How to Transform Your House Into a Smart Home

How to Transform Your House Into a Smart Home



You don’t have to be a tech wizard to turn your house into a smart home. And you certainly don’t have to be a tech wizard to benefit from it. Indoor cameras give you added security — and let you check in when you’re away. Smart plugs let you quickly turn on anything from a lamp to a TV without finding the remote or getting up from your seat, and a smart thermostat can learn when you go to bed and automatically lower the temperature to make you more comfortable. While some of these amenities can be complicated to install, there are quite a few things — the things in this list — that take no prior knowledge to set up. In fact, most of them simply require you to plug them into a power outlet. Just like that, your house is 10 percent smarter. The other piece of good news is that, over the last few years, smart home tech has gotten a lot more affordable. So dipping your toes into the smart home world doesn’t take much financial commitment.To get more news about smart home accessories, you can visit securamsys.com official website.
The following products are a mix of things that I have tested, that have been recommended to me by experts, and that we have written about previously. They’ll all make your home smarter — and you just a little more cozy and relaxed.The smart speaker is the brain of your entire smart-home operation. It plays music and gives you news and weather updates, but, most important, you can use it to control your other smart-home appliances. All you have to do is be within earshot of your speaker and say, “Alexa (or ‘Hey, Google,’ if you prefer the Google ecosystem), turn on the lights.”

The sound quality is not quite as good, but a Dot or Mini gives you the same functionality as the Echo or Home in a more discreet package. You can easily tuck them into a corner so that your smart speaker is less of a focal point in the room.

If you prefer a speaker with a little more oomph, Jade Baker, partner and assistant buyer at the British department store John Lewis, likes the Sonos One, which has Alexa and Google Assistant built in. He calls the One “the classic starter speaker for your multiroom collection” and says, “With the ability to link up to all other Sonos speakers in the range, you can kit out your whole house with room-filling sound.”

The HomePod Mini works best if you’re already hooked up to the Apple ecosystem. If you can ignore Siri’s shortcomings (like supporting only Apple Music) and you already own a MacBook, an Apple Watch, or an iPhone, the HomePod Mini’s setup will feel seamless. As with the Amazon and Google offerings, you can control all of your home’s smart devices from your speaker. Add items to a grocery list, play songs on Apple Music, and send out an intercom message if you have a HomePod Mini in another room.

This Alexa-enabled smart speaker should appeal to anyone with an appreciation for retro tech. It has a volume, bass, and treble knob for easy analog adjustments, or you can use the Marshall app and adjust the settings on your phone.

This device has all the features of the Echo but with a screen, which allows you to do things like cook along with recipes, watch TV and movie trailers, and take video calls. If you’re worried about Bezos constantly listening in, there’s a button to turn off the camera and mic whenever you want.