Control your home with Harmony

I’m really interested in Smart Home technology, and not just because I get to review a lot of Smart Home gadgets and devices for Best Buy. I really like the idea of being able to control my living spaces from my office or a vacation condo in Hawaii, or programming the lights to come on when I get home, or the temperature to kick in before we arrive. The only problem is there are so many gadgets and systems out there, it is hard to decide what’s best for my needs and home. One system that seems to fill the bill as the “ultimate” versatile system is Logitech Harmony. It’s compatible with more than 270,000 devices from more than 6,000 brands, so seems to be a truly universal home automation system. So, if you have also been looking into making your home a little smarter, but aren’t sure where to start, let me tell you how to control your home with Harmony.

Harmony Home Control

Logitech Harmony basically comes in three flavours, the first of which is the Harmony Home Control, made for those looking for more versatility from their entertainment devices. Essentially, this set-up allows a user to control different aspects of their home using a Harmony remote control and hub. Harmony Home Control can connect to up to eight devices, from your TV to Smart lighting. You can also use the handy Harmony app on your iOS or Android device to control those same things, as well, from thermostats to even your game console. The set-up comes with a full-featured remote, which offers dedicated home automation buttons. It also all works with a wide range of entertainment and home automation devices, from Nest thermostats to Apple TV, Xbox to Playstation.

Harmony Ultimate Home

Taking things up a notch is the Harmony Ultimate Home system, which lets you control up to 15 Smart devices, from blinds and lights, to locks, air quality sensors, entertainment gadgets and more. The included remote has a touch screen, so anything you want to happen in your home is just a tap or swipe away! You can also use the Harmony app to turn your iOS or Android device into a handy remote, as well. But, the advanced remote does allow you to quickly jump to any of 50 customizable favourite channels, and it has dedicated buttons for all your media, and home automation devices. The buttons are also motion-activated to light up, so no more fumbling around in the dark. The included Harmony Hub is also pretty versatile, able to stream commands from the remote to more than 270,000 home entertainment and home automation devices, using IR, WiFi, or Bluetooth.

Harmony Home Hub

The slimmer version of the Harmony line offers just the Harmony Home Hub, and no fancy-schmancy intuitive touch remote. However, you can connect the hub to your iOS and Android device and use that as the remote with the Harmony app. You’ll still get the same access to all those Smart devices from all those brands, and be able to adjust the volume on multiple gadgets, change channels, control movies, or any other entertainment need, as well as the locks, blinds, thermostats, sensors and other home automation devices.

Harmony and Sonos

If you are a music lover and happen to own a Sonos speaker or system, then you’ll be happy to know the Harmony Hub works really well with Sonos, allowing you to connect through your home’s Wi‑Fi network, and control your music from the Harmony mobile app or Harmony Ultimate remote. Both the app and remote will sync with your Sonos favorites allowing you to play directly from Pandora, Google Play, TuneIn, Spotify, and other streaming services. Harmony also allows you to import your Sonos favorite stations and start playing them automatically when you start your Listen to Sonos music Activity. You could even create unique Activities such as a morning routine that turns on your lights slowly, opens your blinds, starts the coffee maker and begins playing a specific Sonos station like easy listening or the news channel. When paired together, Harmony and Sonos offer a wealth of customization and control over when, where and how you listen to your music.

So, obviously the Logitech Harmony is a great system if you’re just starting out with Smart Home tech, or even if you already have a ton of products in your home already helping to control and monitor your living environment. Do you think you’d like to try out the Harmony to control your own home? What do you think of the system and remotes? Let me know in the comment section below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.