Last updated March 2023
Smart homes, also known as connected homes, are growing in popularity. If you are thinking about making yours smart, it can be daunting knowing where to begin. With the right planning and equipment, it can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Here are some tips on how to build a smart home:
Determine your needs: start by identifying what you want to accomplish with your smart home. Do you want to control your lights and thermostat remotely? Do you want to monitor your home’s security? Do you want to automate your entertainment system? Make a list of your priorities to guide your decisions.
Choose the right hub for your needs and select compatible devices: Start with basic devices such as smart bulbs, smart switches, and a smart thermostat, and then expand to other devices such as smart locks, security cameras, and smart home entertainment systems.
Consider interoperability: When choosing smart home devices, make sure they are interoperable with other devices you may already have or plan to add in the future. This will allow your devices to work together seamlessly.
Setup automation: Once you have your devices set up, you can automate them to work together. For example, you can set up a routine that turns off all the lights and locks the doors when you leave the house.
Use voice control: Voice control is an essential feature of smart homes, allowing you to control your devices using your voice. Make sure your devices are compatible with your chosen voice assistant.
Protect your privacy: Make sure you understand how your smart home devices collect and use your data. Use secure passwords and two-factor authentication to protect your privacy.
Here are examples of devices that are available to smarten up your home:
Smart hubs
Perhaps the most useful device is a smart hub. This acts like your Wi-Fi router, connecting all your smart devices and appliances on a single network. The idea is then that you can control everything from this hub.
Smart smoke alarms
Connected smoke alarms link with your smartphone, providing you with added convenience of being able to test the alarm and know how much battery power they have left. The key improvement with all these alarms is that if you are out of the house, you will get an alert, which can be invaluable if a fire breaks out.
Smart lighting
While the humble light switch is still very useful, it can be cool to control all your lighting with your smartphone, voice or smart hub. Now with smart lighting you can connect your lights to your home network, enabling you to dim, change the color of the lighting, and turn them on and off remotely. Some can even turn off if they sense you are not in the room.
Smart meters
Many utility companies around the world are starting to offer smart meters to customers. These devices precisely monitor your electricity, gas and water usage so that you can get an exact picture of what you use. The hope is that you learn not to be wasteful, and cut down both your bills and impact on the environment.
Smart security
These days it is easy to install a range of cameras in your home that will synchronize with your smartphone, giving you the peace of mind that everything is okay at home. These devices can also come with motion sensors that will trigger an alarm.
These are just a few categories to get you started. Building a smart home requires planning and research, but the benefits of having a fully automated and interconnected home can be worth it in the end.