Lighting
You can effectively personalize and automate many types of lighting within your home. For example, a smart light switch can be used to turn a light on and off in the traditional manner. However, it can also be automated to switch on or off as outlined on a schedule or to change based on the time of sunrise or sunset. Smart bulbs are a large part of what makes this work, and they can communicate via Wi-Fi with various apps to accommodate your preferences. These bulbs are a bit pricey, so their worth depends on how much you would enjoy this lighting feature.
You could also include automatic blinds in this category as well as electronic curtains that open and close either on a schedule or via a remote or handheld device.
Entertainment
Beyond any of the devices or features in your home, another popular way to create a smart living environment in your home is through audio-visual means via your entertainment. This can be customized and personalized in many different ways, so naming them all would be impossible.
Credit: Getty Images
Credit: Getty Images
Popular options include setting up a television and its speakers to play on command, being scheduled, or being controlled using various apps. You can even create a command center or device hub in your home that will allow you to control your music, via smart devices, and your entertainment like televisions, giving you central control over virtually every device that you own. This will require purchasing an assistant platform, such as Siri, Google Assistant or Alexa. One of these three will likely control most of your devices.
Protection
In addition to just being really cool that you can set your lights to come on, turn off, and your blinds to lift on command, along with all the entertainment options, you can also incorporate various types of protection into your home, such as smart carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms. The smart versions of these devices will send alerts to your phone or other emergency contacts in the event that something goes wrong.
Protection can also be part of your security system that allows you to monitor your home’s interior and exterior, allows you to control a garage door remotely; for example, or indicate when someone is at your door, or you have a package left on the doorstep.
Smart homes are exactly what they sound like, the regular functions of a home but amped up with some technologically driven, smart features. The device categories listed above highlight just a few of those that are most preferred. Of course, integration with these devices only works as well as automation is possible, so it’s up to each homeowner in terms of how much “smart living” they want to embrace.
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