risk, the lock will send an alert, and if someone tries to force their way into your home, it will trigger the built-in siren. This is often enough to deter the person that is trying to break in so they will run away.
The mobile app is also easy to use, which is good for people that aren’t highly tech-savvy.
Investing In Home Tech
Now you know more about home tech and how it can change your life. Many of the best smart devices that you learned about above might seem like something out of a movie.
Now you’ll be able to live like you’re in the future and have a house that helps you live a better life.
Do you want to learn more about tech and other important topics? Keep reading our blog to get the information you need.