Top 5 Must-Have Smart Home Devices in 2019
Is your home kind of stupid? Home automation offers you the ability to control devices and fixtures like speakers, sprinkler systems, lights, water heaters, and indoor temperature controllers from a mobile device anywhere in the world.
There are several benefits to installing smart home systems to automate your home. Smart thermostats, light bulbs, and other technologies save energy, which results in lower utility bills. Other smart home products like motion sensors, cameras, and automated lighting improve your home’s security.
You may also want to install smart systems to provide you with better convenience. For example, if your lights go on when you open your front door, you don’t have to locate a light switch in the dark or risk tripping over your cat.
Control and peace of mind are also reasons to consider installing smart home devices. If you want to keep an eye on your children when they are home, or when you want to ensure that your indoor temperature is at a comfortable level before you get home from work, you can do so if you have the right smart devices installed.
Upon deciding that you want to turn your old home into a smart home, the first question is which intelligent home system you should buy first. In this article, we will take a look at some of the most comprehensive devices you can install today.
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Our Top 5 List of Must-Have Smart Home Devices in 2019
1. Smart Home Hub – Wink Hub 2
The Wink Hub 2 is one of the most popular smart home hubs, as it offers a ton of connectivity features and compatibility with a wide range of standards, including WIFI, Bluetooth, Z-Wave Plus, and ZigBee.
One of the prominent features of the Wink Hub 2 is its unique and modern appearance. This smart home hub looks like a WIFI router with a big and upright design.
Setting up the hub is also straightforward and involves plugging the device in, downloading the app, and following the instructions.
Before purchasing smart home devices that you can connect to the Wink Hub 2, go through the list of products on the app to ensure that you can connect them. Fortunately, the Wink Hub 2 is compatible with a wide range of smart home products.
2. Speaker/Assistant – Amazon Echo (2nd Gen)
Amazon’s next-generation Echo is a smart hub with ZigBee compatibility so that you can control smart devices all over your home with your voice. If you have a smart home device, for example, a thermostat that doesn’t feature Alexa integration, you can still connect and control the device with the Amazon Echo. The second-generation Amazon Echo also has a temperature control so you can ask it what the temperature is inside your home.
This newer version of the Amazon Echo also has a high-quality 2.5-inch woofer and a 0.6-inch tweeter that gives it a rich, deep sound. With the second-generation Echo, you can stream music from several streaming services, including Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, and SiriusXM.
3. Heating & Cooling – Nest Learning Thermostat
The Nest Learning Thermostat opens a whole new world of indoor temperature control. As you adjust the temperatures on this thermostat, it learns what temperatures you prefer throughout the day and develops a schedule. The Nest Learning Thermostat is ENERGY STAR certified and can save you up to 12 percent of your heating bills and 15 percent of your cooling bills.
Another saving feature of the Nest Learning Thermostat is that it uses your phone’s location to know when you are away. Whenever you leave your home, the thermostat then switches to an Eco Temperature when you are away.
Perhaps the handiest feature of the Nest Learning Thermostat is that you can control the temperature inside your home remotely from your phone.
4. Lighting – Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit
The Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit comprise four E26 smart bulbs, a Hue Bridge for complete control over the lights, and access to the Hue App. With the four smart bulbs, you can choose from 16 million colors to change the personality of your home completely.
The Hue App gives you complete control over the lighting in your home, even when you are away. You can also preset light settings you prefer for specific times of the day. For example, relaxing warm white lights come on when you wake up in the mornings or mimic a sunset when you get home from work at the end of a day.
The Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit is easy to install and operate from your phone. You can also pair the Hue Bridge with Alexa, Apple HomeKit, or Google Assistant to allow control with simple voice commands.
5. Security – Nest Hello Video Doorbell
Sharpen up your front-door security with the Nest Hello video doorbell and its high-end features. The system has 24/7 4:3 HD video streaming and continuous recording so that you can see your visitors from head to toe. If you want to know what happened at your door while you were away, you can also go back and look at a three-hour snapshot history.
This intelligent doorbell can even recognize your friends and family and send you a special alert. The HDR video is very detailed – even in the darkness.
Your Trusted Team for Smart Home Device Installation
Installing and operating smart home devices or hubs can be a challenge if you don’t have any experience with these products. Many people feel overwhelmed by these devices to the extent that they postpone purchasing and installing smart equipment to their home, despite all the benefits regarding saving, security, comfort, and control.
If you live in Humble, TX, the good news is that help is a phone call away. Cruz Air & Electric can help you with the installation of all your smart home devices.
Our installation services aim at meeting your lifestyle requirements and budget. If you want to teach your old home new tricks, contact Cruz Air & Electric today for a free installation quote.
