With smart home devices, you can automatically set your air conditioner to turn on as you leave the office. Then, as you pull into the driveway, the lights in your living room all turn on. And as you walk up the steps, your front door unlocks for you, so you don’t have to fumble with your keys. If you haven’t already started to set up your smart home, here are some of the best smart home devices for beginners.
While smart homes are designed for DIY, things can quickly get complicated. If you are ever confused about any part of the process, you can always contact HelloTech and talk to a real person. We have thousands of tech experts who can come to your home and install any smart home device for you.
1. Smart Home Speakers
When you set up a smart home, the first thing you need to get is a smart home speaker. These devices have voice assistants built-in, and they work like central hubs for all your devices, so you can control them with your smartphone or by speaking simple voice commands near them.
For example, when you go to bed at night, you can simply say, “Alexa, turn on all the lights in the living room,” and your smart home speaker will send that command to your smart lights, instantly turning them off. With the smartphone app, you can also set up schedules so your lights turn off at the same time every night. Or you can create routines, so when you leave your home, all your smart devices will turn off to help you save energy.
These days, there are three major voice assistants to choose from, Amazon Alexa, the Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri. Whichever one you choose is up to you, but Alexa speakers are generally easier for beginners because they work with most devices. So, when you buy a new smart home device, there’s a good chance that it will work with Alexa.
But since your smart assistant also works on your smartphone, you might want to choose a Google speaker if you’re an Android user; or get an Apple HomeKit speaker if you’re and iPhone, iPad, and Mac user.
Aside from smart speakers, there are also smart displays, which function just like smart speakers, but you can also use the screen to get weather reports, make video calls, or display a slideshow of your family photos.
2. Smart Light Bulbs
One of the best smart home devices to start with is a smart light bulb. There is no feeling like being able to turn off all your lights before bed with your voice alone. You can even schedule your smart lights to turn on and off when you’re on vacation, so buglers will think that someone is still at home.
If you are looking for a simple white light, the LIFX smart bulbs are easy to use and compatible with Alexa, Siri, and the Google Assistant. If you are looking to add a little color to your home, you can also try the Philips Hue, which let you set any kind of mood with over 16 million different colors. Philips Hue bulbs will work with Alexa and Google on their own, but you will need to have a Hue Bridge to control them with Siri.
It is important to note that some smart light bulbs require you to buy a dedicated hub for them to work with your smart assistant. However, there are many smart lights that you can control with your smart speaker or an app. So, if you don’t want to buy an expensive hub, make sure to check that it says “no hub required” or it has the Bluetooth symbol somewhere.
3. Smart Plugs
Smart Plugs make it easy to turn your regular household appliances or any other device into a smart device. With a smart plug, you can use voice commands or an app to control coffee machines, lamps, computers, TVs, and anything else that you plug into an outlet.
With a smart plug, you can also set your devices to turn on or off on a schedule. For example, if you want to make sure that everything is turned off when you leave the office, you can just buy a few smart plugs and schedule them to turn off just at the same time every day when you leave.
The best plugs for smart home beginners would have to be the Kasa Smart Plug Slim because they work with Alexa, the Google Assistant, and Siri. They are both easy to set up, they’re small enough to fit two smart plugs in the same outlet at once, and they even come with energy-monitoring features to help you lower your energy bills.
There are also smart power strips that allow you to connect several devices and turn them all off at once. According to the Energy Department, the average household wastes $100 worth of energy powering devices that are turned off, and smart plugs can greatly reduce this “vampire energy.”
Read More: How to save money and energy with a smart home
4. Smart Home Appliances
If you like the idea of smart devices, but you don’t want to set up a whole smart home ecosystem, you can always try a few smart appliances to start with. There are smart microwaves that can scan barcodes, smart air purifiers that can detect dust and allergens, and even smart mugs that keep your beverages at the right temperature all day.
The Hamilton Beach smart coffee maker is one of the best smart home appliances for beginners because it works with Amazon Alexa. This way, you can use your smart speaker to ask Alexa to start brewing, change the brew strength, and turn it off. You can also use an app to schedule your coffee to start brewing just before you wake up, so it will be ready when you need it.
5. Video Doorbells
A video doorbell lets you see who’s at the door before answering it. Most of these smart devices have a built-in camera and motion detector that will send you a video clip whenever someone approaches your home. These video recordings can usually be saved to the cloud, so you can review them later.
The Ring Video Doorbell is a great smart home device for beginners because of how easy it is to set up. You can either replace your existing doorbell wiring, or run it on a battery that lasts around six months. While there are many different models of the Ring Video Doorbell, Amazon recently released an updated version of the original model that is cheaper and has more features.
The Ring Video Doorbell 2020 records video in high definition and night vision. It also has Advanced Motion Detection that can tell the difference between people, pets, and other objects. This way, you won’t get annoying notifications every time a car drives by. However, in order to watch your recorded video clips, you will have to sign up for a Ring Protect Plan subscription.
6. Smart Locks
A smart lock allows you to lock and unlock your front door from anywhere in the world. You can even get smart locks with geofencing, which automatically locks the door when you’re far enough away from home.
Smart locks don’t only keep bad guys out, they also allow you to let friends, family, and housecleaners in when you’re not at home. You won’t have to leave a key under the mat with a smart lock, you can just give your guests a digital code that lets them unlock the door for a set amount of time.
One of the best smart locks for beginners is the August WiFi Smart Lock because it works with Alexa, Google, and Siri. This smart lock only replaces the internal hardware of your lock, so you can keep using your existing keys. Plus, it comes with WiFi built-in, so you don’t have to buy an additional bridge to connect.
Read More: The best smart locks of 2022
7. Smart Vacuum Cleaners
With a robot vacuum cleaner, you’ll be cleaning smarter, not harder. These smart home devices use various sensors to navigate around your home on their own, avoiding your furniture and stairs. Many of these smart vacuum cleaners can also be set on a schedule, so you’ll come home to a clean house every time.
There are a lot of smart vacuum cleaners on the market, but the Eufy RoboVac 11S is considered to be the best for smart home devices for beginners. This 2.85-inch tall robot vacuum cleaner has powerful suction that’s good at cleaning everything from dirt to pat hair. It can fit under most couches, it’s as quiet as a desk fan, and it has a 100-minute battery life as well. When it runs out of batteries, this robot vacuum will find its way back to its charging base, ensuring it will always be charged.
8. Smart Thermostats
A smart thermostat can save you a lot of money on heating and cooling bills by letting you change the temperature from anywhere in the world. You can also set a smart thermostat on a schedule, so you can turn it off all day and turn it on just before you leave work, so your home will be comfortable when you get there.
Although it is more complicated than many other smart home devices, the Nest Learning Thermostat is still good for beginners because it actually gets smarter over time. It uses artificial intelligence to adapt to the temperature you like at certain parts of the day.
The Nest Learning Thermostat has a simple round shape with a minimalistic design that’s easy to understand. It is also Energy Star certified and compatible with lots of other devices. While a smart thermostat might be more expensive than your current set up, Nest claims that it will save you $131 to $145 a year. That means it will pay for itself after only two years.
Now that you know the best smart home devices, check out our beginner’s guide on how to set up a smart home.
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