6 Smart Devices Your Home Needs Right Now
When you have smart appliances, your home life becomes more comfortable and more convenient. What’s more, you can even save energy and improve security. In short, smart appliances like smart air conditioner units aren’t just something fancy; they’re actually quite practical—as long as you choose the right ones.
Below, let’s take a look at some smart appliances that your home can benefit from the most.
Smart Light
If you’re just starting to transform your home into a smart one, a good way to get used to the concept would be to install smart lights. You just need to swap your old bulbs into new ones, and then set up the controls via your smartphone. Most smart lights have their own user interface, but can also be integrated into other smart home systems like those from Google or Apple.
What’s even better is that there’s a wide array of smart lights to choose from. Aside from the usual indoor bulbs, there are also smart floor lamps, table lamps, wall-mounted lights, and even chandeliers as well as LED light strips. Thus, you can light up your home completely with these smart fixtures.
Sometimes, smart lights get compared to lights with built-in solar sensors. However, the main difference is that with smart lights, you can actually choose the exact time they will activate. When it comes to lights with solar sensors, you don’t have a choice when they will turn on or off because they depend on the sun.
Smart TV
If you’re a movie and TV buff, a smart TV would be a smart investment. With minimal set-up, you can immediately watch your favorite films and shows directly without having to purchase or install a separate streaming device. Smart TVs also have voice control, which makes searching for your favorite titles a breeze. You can also browse the internet and check your social media feed directly from the TV.
As a bonus, smart TVs often boast top-notch displays with FHD or UHD resolution for stunning picture quality. Don’t worry about spending too much, either. You’ll be surprised at how smart full HD TV price (for Samsung and other brands) ranges have gotten lower over the years. In fact, it’s pretty common to find smaller smart TVs (around 32 to 40 inches) that cost Php 20,000 or even lower!
Smart Refrigerator
You might be wondering what sort of features a smart refrigerator might have. Well, for starters, you can easily adjust the temperature of the fridge so you can save energy if you’re only storing a small amount of food. You can also create notifications for expiration dates to avoid waste.
More advanced smart refrigerators also have built-in sensors and can suggest recipes or meal plans based on the ingredients detected inside. Because it can be connected to the internet, you can also shop for groceries directly using your fridge. You can also link lights and other smart home devices to your fridge; this way, when you’re busy cooking, your smart refrigerator can act like a control center of your appliances.
Smart Vacuum
Cleaning your home can be an exhausting task, but it’s a necessary one if you don’t want to live amidst clutter and filth. Thankfully, there are now smart vacuum cleaners that you can program to get rid of dust and dirt from your floors while you’re doing other household chores.
Also called robot vacuums, smart vacuums can be set up to activate at certain times. They also become more advanced as the years go by. For example, newer models of smart vacuums have more accurate sensors so they can avoid walls and other obstacles. There are even robot vacuums with mapping technology so you can upload the floor plan of your house and help the vacuum clean even more efficiently!
Smart Aircon
Having an aircon in a tropical country like the Philippines is definitely a huge advantage. What’s even more advantageous is having a smart air conditioner that you can control using your phone. Aside from the usual timer and remote adjustment of the thermostat, a smart aircon can also detect the ambient temperature and automatically increase or decrease the temperature for your ultimate comfort.
Smart Outlet or Extension Cord
If you’d rather not buy a whole slew of smart appliances right now, you can buy a smart outlet or extension cord. Through an app, you can specify the appliance that you will plug in to a specific socket and then assign controls. This way, if ever you forget to turn off an appliance or device, you can do it remotely through your smartphone.
The perfect candidates to plug into a smart outlet would be electric fans, TVs, and kitchen appliances like your rice cooker.
These are just a few smart devices that can surely improve your quality of life at home. Some other devices or appliances you might want to invest in include smart security systems, cooking implements like a smart instant pot or indoor grill, smart speakers, and even smart smoke detectors.
The key here is to prioritize. If you’re more of a kitchen enthusiast, then a smart refrigerator and kitchen appliances might be better purchases than a smart TV. Evaluate your habits and preferences so you can buy the most appropriate ones first. This can help you save money and adapt to having a smart home much more smoothly.