These days, it's easy to automate your entire life. You can buy a car that can drive and park itself, or a smartwatch that can park itself. To detect If you fall and need help, a robot vacuum can also help by showing you on a map where you need to clean your home. Also, thanks to his smart home setup, you can automate your lighting, temperature, and even how you get your news.
As a technology reporter, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I don't have a smart home automation system. If you're like me, you could benefit from the luxury and comfort of a smart home, but aren't sure where to start. We decided to create a guide to help you. The world of smart homes.
Related article: The best smart home devices (and how they make your life easier)
And if you're wondering why you should take that step and why setting up a smart home is necessary, ZDNET's resident smart home guru Maria Diaz has the answer.
“Setting up a smart home sounds scary, but it's much easier than many people think, and the added convenience of using smart devices is worth it,” Diaz says. said. “The great thing about smart home products is that they can make things happen.” No matter what phone you have or which voice assistant you prefer, everyone can participate. ”
We've put together everything you need to build a smart home from scratch, including smart speakers, smart lights, smart locks, and smart thermostats.
smart speaker
The best smart speakers are smart staples with many features, including playing music, setting reminders, making calls, answering questions, and acting as a control hub for other smart devices through voice command functionality. . Here are some of our favorites.
The Amazon Echo speaker is a great smart speaker with Amazon Alexa voice assistant functionality, but it also functions as a smart hub. Zigbee's integration with Matter acts as a smart home hub that connects to other compatible smart home devices like light bulbs and doorbells, so you can simply tell Alexa to turn on the lights in your living room.
The speaker can also connect to several available services, including Sirius XM, Spotify, and Fire TV devices. Of course, you can also ask simple questions like “What's the weather like today?” Or you can set a reminder like “Add toilet paper to shopping list.”
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video doorbell
One of the most subtle yet effective smart home measures you can add to your home is a video doorbell. With a video doorbell, you can now know who's at your door, or who might be, without leaving your couch. Our picks for the best video doorbells have HD video, motion detection, and connect to mobile apps and other smart home devices so you can ask Alexa, “Who's at the door?”
This video doorbell has two convenient cameras. One camera lets you see who's at your door in a traditional way, while the other camera points downwards to let you know when a package has been delivered. It can also accurately determine the movement of people, animals, vehicles, or just the wind, with very few false alarms.
Read the review: This free video doorbell protects your luggage
The doorbell comes with 8GB of built-in local storage (enough for up to 60 days of event recording), but you'll need to add Eufy Security HomeBase to get the most out of it.
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smart lock
Another way to protect your home's front door is by installing a smart lock. Today's top smart locks use fingerprint technology and customizable key combinations, making it easy to go keyless and say goodbye to the days of forgetting a crowded keychain.
Yale Assure Lock 2 has a sleek and attractive design that fits into any home style. It has a touchscreen keypad that allows you to set up a variety of codes, from your in-laws to your dog walker. The lock can also be set to auto-lock, so you don't have to worry about forgetting to lock it.
The Wi-Fi module also allows you to work with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, and unlock your door using your Apple Watch.
Read the review: Yale Assure Lock 2 Review: A genius lock…once installed
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smart light
Have you ever dreamed of getting an old clapper light? Smart lights work in a similar, but more technical way. The best smart lights allow you to set lighting schedules throughout the day based on the time of day you need the light most, or create cool, ambient lighting effects to suit your room's mood and purpose. .
Philips may be the biggest player in the smart light game, and for good reason. The brand has a reputation for developing smart lights that are reliable, easy to use, and customizable. You can enjoy up to 16 million different colors (including his 50,000 shades of natural white light), and it also has a dimmable feature that instantly changes the mood of a room with just a tap on your phone.
A Philips Hue hub is required to enjoy most smart perks and automations, but one hub can manage up to 50 Philips Hue bulbs and is compatible with IFTTT, Alexa, HomeKit, SmartThings, and Google Assistant.
Also: The best Philips Hue smart lights you can buy
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smart thermostat
Another way to add smart home technology to your home is with a smart thermostat. This is a device that can actually save you money on your electricity bill. One study shows savings of about $50 per year. By creating automatic schedules, the best smart thermostats adjust to your climate schedule and offer voice control with geofencing technology.
This smart thermostat from Google actually learns your habits and automatically adjusts to your preferred schedule. It is widely applicable to older homes with old heating and cooling equipment.
The app allows you to control your thermostat from anywhere in your home, and you can also receive alerts and notifications through the app. Find your Nest Leaf and see when your chosen temperature is energy efficient.
Read the review: Google Nest Learning Thermostat review: Does new technology work in older homes? Here's the answer
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You may also need something else…
Smart speakers, video doorbells, smart lights, and thermostats are some of our favorite smart home essentials, but there are other options that you and your home may benefit from. Check out our top picks for smart plugs, displays, robot vacuums, and more.
A smart home hub is useful for connecting multiple devices, but it's not always necessary. Diaz says that if he has a motion system for security or small devices like sensors or smart light bulbs, they typically can't connect to W-Fi alone, so they'll need a hub to connect. said.
There is no need to go out of your way to purchase a hub. For example, the Amazon Echo 4th generation is already a hub for smart home devices, so be sure to check if the device you want or own can also function as a hub.
The cost of a smart home varies depending on whether you need a single device or if you are considering incorporating many devices into your home. For example, if you just want a doorbell or smart speaker, you'll pay around $100. However, the entire system can cost several hundred dollars and also depends on the size of your home and the product/brand you choose.
Many smart home products are now compatible with a variety of hubs and smart assistants. When building your smart home, we recommend choosing the smart assistant/brand you want to use and sticking with it so it's easier to track and control.
Zigbee and Matter are two wireless technologies that allow you to connect different types and brands of smart home devices within a single smart home automation system. Each serves as a way to connect smaller devices to larger systems.