Once upon a time in the not so distant past, smart phones, touch screens and other such gizmos were the domain of Bladerunner, Star Trek and Minority Report. Today, virtually all of us own or use electronics at work or on our person for speed, convenience and enjoyment. Now, the home is quickly getting in on that act too. Below, we’ve highlighted a few gadgets available for different rooms in your house that will make it a smarter home.
Front door
Let’s begin at the entrance to the home – before you’ve even entered the house. Do you have a door knocker? A doorbell? What about installing a smart intercom? The system consists of a doorbell… so far, so standard. However, the outdoor doorbell unit that’s mounted beside the front door takes the form of a digital touch screen with an integral microphone, video camera (with light sensor) and speaker. Inside the home, are wall-mounted monitors – we’ve seen systems where there have been up to six – wirelessly connected to the outdoor unit.
If you live in a multi-story house, you can answer the door (or not, depending on who you see on the screen) from the top floor – or any room – and let them in without even coming down the stairs. There are models available that allow you to answer the door remotely, without you even needing to be at home. No more journeys to the sorting office to collect missed parcels, no more answering the door dripping wet with shampoo in your hair!
Vivint smart home can give you a few ideas about all the options and configurations that are possible.
Bedroom
We’ve previously reviewed the Resmed sleep tracking system. However, teaming it with a sun rise alarm clock will ensure a superior night’s sleep. If you work shifts or suffer from SAD, a sunrise alarm clock will make it easier getting out of bed and getting on with your day. The clock mimics day break, it’s integral lamp slowly growing in brightness, making it feel as though you’re getting up ‘naturally’. You can choose the alarm from DAB radio or your own choice of streaming music. At the other end of your day, the clock’s lamp will imitate sunset, getting your brain ready for sleep.
Kitchen
Of all the rooms in the house, the kitchen is probably the one with the most high-tech gadgets available. There are a range of smart appliances that talk to each other or are connected to your phone. Goods such as kettles, slow cookers, fat fryers, ovens, washing machines… There’s even a kitchen bin that scans items as you throw them away and adds them to your shopping list! One of the most impressive though, are fridge freezers. I remember when having a fridge freezer that dispensed ice cubes and cold water was state-of-the-art. Today, if you’re at the supermarket and can’t remember if you’ve run out of milk, – simply have a look at your phone. Thanks to cameras inside your fridge that are connected to your home’s wi-fi network, you can check what you do or don’t need to add to your trolley! That’s just the start, your smart fridge can keep track on expiration dates. It helps you with menu planning depending on what you have and what needs using up. It helps you order your groceries online. It has a group calendar function where you and the rest of the family can share schedules, reminders, notes and photos using a touch-screen. Its touch-screen can also be used to watch TV or films and stream music or the radio.
Living room
The living room is where you kick back, relax, watch TV, spend time with family and entertain friends. It’s also a great place to undergo an immersive, audio-visual sensory experience. It’s possible to create a smart home cinema set up to rival your local multiplex. Multiple surround-sound speakers, 3D HD TV or projector… all wirelessly connected to streaming services such as Amazon Prime, Netflix or Hulu and controlled via your smart phone.
Home office
You know when sometimes, during your working day, you get hit with that mid-afternoon slump? You fight it off with a couple of espressos or a few jumping jacks. You should take heed of your body and have a 20-minute power snooze. You’ll wake up and feel groggy for the rest of the day, you tell me. Not with the Naptime smart eyeshade. Its inventor calls it the “ultimate power-nap assistant” that “improves mood, alertness and performance”. It’s an all-in-one eye mask and headphones with an intelligent music library that plays just the right music to lull you sleep then wake you back up again. It works with EEG technology where it analyses your brainwave activity and wakes you up before you fall into a deep sleep ensuring your brain is refreshed and alert again. It even calculates your nap score using your relaxation and sleep levels and gives you tips to improve the quality of your shut-eye.
Bathroom
The bathroom isn’t a room you’d immediately think you could make smart. How wrong you’d be! From heated mirrors that can stream music or turn into a tv, to digital body fat sensor scales that work with an app on your smart phone or tablet.
Throughout the home
The best smart home gadgets don’t work in isolation – they work for you holistically. Using a ‘home hub’ such as Amazon Echo, Google Home or Apple HomeKit you can control almost your entire home.
For example, your home safety & security set up can consist of cameras, door, window and movement sensors, smoke & carbon monoxide detectors and even a flood sensor.
The hub can set the ambiance of every room separately by giving instructions to your Nest or Hive on temperature and light levels. The smart range includes – amongst others – light bulbs, thermostats, radiator valves and smart switches.
You can install wireless speakers in any room in the house and play music via streaming services such as Spotify, Deezer and Google Play. They can be set to play in unison, separately or different things at the same time – all via the hub, tablet or smart phone.
If we’ve convinced you to start transforming your house into a smarter home there are some tech bargains to be had online.
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