As we officially enter fall, it’s time to clean out the leaves from your lawn and get those Halloween pumpkins ready. It is also time to start thinking about updating to some new smart home appliances just in time for the upcoming holidays – and even the new decade.
The Cameron County smart home builders of Smart Home Construction are here to give you the ultimate checklist on what smart home gadgets are a must-have for the upcoming season.
For Security Purposes
1. Smart Panel
The smart panel is basically the motherboard of all your smart gadgets. You can easily set up a home network and have all of your devices interconnected to a smart panel so you can control them from anywhere around the house.
A smart panel is also extremely convenient when it comes to home security. You are able to lock your doors remotely, stream what’s going on in the surrounding areas of your home if you have a camera linked up and can even turn off your lights all from your couch or bed. For some more specific recommendations on home security systems that are compatible with smart panels, feel free to read our more in-depth blog about smart home security gadgets.
2. Smart Locks
It can be pretty easy to forget whether or not we locked the door when leaving the house. Wouldn’t you like to have a solution to this? Smart locks are just the gadget for you as you can control them from pretty much anywhere you are and you can receive direct notifications to your phone letting you know that your doors are, in fact, locked.
You are even able to let people in if you aren’t home yet and are able to generate specific codes for your family members to get inside the house if they forget their key.
3. Cameras
Cameras come in all shapes and sizes when it comes to your smart home security system. Exterior cameras can see what’s going on around your house. These cameras can also record who’s at the door and they are able to stream directly from your smart panel or smartphone. There are also some doorbells that have built-in cameras that essentially serve the same purpose.
As far as interior cameras, you can monitor your home at any time, anywhere. This is especially useful when living the kids alone for a few minutes or to check on your pets.
The Essential Appliances
1. Smart Thermostats
A smart thermostat is one of the essentials when owning a smart home, especially since it’s about to get colder in the upcoming months. With a smart thermostat, you can control the temperature of your home from pretty much anywhere. Out of at the office all day? Keep the temperature up to save on electricity. About to head home? Turn the temperature down (or heater on depending on the weather) and get home to a perfectly cooled (or warmed) home.
These devices are very easy to use and have presets that can help you be more energy-efficient to save you money in the long run. You are also able to automatically schedule your temperatures either by specific timing or preferences when you aren’t home.
2. Smart Lights
Just like smart thermostats, smart lights are designed to be more environmentally friendly, and can generally outlast the standard light bulb. They can be controlled via your smartphone or smart panel device from anywhere in the room and setting them up is basically the same as setting up a standard “dumb” bulb.
The thing that stands out the most about these lights is that they can really give your smart home a real sense of personality and vibrancy. From switching color schemes or dimming them down depending on the mood, there are a lot of interesting features they can do besides just giving you light.
To learn more about the different types of smart lights, refer to one of our previous blog in which we discuss them.
3. Home Voice Assistants
Perhaps the most recognizable of smart home devices, by now you’ve probably heard some type of buzz around products such as the Amazon Echo (commonly referred to as “Alexa”) or the Google Home. You can link these devices up with your smart panel and speak your commands to get your smart devices working around the house.
Want to turn off the lights without getting out of bed? Tell your voice home assistant to do so and viola. If you are curious about the weather or simply want to hear your favorite song but you got your hands tied up making breakfast, make your request and your wish is your home voice assistant’s command.
As fall turns into winter, winter will lead to a brand new decade. Investing in a smart home will put you in the lead and will prepare you for whatever lies ahead.
