5 Products to Help You Easily Create a Smart Home for Less Than You Think!
*This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission to help keep this site running.
It seems these days we’re all busier than we ever have been before. Kids, work, school, extracurricular activities, errands, home projects….you get the idea! With our days fully consumed with so much, it’s no wonder things get lost in the shuffle! That’s why I’ve been working towards creating a smart home for my family. This allows me to take a little bit more off my plate and automate as much as possible.
Creating a smart home is luckily a fairly easy thing to do and is far more affordable than you may realize! Below are 5 products that I have used to create my smart home.
1. Echo Devices/Alexa
Alexa was the first piece I added to my smart home collection. Technically, Alexa isn’t the device, but rather the technology, or voice, behind the functionality of the device. The device itself that I have is the Echo Dot, but there are actually several different versions of the Echo at varying price points. I actually have my eye on the Echo Spot as an upgrade to my existing Echo since it has video capabilities, but for anyone just getting started in all things smart home, the Echo Dot is a great option. The setup for the Dot is incredibly easy and is done through the Alexa app. Once you’ve got it set up, you can do awesome things like get weather and news updates, add items to your calendar or grocery list, turn your lights on and off (if you have it connected to a system like Philips Hue), play music, have Alexa tell jokes, and even play Jeopardy!
2. Liftmaster Garage Door Opener
When we moved into our new house, we had a garage for the first time in our adult life. Unfortunately, the builder didn’t include a garage door opener for us, so we had to pick one out ourselves. Turns out that was for the better because I was able to get one that can be controlled by an app. We chose the Liftmaster Garage Door Opener. If you’re pretty handy or know someone who is, you can get the garage door opener package that includes the actual door opener, a sensor, keypad, remotes, and app for under $250! If you’re not handy, you may have to hire someone to install it, so you should pretty much plan on doubling that price so it includes labor costs. Let me tell you though, it’s worth it! In the few months we’ve lived at this house so far, I have used my app so many times to make sure the garage door is shut after I’ve gone upstairs for the night or left to run errands. I also have found it’s particularly useful when going out for walks in the neighborhood. I am able to lock my front door and not carry any keys with me because I’ve got my phone. Then, when I return from my walk, I simply use my phone to open my garage door and I enter the house through the garage. Yes, I could also use the keypad on the garage to get the door to open, but I’m not going to lie, I’ve already forgotten my passcode to it a time or two!
3. Philips Hue Lighting System
I LOVE my Philips Hue Lighting System. I currently have two Philips Hue bulbs in our living room that I have connected to the Philips Hue bridge. With this system, I’m able to set a timer for my lights to go on and off, as well as the speed in which they should come on, and to what level of brightness! Right now, they’re set to come on after work and they start turning off at 8:30pm, with them being fully turned off at 9pm. If you have little ones, this is a great way to help them recognize bedtime and unwind from the day. As our lights start getting gradually darker, we find ourselves slowing down a bit and starting the bedtime process. Another perk of this system, is that you can control is with your voice if you have any Alexa-controlled devices! I can ask Alexa to “make the living room brighter” and magically, the living room gets brighter! One other fun thing I should mention about the Philips Hue lighting system is that you can get colored bulbs too and actually have your lights change color! I don’t personally have one yet, but I may be getting one soon to help teach the little one colors. 🙂
4. Honeywell Wi-Fi Thermostat
We had a digital thermostat in our old house that was installed when we had to purchase a new air conditioner. At the time, I thought it was pretty stupid, I mean, who can’t just walk over and tap the button to raise or lower the temperature? Well, me obviously because I ended up using the app to my thermostat ALL THE TIME! And it turns out, a lot of other people do too. In fact, the people that bought our house specifically asked to keep that as part of their offer! We were happy to leave it behind because it wasn’t worth the trouble of trying to figure out how to take it with us and replace it for them. Plus, this gave us the opportunity to see what other ones were out there. We ultimately ended up going with the Honeywell Wi-Fi Thermostat because the reviews were pretty good, it was similar to what our old one offered in terms of programming and capabilities, it would connect to our phone and Alexa, and the best part – we were able to get a good deal on it! Our electric company offers huge discounts on digital thermostats, so we purchased through them. With this thermostat, we’re able to set a schedule for our household temperature based on times of the day and days of the week and can check the current household temperature from anywhere via the app!
5. Ring Video Doorbell
The most recent addition to my smart home collection was the Ring Video Doorbell. I’ve wanted one for a really long time, but I was so afraid of the installation. I was sure that there was no way I could wire it in to replace my existing doorbell, but gladly, I was wrong! Installation was actually so easy and I was able to do it myself in around 10 minutes! This doorbell has been so helpful for us because we’re able to see who is coming up to our door and we can even talk to them through the doorbell! Even though my husband and I both work from home, we’re on conference calls almost all day, so running downstairs to answer the door isn’t really an option. Because of the Ring Video Doorbell though, I haven’t missed anyone yet!
So there you have it! My favorite products to date that I have implemented into my overall smart home system. Do you have any favorite devices that you use in your own smart home?