I am a huge fan of Smart Home technology. Although not all technology I would say is good, what I love about *most* Smart Home devices is that they truly are a tool that is meant to make our lives more seamless, cleaner, or more sustainable. We have quite a few Smart Home features in our first home. So today I wanted to share some of the best products to get if you’re just starting out, or if you have one or two of these, but you’re hoping to optimize your home.
Ideally, any Smart Home device or gadget is helpful to your quality of life in some capacity. In this beginner’s guide, we will be building off of the Amazon Alexa / Echo. However, you definitely can look into Google Home or other options. You don’t have to get an Alexa / Echo to use any of these products, but I would recommend creating a “hub” where your Smart devices are linked. For us, it’s our Alexa / Echo because we like using voice commands. If your items don’t sync together, it’s really just a cool toy that you have to open another app to use. The way you build a Smart Home is by allowing everything to coexist and support the others so your life becomes more seamless rather than clunky.
Once you have your Smart Home hub, each of your devices should connect to that hub. Take a moment to think about the things in your everyday life. What do you wish were a bit easier or more streamlined? You don’t want your items gathering dust. Do you have kids? Do you hate cleaning? Are there a lot of people who come to visit?
So let’s get started!
OUR TOP 10 SMART HOME DEVICES AND GADGETS
AMAZON ALEXA & ECHO
The most common thing I hear from people who dipped their toes into creating a Smart Home but changed their mind is “well, we just didn’t use it.” Which I totally get — if you only have Alexa, really all you can do is treat it like a slightly smarter Siri. The biggest reason we love our Alexa and Echo Dots in our home is because we’ve synced our lights (so when we’re ready to go to sleep we just tell Alexa to turn off the lights from our bed), TV, thermostat, alarm system and more (like even our microwave) to it.
As you can see, Amazon’s releasing a new Alexa in this dome design with even more features. Check it out here.
AMAZON TV FIRE STICK
If you don’t have a Smart TV (or would like to make any TV a Smart TV), then I’d highly recommend picking up a Fire Stick. It syncs all of your subscriptions (Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, HBO, Hulu, etc.) so you can search and watch anything you want. You can also sync it to Alexa and use the remote as a “hub” if your Echo or Dot is in another room.
Check it out here.
RING DOORBELL
I honestly can’t rave enough about how much we love our Ring doorbell. (We also definitely recommend their alarm system — you can read more about that one below) This Smart Home doorbell so easy to use and hook up, and you can identify “zones” of your property that you would like to receive push notifications to your phone. It also records those interactions — so hypothetically if you received a broken package, you could send a video of how it was delivered to the company. For us, we love that if we have friends or neighbors stop by when we aren’t home, we can talk to them through the camera.
Check it out here.
RING ALARM SYSTEM
You can use Ring’s doorbell separately, but their Smart Home alarm system is super affordable and all of their products complement each other perfectly within the Ring app. You can customize what you need for your home from cameras to door / window sensors or to motion sensors. Their professional monitoring (meaning they will call you if your alarm goes off and dispatch 911) is only $10 per month, which is so much more affordable than other professional monitoring companies. You also receive access to the Ring community in your app, where you can post any videos that your neighbors may want to be informed of (like a break-in). You can also arm Ring from Alexa — but for safety, you cannot disarm through voice command.
Check it out here.
KASA PLUGS AND SMART OUTLETS
Using Smart Home devices should be seamless — that’s how you end up getting the most use out of them! I personally am not an advocate of switching every single outlet or switch to a Smart one, but make a quick list of the places you always turn on/off things that would be made easier by a Smart outlet or plug. For us, it’s bedside lamps, Christmas lights, etc. Anywhere you’d potentially want a timer while you’re out of town is also a great spot.
Check it out our favorite outlets here, and if you’re renting or would like the option to move the plug if desired – here.
NEST THERMOSTAT
We’ve experienced a bunch of different Smart Home thermostats over the years, and I would say our favorite is still the Nest Thermostat. We saved so much in energy bills by being able to adjust to eco when we were gone, and then we could adjust it from our phones when we were on our way home so it was the perfect temperature when we opened the door. It’s also compatible with Amazon Alexa, so you can adjust the temperature even without needing the app open.
Check it out here.
DYSON PURE HOT + COLD PURIFYING HEATER AND FAN
Dyson always has been synonymous with cutting edge home technology in my mind. They have some of the most impressive home products, and they deliver on quality every time. Besides their vacuum cleaners, their air purifiers are some of the most impressive products they carry. This one can be programmed to deliver hot or cold air (which can be controlled from your phone, Amazon Alexa device, or the provided remote) and it purifies at the same time. It also has 350 degree oscillation and can be placed on auto mode. Check it out here.
SCHLAGE FRONT DOOR LOCK
I think what I love most about Smart Home front door locks is that instead of handing out spare keys, you can have up to 30 access codes which you can change whenever you want. The pad is fingerprint resistant, it syncs to Alexa and Ring so you can lock the door hands-free or within the app. There’s also a built-in alarm.
Check it out here.
iROBOT ROOMBA
I raved about our Roomba in my “20 Home Products You Need in Your Life” post, and this one is an upgrade from our current one that we got on Prime Day because it empties the robot for you and has even more capabilities on the app. What I love about using a Roomba is for the everyday dust, pet hair, dirt, etc. that accumulates. We still do a deeper clean with our vacuum about once a week in our high traffic spots, but this is so worth it. You can schedule cleaning sessions and it syncs to Alexa as well so you don’t even have to open the app. (Though it does give you a cleaning report, which is nice to look at)
Check it out here.
CIRCLE
If you are a parent, this is a must! We don’t have kids, but we wanted to provide an extra layer of protection for family and friends who visit our home (especially if they have kids). We also really liked a lot of the features for ourselves, like “bedtime” where we could have our devices switched off so we could focus on each other.
The Circle allows you to manage not only the content through special restrictions, but you can filter that further for each device or child. It also enforces those filters even if someone uses a private browser. You can issue time limits, “bed times,” pause the internet for a specific device, and you can review browsing and app history.
Check it out here.
BONUS: HP SPROCKET
This one’s a bit more just for fun, but honestly I’m OBSESSED with my Sprocket! It’s like a polaroid camera, but better. (And definitely better than the Instax) The Sprocket syncs to your phone and within the app you can edit and print photos. The pictures aren’t very big, but they’re perfect for scrapbooking or displaying — or for me, I like to print a photo to put on gifts for Christmas, birthdays or showers (because the back comes off and the photo becomes a sticker!). You can add frames and other shapes onto your design, and the Sprocket is inkless!
Check it out here.
