From the invention of the wheel, to the creation of the light bulb, to the advent of the cellphone—each leap in technology makes our lives easier. Smart home technology is the newest innovation to come along and improve our lives. Now you can check who’s at your door while you’re at work, schedule your lights to match your daily routine, and let friends into your home without having to make extra keys. Best Buy wants your home to be a well-oiled machine that offers convenience, security, and can even help you reduce the energy your home uses. That’s why we’re running this contest: We want to give Canadians a chance to win amazing smart home technology. Read on to find out how (and what!) you might win.
Smart home security
Making your home safer is easier than ever. Consider security cameras. There was a time when installing security cameras required professional help and a hefty fee. Now, however, most people can easily install their own smart home cameras. Options range from battery-powered, light-fixture powered, and AC-powered, so you can match your cameras to their location and desired use.
Smart cameras stream footage over your home’s existing Wi-Fi to the compatible app on your smart phone. Some models even offer the ability to engage in two-way conversation, and most offer real-time movement alerts. This means that no matter where you are, you can keep an eye on your home and be assured that all is well.
Also gone are the days of the unsightly, conspicuous, wired security camera; today’s smart home security cameras are sleek and unobtrusive. But don’t let their diminutive size fool you. Many models, like the Logitech Circle 2, the Nest Cam, and the Arlo Pro 2 can capture an up to 180-degree field of view in 1080p HD resolution and boast night-vision to boot.
And because the cameras are so small, they’re easily portable. You can place them wherever you need. For example, use one to keep a watchful eye on your children as they play outside, or on your new puppy while you are at work. You’ll be able to see when he starts to chew your leather shoes and tell him to stop.
Lighting is another way to improve home security and personal safety. Outdoor smart lighting has the advantage of adding ambiance to a garden, deck, or patio while simultaneously making it safer for you to walk around your home on dark winter nights. Of course, outside lights are a great crime deterrent too! Lights from the Philips Hue line offer you the chance to personalize your lighting indoors and out.
With these easily customizable lights, you can use the app on your phone to select from 16 million colours (yes, you read that right) to create just the vibe you want. Choose orange for an eerie Halloween glow, or go for red and green to add Christmas cheer. The rest of the year, they’re ideal for keeping walkways and paths brightly lit. Blog Editor Shelley recently discussed how big of a difference the Philips Hue outdoor product range can make to your home security and appearance, so head on over to read her article to find out more.
Smart Home Convenience
Have you ever locked yourself out of your house? Or received a sheepish call from your spouse as they shiver outside in the cold? With smart locks, like these ones from August, you can stop leaving a key in a flower pot or under the doormat. The August Smart Lock offers keyless entry through your Bluetooth enabled smart phone. The lock senses when you’re approaching the door, so you don’t need to worry about juggling bags of groceries as you search for your keys. You read that right, the door will unlock as you approach it, automatically! Plus, you can buzz people in from your phone and receive alerts when someone enters or when the door is left ajar. Blog reviewer Erin Lawrence tried out the August Smart Lock for herself, and she found it incredibly easy to install and even better to use. You can see for yourself by reading her review.
If you shop online, say from BestBuy.ca, you will love the security and convenience you get with smart cameras and locks at the entrance to your home. With smart cameras like the Logitech Circle, Arlo Pro 2, and Kuna Toucan, you’ll be alerted to movement and can keep an eye on your packages. The August Smart Lock lets you create a temporary key, so your ever-helpful neighbour can place the packages inside for you.
Smart home convenience isn’t just limited to outdoors either. The Lutron Caseta Dimmer Kit allows you to schedule, adjust, and turn-off your lights remotely from your smart phone. This means that you’re only using power when you really need it, which will reduce energy consumption and cut down on your electricity bill. So not only does smart lighting help you to save money, but it also helps you to do your part for the planet.
Kuna makes the Toucan Smart Sconce Lights that offer all the benefits of smart tech with the style of traditional decor. Smart home lighting is also effective as a security tool, as you can use a lighting schedule to give your home a lived-in look when you’re away for extended periods of time. And since smart lights can be controlled via your smart phone, you can dim the lights for movie night without even having to move the popcorn bowl off your lap.
Smart home compatibility
Most smart home brands, including Lutron, August, Philips Hue, and Nest, work with the Google Home Assistant, giving you hands-free control of your lights, locks, cameras, and more. The Google Home and Google Home Mini are handy helpers in their own right, that can play music, tell you the weather, and more. This article by Shelly gives you great ways for the whole family to enjoy using a Google Home or Alexa unit. Excited yet? The grand prize winner will receive a Google Home Mini of their own. But fear not; If you don’t have one already, you can get your own from Best Buy, or shop our selection of other voice assistants and accessories.
HOW TO ENTER
In a comment below, please tell us which of these three smart home benefits is the most important to you: convenience; security; or energy savings. Also tell us which product would most help you to achieve this benefit.
I personally enjoy the convenience aspect of smart home technology and would want the August Smart Lock Pro + Connect as I come from a long line of folks who forget their house keys, and it’s apparently an inheritable trait.
WHAT YOU CAN WIN
We will randomly draw four winners. One person will win the grand prize, one person will win the second prize, one person will win the third prize, and one person will win the fourth prize. The prizes are shown here (and also in the Rules and Regulations posted below).
| Grand Prize | 2nd Prize |
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| 3rd Prize | 4th Prize |
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This contest runs from October 19th until November 2nd.
Remember, you can only enter once. However, you probably know someone who would love to add some incredible smart products to their home, so please share this contest so that they too can have a chance to win one of these prizes.
Enter for a chance to win a Smart Home Prize Package Rules and Regulations
Good Luck.
| We frequently have many contests running at Best Buy, so check out the “contests in progress” page for more great contests to enter. |
Security would be the most important to me. I work in the technology field and I have always been interested in the Internet of things when it comes to securing your home and using technology to make it a more locked down place. I like the advances that companies like August have made with their smart lock system as well as nest with their thermostats and security cameras. Google has always been a security first kind of company and I like how their acquisition of nest has made their first party product line more secure and robust. I also like the Philips lighting system. It is very cool and can make any home very inviting. I love the way these technologies have made our lives better and would be very interested in trying these devices out.
Security – Being able to check in on my home if I am at work, or on vacation, would give me piece of mind knowing everything is secure.
The most important benefit is security and I would like the Logitech Circle 2 Wired IP Cameras to keep an eye on the property.
Security at home is very important, I also like the smart lock pro and Logitech wireless camera, the more you have of keeping yourself safe the better 🙂
I would have to say security for my old place has been broken into and they stole my wedding set .thank you
Convenience and energy saving is important for me. I think the Philips Hue Lily Smart Outdoor Spot Light would make us real happy, we just finish our patio and it needs news lights. It would be great for next summer as we are always receiving our friends.
Security with the Logitech Circle 2 cameras.Thanks!
Security, so I choose the August Smart Lock Pro Connect System
The convenience of smart home connectivity and energy efficiency to make the simple tasks more manageable and to assure optimal energy consumption.
Security is most important to me. As a professional Real Estate agent, I work from my home office the majority of the time. Having the extra security of smart locks and cameras to protect my home, family and business would provide me with a great sense of safety and ease my worries. Most importantly of all, my wife would feel more comfortable while we’re either home or away.
Security is the most important to me. We had an intruder come to our backyard at night and it scared the hell out of all of us that we had a realization how we are not “safe” and we should be proactive about this things. I would love to equip my home with smart security beginning with a smart lock.
For me the most important is the security. The August Smart Lock Pro allows me to secure my home by always knowing if the main door is locked
Home security is important to me so the NETGEAR Arlo Pro 2 Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Security System with 2 1080p HD Cameras would give me a sense of security at home.
Security is the concern I would like smart home products to help with. I automatically thought of cameras, but the Philips smart hue outdoor spotlights mentioned in this post definitely have me interested. Our backyard is so dark and it would be great to have some lights around the garage to deter any suspicious activity since we have a lot of expensive sporting equipment and tools in the garage.
Security – just had a break in
Smart home compatibility. The Google Home and Google Home Mini would give us peace of mind that we can have easy access to our devices.
I’d love the convenience of a smarter home. Just walking to a door from the car with a small child and an arm full of groceries is already a pain. Especially when you need to find your keys which are obviously in the wrong accessible pocket.
The ability to have a better sense of SECURITY would be a huge benefit. Way too many wanderers walking the lanes later in the evening.
Definitely the ability to just talk to my home and have it do stuff. “Hey Google, dim the lights and turn on Game of Thrones!”
Security – so the Logitech Circle 2 Wired IP Cameras would be awesome.
I want security so I choose the August Smart Lock Pro+Connect System. I have lost my keys before and have been stranded or had to break into my home. This would make that a thing of the past as long as it is secure. By filling this out, I assume that I am entering the contest to win a security system.
Hi Ross, you’re entered to win one of the four prizes listed in the contest. Sounds like you have the same problem I have with lost/forgotten keys! Thanks for reading and entering.
Connivence, would like to receive Philips hue lighting kit because it looks super cool
Security and I like the Logitech Circle 2
The Arlo Pro 2 with it’s ability to capture up to 180-degree field of view would be a product for me since security is most important.
My security is the most important! The sense of my feeling safe and burglar deterrent would be best taken care of with everything that is offered in your grand prize. In my home, or away from my house I would feel confident I had the best equipment looking after me.
Security is the most important to me and the Logitech Circle 2 cameras would help me with security.
I can’t say no to saving energy.
Security is most important and the Logitech Circle 2 would help in the monitoring of activities around the home.
Security – so the Logitech Circle 2 Wired IP Cameras would be a great addition to our wired alarmed system.
My wife has limited mobility so for her to be able to turn on and off lights, adjust the heating and be able to see who’s at the door would be a huge help to her and to give me piece of mind while I’m at work. Also the smart lock would definitely be helpful once we’ve determined who’s at the door with the remote cameras we could open it remotely.
Thank you.
Home security is very important and the latest time saving features would be a plus, having control of whole house Home and away.
security like the arlo pro 2 wireless camera
To be able to have all of this installed at once is almost a life changing experience and they are so convenient and easy to use with intelligent phones and apps. I think they really do make life a bit easier ! Besides that, the impact on security surrounding your home is critical wityh kids and all playing outside , you can see more of the action. These little improvement s make a big difference.
You can’t put a price on security so it’ll be that for me. I recently bought a Ring Pro from Best Buy and I’m recommending it to everyone I know. It paired up with my Alexa Spot so nicely that when someone rings the doorbell – the video displays on the Spot. Out everything there is to win – I would need the wifi cameras the most as I’m not very good with DYI stuff so wifi is the way to go for me there AND I need some surveillance for the front of my house as I’m on a corner lot so my front door is on the side but nothing is looking over my driveway right now.
Security is increasingly becoming more important to me. The Arlo Pro 2 surveillance products and August Lock Pro + would go a long way to notifying me when someone is approaching or looking into my house.
For my family home security would be the most important. The Logitech Circle 2 Wi-Fi Indoor/Outdoor Wire-Free 1080p IP Cameras would be a great to have to keep our home safe and secure.
Security would be the most important for my family and I like the Arlo Pro 2 product.
Home security is the important benefit and I like the Logitech Circle Cameras.
For me home security would be the most important. The Logitech Circle 2 Wi-Fi Indoor/Outdoor Wire-Free 1080p IP Cameras would be a great to have to keep our home safe.
convenience is the big one for me – anything smart home to do with lights is awesome because I don’t have to worry about bumping into things, fiddling in the dark with my keys or phone flashlight, etc
I love the convenience of smart home tech, the Lutron Caseta Wireless Dimmer Kit with Smart Bridge would be great.
The Logitech Circle 2 Cameras would help with the security of our home.
Convince would be the best way to describe a smart home. This would be great for my family as anyone knows having a small toddler in the house your hands are full. So being able to switch on lights or change the furnace to heat or cold, even turn on your child’s favorite show on with a voice command is great. Also with knowing that your house is secure when you’re home or away with smart home cameras and door locks would make any family rest easier.
Security is a priority for me, the Logitech Circle 2 Wi-Fi Wire-Free Camera would help me keep an eye on areas that I cannot see.
The Lutron Caseta Wireless Dimmer Kit would be an awesome addition! The convenience of smart home products is what is most appealing to me, but truly the added security and energy efficiency are close seconds!
Security ! Can never have enough peace of mind when it comes to your home and the people you love.
For sure the Lutron Caseta dimmer kit would help us! With Energy savings. It’s hard enough with an old house and old windows but it seems I am in constant trouble with hubby since I forget to turn the lights off. Eek. What can I say I need the lights in the winter.
Home security interests me and the Logitech Circle 2 Wi-Fi Indoor/Outdoor Wire-Free 1080p IP Camera would be a great asset to our home to keep us safe.
Convince! I’m a mom of 3 under 3 (twins included!) and anything to make my life easier is necessary to make the day go by. I think the Phillips lighting would be the best for us – being able to control lights would definitely be way easier than walking home to a dark home with 3 little ones
Security is important to me . I think the August Smart Lock Pro + Connect would make us feel more secure in our home as well as my Father that’s now living with us is forgetting where he leaves everything so this being keyless entry would be awesome for our Family.
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