Smart home

If you’d like to give your Dad the gift of peace of mind this coming Father’s Day, you might want to consider helping him turn his home into a modern-day Smart Home. The products within the Smart Home realm can increase home security, reduce costs (particularly electrical and heating costs), and add convenience to your father’s daily life. Click on through if you’d like to learn all about several of these very useful products!

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.

Home automation is starting to take off in the mainstream, mostly thanks to low-cost alternatives to custom systems; while there’s still a market for the integrated home automation system, for many consumers there’s a choice between entry level and midrange “network” products and “non-network” products. What does that mean and which type of product is right for you? Read on to find out.

Smart keyless entry into your home is still a project in its infancy. Being that there really aren’t more than a handful of devices out there, it’s easy to both shine and sputter in the spotlight. The August Smart lock is one that looks to rise above its competition, promising an easy installation and the ability for you to use your existing keys to boot. I timed my installation and I’ll take you through my thoughts as you read on.

There’s a new gadget available and I’m pretty sure you’re going to want one. I know this because as much as I may have initially scoffed at the idea that it would be a product I would ever want or need, I’ve come to the realization that it is indeed something I have to have. It’s the new Philips Hue Go–a WiFi enabled portable mood light that can be used indoors or outdoors.

There has always been an interesting conversation surrounding the use of in-home security cameras. The main reason people buy-in to the idea is to keep an eye on things while they’re out living their lives. However, the “big brother” feel of having a set of eyes on you when you’re at home isn’t for everyone, even if the lens itself is set to privacy mode and not actually recording. Every product has its pros and cons, so let’s take a look at the Canary all-in-one home security system and find out if it deserves that spot on your mantle.

Home security systems can bring a lot of peace of mind, especially when away from home. And video surveillance systems have become much more affordable so are no longer only for the rich and famous. But putting in a decent system to protect your home usually requires a team of professional installers wiring your home. Or a very ambitious DIYer could spend a lot of time climbing ladders, fishing wires in walls, crawling in tight attic spaces. It’s a big job—until now! With the Arlo home security camera system you could literally set up a system using 5 or 6 HD cameras surrounding your home in less than an hour.

In its 45-year existence, Earth Day has evolved from a grassroots North American campaign to a global concern with nearly 200 countries committing every year to continued environmental awareness. Getting into the spirit of Earth Day doesn’t always mean hitting the streets with a protest placard. You can do it from your home with a few simple lifestyle choices.  

Sometimes when I’m sent a product to review, the first thing that comes to mind is: “Really? People want/need/buy this/these? Wow.” More often than not though, within a few minutes of using the product I realize that YES, people DO want/need/buy this/these! How in the heck did we live life without this/these for so long?! This is exactly what happened when I was asked to review Sengled’s Smart LED Bulbs … with perhaps a little more enthusiasm. Maybe I’m getting older, or maybe it’s just becoming increasingly difficult to “wow” me in such a techno-savvy time, but let me tell you something – Sengled’s Smart LED Bulbs are by far one of the coolest products I’ve reviewed in a while. 

Thanks to all of the different options out there, smarthome technology can be applied to every room of your home. Lights, thermostats, garage door openers and keyless entry are just a few of the things you can enable your home to do “smarter” than before. With so many options, where should you get started? I am going to help you think that through!