5 Simple Devices You Need for Turning your House into a Smart Home
Every day, the world around us gets smarter. From smartphones and smartwatches to smart cars, our daily devices are being modernized right before our eyes!
With everything around us evolving at a light-year pace, there’s no reason your home should be left behind. The idea that one can control multiple home features from anywhere in the world is not only incredible but handy, too.
Picture the scene; you’re at your work desk and want to check-in on your new furry friend at home. No problem! Open your smartphone and instantly watch a live stream of your living space.
A smart home isn’t just for catching up with your pup and telling him to get off the sofa, though. With a smart home, you can set a party mood with colourful lighting displays, never miss a parcel delivery, prevent costly water leaks, stop intruders in their tracks, and automate your home using your voice.
We’re sure you can appreciate a smart home’s benefits, but jumping into the new world can be mind-boggling to a smart newbie. With so many smart home devices available, how can you know which are the real deal and which will be a waste of time?
This handy guide will help you sort through the gibberish and create a smart home that works for you.
Controllable Lighting
1) Smart Light Bulb
Smart lighting is the natural first step into a smart home for most people, and it’s easy to see why. Smart LED bulbs allow you to control brightness, choose colours, create routines, and light up rooms, all using your voice or smartphone!
It might sound magical, but it’s actually very simple. Smart bulbs - whether it be recessed, light strips, or regular bulbs - connect to your WiFi, through which other devices, such as your tablet or smartphone, can communicate your demands.
2) Smart Light Switch
If the prospect of removing all of your perfectly good lightbulbs makes you uncomfortable, a Smart Light Switch uses your existing lighting to smarten up your lights.
Once the light switch is installed, you can control and monitor your lights’ energy consumption, schedule timers, or create scenes with other devices. Compatible with standard incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, LED, or WiFi lights, this smart switch needs no hub and is easy to install.
Security Monitoring System
1) WiFi Camera
With Smart WiFi Cameras, you can watch your property around the clock. The indoor and outdoor surveillance cameras can keep a close eye on your driveway, the back gate, the front porch, your children’s room - any part of your property you want to be covered 24/7.
Smart cameras are just as good at easing your worries as they are seeing if the mailman has arrived. Equipped with two-way audio, night vision, and HD video, you can watch and record footage directly on your smartphone. Never miss a beat again!
2) Motion Sensors
As soon as motion is detected in and around your house, a smart motion sensor sends a live notification right to your phone. By using IFTTT technology, the motion can also trigger a siren or turn lights on.
Place a motion sensor around entry points and your most precious items, and you’ll be the first to know when you have an unexpected visitor. Similarly, smart contact sensors fasten to your home’s entry points and send alerts when opened without your knowledge.
Home Safety
1) Leak Detector
Did you know that 14,000 Americans come home to a flooded basement every single day? In fact, 98% of basements in the US will suffer from some water damage during their lifetime.
Instead of waiting for the inevitable, a smart water leak detector can stop an expensive mishap in its tracks. Better yet, you can even set up a “scene” with a water shutter valve so that the water is turned off automatically!
What would you prefer: under $100 for a water leak sensor or an average of $10,000 in water damage costs?
2) Fire or CO2 Detector
A smoke alarm that detects a fire is good, but a smoke alarm that alerts you wherever you are is even better. A smart smoke detector has a clear advantage over its predecessors as it keeps you up to date with your home and sends you an alert at the first sign of trouble.
Make Your Sound Smarter
1) Use Voice Command
Virtual assistant smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home not only answer burning questions and tell funny jokes, they also take home automation to the next level.
Once synced with your other smart home devices, you can change your home’s entire mood with a single voice command. There are many different voice commands you can use - some for fun and some for function. Be it by dimming the lighting, loading up the tv for movie night, or merely switching everything off before bed.
It’s only when your smart home is paired with a virtual home assistant such as Amazon Alexa, that you realize its full potential.
Handy Helpers
1) WiFi Plug
The WiFi Smart Plug is an intelligent device that attaches to any socket and smartens the most basic appliances. Start your coffee machine from bed, switch lamps on and off, keep your family’s TV usage in check; the opportunities are endless.
Once plugged into an outlet, the smart plus allows you to remotely control whatever device it is connected to.
2) Garage Door Controller
Are you forever going in and out of your garage? A Smart Garage Door Controller not only lets you open and close your garage door from anywhere, but will also tell you if you’ve left it open.
There you have it; all of the devices that can transform your home into a smart home. Ready to outfit your home with the best and most affordable smart home solutions on the market? Browse the full selection of BAZZ Smart Home products today.