Connect your pets to the Internet to help you monitor, feed, and care for them when you can’t be there.
Smart home devices let you check in on your home when you’re not there, giving you peace of mind that everything is okay. But did you know they can help you look after your pets?
Read the full article and watch the video here.
A smart home doesn’t have to be an expensive home. Here are three ways you can add some cool, connected capabilities for under $200.
The idea of a fully automated smart home can be a little overwhelming, both in concept and cost. But you don’t need to go all-in on connected tech to benefit from it. Instead, install a few devices that address specific needs, provide some neat modern conveniences, and cost a lot less.
Read the full article and watch the video here.
Since my first child was born, bedtime has been the bane of my existence. From the early days through to elementary school, I really struggled to crack the nighttime routine.
Until I made my home smart.
Read the full article here.
Do smart homes save energy? Are all our cool, connected gadgets really going to rescue the planet, one iconic design at a time? It’s an often-touted benefit of ditching your old, plastic white gadgets in favour of shiny new black ones. But is it accurate? Yes and no.
The sustainable living movement and the smart home have come of age together over the last few decades, enjoying a beneficial but sometimes uneasy partnership. Yes, smart home devices can save resources. No, not all of them will. Some, such as always-on smart speakers and connected cameras actually use more, because they’re not replacing an energy load, they’re adding one (although not a significant one). Others, including smart thermostats and AI-powered water and energy monitoring systems, are forging a path to a brighter, greener future – and saving us some cash along the way.
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Do most people really want a smart home, they just don’t know it yet? That’s what Lennar, one of America’s largest homebuilders believes, and that is why the 65-year-old company announced last year that it would outfit all its new homes with home automation tech as standard.
Those new homes – equipped with Wi-Fi Certified home design, Alexa voice control, and a starter kit of smart home tech – have now started to roll on to the market. We went to check one out in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Read the full story here.
As a resident of South Carolina, my fall pastime these last few years has become evacuating for hurricanes. In 2016, it was Matthew, then came Irma, and this year, as the wrath of Hurricane Florence barreled towards the Carolinas, I packed up my family once again and headed for safety.
Read the full post here.
One of the many benefits of smart home technology is the ability to keep tabs on your home when you can’t be there. Forgot to turn off the lights? Do it remotely. Not sure if you shut the garage door? Check on your smartphone and close it. But did you realize you can also use smart home devices to monitor the people in your home? More specifically and most importantly, you can use smart home devices to keep tabs on your children.
Read the full article here.
Smart doorbells are fast becoming the gateway drug to the smart home. Easy to install, insanely useful, and conveniently bypassing the privacy and security concerns of many smart home devices (because they’re outside the house), there really isn’t a good reason not to get one. So, the question is, which one?
Read the full article here.
And people are shockingly unprepared, despite high-tech solutions
Extreme weather events are on the rise. Last year, the U.S. suffered 16 major natural disasters — up 33 percent from the year before — with collective recovery costs of over $300 billion. The seemingly relentless mix of hurricanes, wildfires, blizzards, floods, tornadoes, and droughts racked up the highest bill in history. And it's predicted that this upward trend will continue.
A recent study by Esurance revealed that the vast majority of U.S. residents have experienced at least 1 major weather catastrophe in the past 5 years. And although 80 percent of respondents expressed concern about the increasing pace of these events, less than half believe that their communities are getting better at handling them. Furthermore, only 17 percent felt they were personally prepared for an unexpected natural disaster.
In our analysis, we discovered that people continue to leave themselves and their homes vulnerable to Mother Nature's wrath, despite all the powerful tools that are now available to help. But if we can start to take advantage of what tech has to offer, we could better weather the storms.
Read the whole article here.
The beauty of today’s smart home is that it’s mostly wire-free. Wireless protocols such as Zigbee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE have done away with the need to install complex and expensive whole-home electrical systems just to control your smart lights remotely.
In the modern smart home, all you need is a smartphone and a Wi-Fi router to unlock the power of connected devices. Most of the time.
There are still some key devices you are going to have to hardwire though. This is not so they can work with wireless smart home systems, but because they need to communicate with your “dumb” appliances, such as heating and air conditioning systems, irrigation pumps and the electrical wires running through your ceilings and walls.
Read the whole article here.
Offering new conveniences, energy savings, safety, and security, pre-installed home automation devices are quite appealing to buyers.
Read the story and watch the video here.
My essay on prefab homes and their advantages when it comes to automation was published in Dwell's August/September issue.
Read it online here.
My article on my favorite smart home gadgets that I use in my home was published in Dwell's August/September print edition.
Read it online here.
The synergy between the smart home and the sustainable home is a beautiful thing. Technology brings conveniences, and by reducing our consumption of water and energy, sustainability brings savings. Put these two powerful features together, and you have the sustainable smart home. This is a home that saves its owner money and the planet precious resources—by automating many of the things we forget to do, don’t know how to do, or don’t realize we need to do.
Read the full article here.
Me chatting about the Nest Protect - one of the smartest smart home products you can buy. Watch the video here.
My newest update to my Best Smart Thermostat guide for Wirecutter.
Step-by-step guide to installing a smart fan and smart lighting in your bathroom.
You’ve heard of the smart home — homes equipped with technologies that provide convenience, comfort, and security. Now get ready for the smart bathroom – bathrooms that promise the same, along with improved cleanliness and safety. From motion-sensor lights to Bluetooth speakers, there’s a wealth of devices that can make your bathroom one of the smartest rooms in your home. Here are just a few reasons to invest in creating a smart bathroom.
Read the whole post here.
Easily take care of common household chores and carve more time for yourself with the latest generation of household robots. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), today’s robots can wash your floors, monitor your home’s climate, clean your windows, and more. Here are just some of the ways household robots can make managing your home easier.
Read the whole article here.
