Smart home

Playing music with your voice is easy. All you need is a smart speaker and a streaming service. Here's how to get started.

Continuing our look at the ‘connected home’ let’s take a look at the idea of keeping your home ‘lived in’ while you’re travelling. This is especially handy this time of year while the weather warms up and many of us start making plans to travel and get out a lot more. Whether you’ve got a road trip or a vacation coming up, home security can be a concern while you’re away. With all the smart home technology you can employ nowadays it’s easy to give your home the appearance of remaining occupied as usual even though you’re out and about. If your home will be unoccupied for an extended period of time this can be particularly useful.

Knock, Knock. Who’s there? Actually, home security is no joke. But thanks to Smart Home technology, you can have ultimate control over who comes in or out of your house. Want to know how to lock and unlock your door (and more!) just using your smartphone? In this last installment of my Smart Home System Series, I’ll give you a look at Home Entry Automation tech.

Smart Homes are becoming easier than ever to set up, thanks to the different platforms available that allow all your connected devices to work and communicate together. In previous blogs of this Smart Home System Series, I looked at other home automation frameworks, such as Apple HomeKit and Z-Wave. In this edition, I’ll tell you all about Google’s smart home tech, and what Works with Nest.

As the heating season approaches, it’s time to look forward to the snow falling outside, curling up by the fire to open the mail and staring at a ridiculous heating bill. This winter, help manage those ridiculous bills with a couple Smarthome Helpers. Inside, you’ll find an option for both Baseboard heating and Forced Air systems.

For over 100 years now, Honeywell has stood as one of the industry gold standards in Thermostat technology. In fact, it’s how the company got started. Now, Honeywell’s Smart Thermostats are available at Best Buy in two different varieties, featuring an assortment of different helpful features that you wouldn’t expect out of something that controls the temperature in your house. Come check them out!

When it comes to Smart Home gifts, there's truly something for everyone. Click through for some great gift ideas for all the "types" of people in your life.

Transitioning to a more sustainable lifestyle can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. Here are a few easy steps you can take to live greener.

Give the gift of smart lighting with Nanoleaf. This is the perfect gift for someone else, for you, or the whole family.

Smart lights add security and safety to anyone's home and the Philips Hue bundle is a great option for older adults.