Month: June 2018


Jun
2018

Smart Home Devices: Should You Become an Early Adopter?

categories: Integrated Home, Technology, Trends

Smart Home devices are increasingly being released that provide automation and voice control options. These smart home devices provide flexibility and convenience to individuals and are gaining wider acceptance than ever before.

Still, these Smart home devices are still new to the market and are evolving as time goes on. Many people are wondering if these Smart Home Devices are right for them and whether they should adopt these devices early. Here are some of the considerations to look into when choosing to adopt smart devices.

What Smart Home Devices Exist?

Smart home devices are proliferating all over the home and generally offer convenience and greater control over your home. Smartphones are integrated with these technologies and provide the ability to control your lights with a smartphone or with a voice command, allow you to turn on or off appliances in the same way, and allow you to monitor your home remotely.

Smart security systems allow you to view your front door from your cell phone and will save photos of those who ring a doorbell. You can turn on an oven or appliance so that your dinner is ready before you return home so your dinner is not delayed. You can also monitor the internal temperature of your home or even your Sunday roast from the convenience of your home.

Smart home devices provide the ability to record tv shows when you are away from home, allow you to turn on your tv with a voice command, and eliminate the need for separate remotes. There are virtual assistants that can respond to questions and play music at your command.

This is just a sampling of the many options available for a Smart Home device. While these may seem convenient to you, you may be wondering if it is better to pursue these technologies now or wait until they are further fleshed our before buying.

Should You Become an Early Adopter of Smart Home Technology?

Smart home technology is still being worked out and there are several competing technologies out there that are vying for dominance in the industry. Companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google all have their own solutions and there is not a significant variance between their product offerings. By choosing to join the Smart Home technology early as an early adopter you risk spending a significant amount of money on a specific technology, only to have it outdated in a short period and replaced with something else.

However, the cost of many of these Smart Home Technologies are not so significant and can be purchased individually without the need to purchase every option out there. As an example, you can purchase an Alexa Echo and experience some of the benefits of a Smart Home by integrating your television with its voice control capabilities. Alternatively, you can integrate Phillips Hue lightbulbs with voice controls through an Amazon, Apple, or Google Smart Home device.

While the technology surrounding Smart Home devices is changing and still early in its life cycle, if you are interested in the capabilities of Smart Home devices and believe that you will benefit from using it, then by all means make a small investment and see how well you use the devices and how effective you are finding them. In addition, if you suffer from a disability and believe that these devices can increase your accessibility and mobility, then give Smart Home devices a chance.

Smart Home technologies are the wave of the future and a small investment now will provide you with exposure to a burgeoning technology that can expand your knowledge of the offerings and how they can be used. Start slowly with a small investment to start with but by all means learn about how these product offerings can change your life.


Jun
2018

The Nest Thermostat in Review – To Buy or Not To Buy?

categories: Integrated Home, Technology

There are several things that you will need to look at when you are deciding to boy or not to buy the nest thermostat.

Pros

The first pro is that you are going to be able to save a lot of money. Even though, the thermostats are going to cost a lot of money at first, they are going to pay for themselves after you have used them for about two years. This is going to be even better if you have a larger home because you are going to be able to save even more money on your electricity.

The second pro is that you are not going to have to worry about some rooms being too hot or too cold. This is because you are going to be able to customize the settings on your thermostat, so that each room is going to be comfortable. Some rooms are going to have high ceilings or the circulation is going to be poor, so it is going to cause the room to be cooler. Therefore, you will be able to adjust the temperature in these rooms so you are not going to be cold while you are in that room.

The third pro is that this is an investment that is going to be well worth your money. These little upgrades are going to make a big difference when you are trying to sell your home in the future. This is because it is going to increase the value of your home. Plus there are a lot of people who are going to be more willing to buy your home if you have smart technology installed inside of the home. Potential buyers are going to love that you have a smart thermostat like the Nest inside of the home.

Cons

The first con is you are not going to be able to use the smart thermostat if you are living in an apartment or if you are planning on moving to an apartment. This is because the investment that you make in the thermostat is not going to be worth it since you are only going to be living in the apartment for a short period of time. This is unless you are planning on uninstalling the thermostat when you move out of the apartment so that you are going to be able to take it to your new home.

The second con is that there is a chance that the home might not be compatible with the new technology of the Nest thermostat. This means that you are going to need to have a HVAC system that is going to work with the smart thermostat. Therefore, you are going to need to check the website before you buy the thermostat to see if the home is going to be compatible before you buy it. This is the best way to save you a lot of hassle and worry when you are buying a smart thermostat for a new home.

The third con is that you are going to have to learn new technology. This is something that a lot of people are going to be annoyed about. This is because within the first week, you are going to need to do all of your programming so you are going to need to do a lot of work. You will have to figure out which comfort levels that you are going to like for the different times of the day. If you do not do this step, then it is going to cause you to become very frustrated with the thermostat.