If you’re just beginning your smart home journey, it can be difficult to figure out where to start. Fromsmart thermostatsandsmart speakerstorobot vacuumsandlight bulbs, the number of gadgets on the market is truly staggering — and can quickly become overwhelming to newcomers.
Thankfully, piecing together a smart home is pretty simple. While you can easily sink hours into automating every aspect of your household, all that’s really required for a “smart home” is a few products and their accompanying apps on your phone. If you need some guidance getting started, here are some tips to help set up your smart home.
Important note: Smart homes work via Wi-Fi connections (generally). Make sure your Wi-Fi network is password protected and uses the latest encryption options. This goes a long way in allaying security fears and making sureno one can hack your devices.
Understand compatibility
When picking out your first smart home devices, compatibility is the big question: Will all the smart tech work with each other? If it doesn’t integrate, you could lose valuable control, or you may need a separate app for each device, which can quickly get confusing and complicated.
The good news is that now is an excellent time to start creating a smart home system because compatibility is getting a huge boost with Matter, a joint development between major tech giants that’s slowly rolling out to devices across the Apple, Google, and Amazon ecosystems (along with hundreds of other popular products).
Matter will essentially eliminate the need to verify which platforms a product supports, as anything that runs Matter will play nicely with all other Matter-aligned products.
In other words, products across several different ecosystems will finally have a way to talk with each other — giving you unprecedented freedom to purchase your favorite gadgets and automate your life.
Devices and brands are already announcing compatibility withMatter (we have a larger guide on it), so when you pick out new smart devices, we highly recommend looking for products that support Matter or that will. Then you should be able to use a single app, likeGoogle Homeor the Home app on iOS, to control most of the devices in your house, as well as a single voice assistant — without having to worry about compatibility.
Pick a voice assistant hub
You don’t need avoice assistant hub in your smart home, but it’s an excellent place to start, and voice commands can oftencontrol the rest of your smart home, too. Voice Assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant can help you set up routines to control multiple devices at once, add new capabilities, or schedule certain things like dimming the lights or arming a security system. Plus, they can answer questions, make lists, call people, and do other handy voice assistant stuff.
If you like the idea of listening to music, you can pick something like theBuy at Walmart.comcan sit on your desk and listen for orders.
Looking for something affordable with support for Alexa? Then you’re able to’t go wrong with theBuy at Amazon, which clocks in at $40 and is fully compatible with the popular voice assistant.
Add some smart lighting
Once you have asmart speaker(again, an optional but suggested step), one of the easiest ways to adopt smart home tech is topick up some smart lighting, too. It may be easier than you think: Brands likeBuy at Amazon— and many others — make long-lasting LED bulbs that are designed to fit into existing sockets. These connect with apps that allow you to control the color, brightness, and color temperature of the bulbs, among other things. You can create schedules for when you want the lights off or dimmed and connect them to your voice assistant so you can give orders about turning lights on or off.
This is a great way to get some smart devices in your home because you can go as slow as you want (not all your lights need to be smart) and experiment with what the bulbs are capable of. When ready, you can add more bulbs or expand into other devices with confidence. And if you like smart bulbs, you may want to upgradesome lighting systems with smart switchesthat permanently add similar advantages no matter what kinds of bulbs you are using.
Pick out a couple of smart plugs
If you’re looking for more smart home territory to conquer, it’stime to investigate smart plugs! These little devices are made to plug into existing outlets in your home. You then plug another device — like a lamp, a coffeemaker, a diffuser, etc. – into thesmart plug. With an app, you can now set a schedule for turning that device on or off at specific times, as well as monitor energy usage. Plus, many smart plugs are compatible with voice assistants for giving quick commands and can tie into larger smart home routines you may want to create.
Among many other brands, Kasa andBuy at Amazonhave notably reliable smart plugs. TheEmporia Smart Plugis another solid option if you’re looking for something with impressive energy-tracking abilities.
Upgrade to a smart thermostat
Next on the list is tofind a great smart thermostatand replace your heating and cooling command center with a device that you can create a schedule for using your phone,as well as save moneyand get monthly reports about your energy usage.Buy at Amazon— which is reliable, affordable, and fully supports Alexa. There’s a little bit of wiring involved with most smart thermostats, but it’s manageable or easily handled with a quick electrician visit.
Integrate smart home security
Now it’s time to talk about safety. Smart devices are a popular choice for a variety of security equipment made for your home,much of it do-it-yourself (DIY)-friendly, with options that come both with and without monitoring subscriptions Here are several of the most common options worth considering:
Smart security cameras: Thesecams can be set up nearly anywhere, and typically come with motion sensors, two-way audio, spotlights, and more. you may view them through an app and receive many kinds of alerts — and today’s versions are typically smart enough to identify packages, ignore cars, and more.
Video doorbells: Theseare security cams that are designed for entrywaysand paired with a digital doorbell. They’re a great security pick even if you don’t have any other kind of security system, and the battery versions like those offered by andBuy at Amazonare particularly easy to install.
Smart locks:Smart locks replace or upgradeyour lock with a high-tech deadbolt that you can control from an app and create digital passes for. Asmart lockis an excellent security upgrade once you feel more comfortable with your smart home, although they can be a little bulky.
Smart sensors: These are security systems featuring a hub that interacts with a variety of sensors, including motion sensors, door sensors, window and glass sensors, leak sensors, and more. They may also be able to interact with other smart devices in your home. It’s an expensive but more complete security solution that’s often paired with a monitoring plan.
Get innovative with new appliances
When you are ready to take things even further, apps like Home in iOS, Alexa, and Google Home will typically suggest ways to pair smart device actions or allowyou to manually set up routines. That could be a morning routine to start the coffeemaker, read out the news, and turn on the lights, for example. People also like to make coming-home routines, romantic routines, movie night routines — you get the idea. It’s an easy way to experiment and find the setups that work best for you.
When it’s time to buy larger appliances, you can look for those that can integrate with your smart home apps and send you alerts or messages for anything froma smart grill sensing temperaturesto asmart washing machinetelling you a cycle is finished. Again, look for the Matter protocol, which will help your devices stay secure and compatible with each other. The sky’s the limit for just how smart you want to make your home.
