Have you installed any Smart Home Tech in you home yet? If so what? If not, why not?
According to a Harvard Study, Home Tech is on the rise even in existing homes because of the ease of some DYI projects and the growing numbers of folks desiring to age in place. https://www.jchs.
Here are the Best Smart Home Devices for 2019 according to PCmag.com
SMALL HOME HUBS AND CONTROLLERS
The Echo is a Bluetooth speaker powered by Alexa, Amazon’s handy voice assistant
Wink Hub 2 is the current PCmag Editors’ Choice for home automation hubs. It works with devices that use Z-Wave, Zigbee, Lutron Clear Connect, Kidde, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.
The Brilliant Control is a unique wall switch that uses Wi-Fi to connect to and control various smart devices in your home.
The Logitech Harmony Elite is the ultimate universal remote.
The $29.99 iHome iSP6X SmartPlug is a smart switch that does almost everything like allowing you to easily control gadgets and appliances from your smartphone while delivering an unparalleled level of third-party smart home integration.
SMART HOME SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS
The iCamera Keep Pro from iSmartAlarm ($199.99) is a full-featured home security camera that not only works as a standalone device but can be incorporated into an iSmartAlarm DIY security system.
The Wyze Cam Pan, priced at just $29.99, offers features such as motion and sound detection, time-lapse recording, and free cloud storage, and it adds mechanical pan and tilt and support for IFTTT applets.
The SkyBell HD is a video doorbell that lets you see and speak with whoever is outside. It delivers highly detailed video at 1080p with color night vision and captures several seconds of footage prior to a triggered event. It also integrates with numerous third-party smart home devices and comes with free cloud storage for recorded video.
SMART LOCKS AND HOME SECURITY SYSTEMS
The Smart Lock Pro + Connect offers August’s DoorSense technology, Z-Wave compatibility, and Wi-Fi connectivity. It’s easy to install and can be controlled remotely or with Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri voice commands.
While ADT Pulse is certainly much more expensive than a DIY system, it offers capabilities those systems simply can’t, including 24/7 monitoring and customer support. It’s the most complete, full-featured home security system PCmag tested, and doubles as an automation platform for your other smart home devices.
If you prefer a DIY approach to smartening up your home security, check out the SimpliSafe Home Security System. The system is easy to set up and use and keeps your home safe from intruders and environmental threats like fires and floods.
SMART HEATING and COOLING
The new Ecobee4 allows you to have the thermostat do everything that the Amazon Echo and its siblings can, such as control smart devices, shop, play music, and hear the latest news and weather, all using Alexa voice commands.
The Nest Learning Thermostat has Wi-Fi so you can remotely control the temperature from phone, tablet, or PC.
SMART LIGHTING
The Philips Hue line delivers with bulbs that let you control not only the intensity of the light but also the color.
Eufy Lumos Smart Bulb White and Color lets you select from over 16 million colors, it doesn’t require a hub, and it supports voice commands via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Ecobee is the first company to embed Amazon Alexa in a light switch with its $99 Ecobee Switch+. The Switch+ is more than just a smart wall switch that connects to your Wi-Fi and can be controlled using a mobile app: It can do everything an Amazon Echo does, such as tell you the current news, weather and sports scores, play music, and control other smart home devices. It also works with Apple’s HomeKit, Google Assistant, IFTTT applets, and the SmartThings Hub, and it will eventually double as a remote room sensor for an Ecobee thermostat.
SMART KITCHEN APPLIANCES
The Anova Culinary Precision Cooker uses Wi-Fi connectivity so you control it from anywhere, even when you’re not home.
The Perfect Bake Pro takes out the guesswork and risk when baking. It’s a baking scale connected to an app.
The Tovala Steam Oven, the Smarter Coffee, and the AmazonBasics Microwave are all smart kitchen appliances that you can control with your phone or tablet.
SMART VACUUMS
The Ecovacs Deebot N79S at $229, is relatively affordable and offers more for the price than any other vacuum PCmag tested. In addition to long battery life and manual steering, it supports features you typically see in far more expensive models such as app control and Amazon Alexa compatibility. It also delivers a stronger clean than other vacuums tested in this price range.
The iRobot’s Roomba i7+ at $949.99 is the most advanced model PCmag tested. In addition to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice control, multistory mapping, and adaptive camera-based navigation that cleans better as it learns your home’s layout, it’s the only vacuum tested that can empty its own dustbin.
iRobot’s relatively inexpensive Braava Jet 240 is a smart mopping robot. It sprays a jet of water to clean deep, and can even do damp sweeping, like a Swiffer.
SMART HEALTH AND FITNESS DEVICES
For tracking fat, BMI, water, muscle mass, bone composition, and even pregnancy, look no further than the QardioBase 2. It shares the info it reads with a smartphone app for your easy access. Plus, it just looks great.
SMART BED
Sleep Number’s 360 Smart Bed, which incorporates biometric sensors actually tracts your sleep to help you snooze better.
SMART OUTDOOR GADGET
The Polaris 9650iQ Sport offers superb cleaning performance, easy-to-clean debris canister, and multiple programming options as well as Wi-Fi connectivity and a useful mobile app that lets you control the cleaner from your smartphone.
The Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller gives you control over eight or 16 zones depending on the unit you get, with a master valve terminal for systems that have one. It won’t water the lawn if it’s raining, and you can turn it on and off remotely with your phone. Plus, it integrates with lots of other services and devices like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT, and Samsung SmartThings.
The Automower 315X works with a well-designed mobile app that lets you use your phone to start and stop the mower, monitor its progress, create schedules, and see where it’s been on a map of your property. It has user-friendly programming options, outstanding cutting performance, and operates quietly.
IF YOU HAVE A NEED FOR PROVIDERS OR INSTALLERS FOR ANY OF THESE SMART HOME DEVICES, LET US KNOW. WE LIKELY “GOT A GUY” THAT CAN HELP