A smart home What is a smart home? What is a smart home? We recently launched a Smart Home category on MakeUseOf, but what is a smart home? Read More Not only can it free up time in your day that could be better spent elsewhere, but it can also help regulate your routine. 5 Smart Home Appliances You Should Buy 5 Smart Home Appliances You Should Buy The concept of the "smart home" is taking off. you should be up to date, otherwise you will end up losing the future. Read More
But how expensive is it?
For many of us, that is the real problem. Who wouldn't Do you want the trivial matters of everyday life to be automated and improved? None of us in our right minds would turn down that offer, that is, if we could afford it.
As a result, the cost of a smart home conversion Start Your Smart Home With 4 Easy Projects Start Your Smart Home With 4 Easy Projects Building a smart home can seem like a huge undertaking, and it can be hard to know where to start. But it is not as difficult as you may think! Read More You don't have to blow up your wallet as long as you're smart about it (no pun intended). Let's take a look at what a typical smart home conversion might cost you.
Note:In this overview, we've purposely avoided above-the-top smart home products with niche appeal. Rather, we've focused on products that a typical homeowner would likely use.
Most smart home newbies start with lighting because it is the easiest and least risky modification one could make. Smart lighting serves two purposes:automatic contextual lighting (for example, hourly) and energy efficiency (for example, turning off unnecessary lights).
The Phillips Hue Starter Pack is one of the most user-friendly and feature-rich lighting setups available today. The starter pack comes with a bridge, which acts as the central driver, and three bulbs that can replace traditional 60-watt bulbs. Additional bulbs are $60 each.
A single system supports up to 50 different bulbs, each of which can be controlled from anywhere in the world using Hue mobile apps on iOS and Android. For advanced tips, check out our coverage of using the Phillips Hue system Light your home smartly With Philips Hue Light your home smartly with Philips Hue If you can afford the up-front, you won't find better support. Easiest to use smart lighting system on the market. Read more to light your home the smart way.
If you'd rather "fix" the lights in your current home than install new equipment, consider the Belkin WeMo Switch . The WeMo Switch is simply a plug that fits into any standard outlet; all you have to do is plug the cables into the WeMo Switch. So your electronic devices are controllable by the WeMo switch control.
In addition to remote control, it supports motion detection and IFTTT triggers. Confused? Don't worry, it's easier than it seems. See our 3 Ways Belkin WeMo Switch Overview The Belkin WeMo Can "Smarten" Your Regular House Lamps 3 Ways The Belkin WeMo Can "Smarten" Your Regular House Lamps We took the time to look at the possibilities to convert your regular house lamps in smart lamps Read more for more details.
There Are Other Smart Lighting Options Light Your Home With Smart Lamps:Here Are Your Options Light Your Home With Smart Lamps:Here Are Your Options What exactly is a smart lamp, and what's out there? Read More
The Phillips Hue system is certainly more powerful due to its centralized design, but it can be quite expensive. For ten bulbs, you'd spend $200 (starter pack) + $420 (seven additional bulbs) =$620. On the other hand, ten WeMo switches would cost $450 and can be used with more than just lights, but they lack a centralized design.
The verdict? For ten bulbs or outlets, a smart lighting installation would cost an average of $535.
Did you know that the average home spends 40 to 60 percent of its energy consumption on temperature regulation? Unfortunately, it costs a lot of money to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Convenience comes at a price.
But what if you could drop a a little cash now to save a lot In energy costs in the next five, ten, or even fifteen years? Sounds good, doesn't it? That's when smart home energy hacks 5 Smart Hacks to Save Electricity in Your Smart Home 5 Smart Hacks to Save Electricity in Your Smart Home The trick to saving electricity is knowing where you use most of your energy. Read more come to the rescue.
The most popular form of smart climate control on the market today is the Nest Learning Thermostat . This amazing device replaces your “dumb” Thermostat and automates your home's temperature in a way that maximizes comfort and lowers energy costs.
Over time, learn what you like and when you like it that way. It turns off when you're away. It can be controlled manually by touching the device or by connecting it via Wi-Fi. Plus, as the video above demonstrates, it's easy to install.
Marketed as the world's smartest air conditioner, the Aros Smart Air Conditioner It actually lives up to its name quite well. This beast will track all kinds of data over time (schedule, usage, location, and even budget) and modify its behavior accordingly, saving you cooling costs.
For those without central climate control and therefore unable to use the Nest, this smart air conditioner is a worthy alternative. You can even connect using the Wink mobile app on iOS and Android to control it remotely. But remember:at the end of the day, it's still just a window-mounted air conditioner.
The verdict? Both products are similarly priced, but the Nest is superior. Either way, you're looking at an average cost of $265 for climate control.
Hardening your home with smart security isn't just for added security, it's for peace of mind. While no security device will provide 100% protection, every bit adds up. What are you missing from your home?
The August Smart Lock It's the next evolution of home security. May not offer More Protection than a regular lock, but much more convenient to use and manage. Any smartphone can access the lock as long as you give them permission, which they can be revoked.
How does it work? It senses your approach and unlocks. When you leave its vicinity, it locks itself again. Brilliantly designed yet deceptively simple. If you don't like this particular one, there are other smart locks for the home. Forget Keys:5 Smart Locks You Can Unlock With Your Phone Forget Keys:5 Smart Locks You Can Unlock With Your Phone Here are 5 different locks you can unlock with your phone Read More that you can explore.
The Dropcam Pro security camera is one of the best-selling products in the smart home security category. The image quality is sharp, the field of view is 130 degrees from corner to corner, you can zoom in and out and switch to night vision mode.
Setup is easy:it's guaranteed to take less than 60 seconds, as all you have to do is connect to it via Wi-Fi to live stream your footage. It works on desktop, iOS and Android. Other features include smart alerts, armed scheduling, and two-way talk.
If the Dropcam doesn't interest you, don't worry. There are other smart home security setups Safe and Secure:4 Great Home Security Devices Safe and Secure:4 Great Home Security Devices More information also worth looking into, such as the Homeboy security camera.
The SmartThings humidity sensor it's a preventative device that could save you a lot of money and a lot of headaches. Once installed, if it detects excess water or humidity, it will alert you on your mobile device.
When home flood damage can cost you an average of $2000 or more in repairs, this is a relatively inexpensive device. All you have to do is set it and forget it.
The verdict? I'd say all of this is necessary for a basic smart home security setup, which includes at least three humidity sensors (kitchen, laundry, and one per bathroom). That comes out to a total of $600.
Finally, we can explore the fun side of smart technology:entertainment and leisure. As with most luxury items, none of these are strictly necessary (or even wise if you don't have the budget) Simply Frugal:How To Learn Personal Finance The Easy Way Simply Frugal:How To Learn Personal Finance The Easy Way Do you worry? ?bills and debt on a regular basis?Do you feel lost when others speak financial jargon?Here's the good news:it's never too late to learn about money.Read More to support them) so shop at your own discretion.
A product that has changed the way. me living at home is smart tv What is a smart tv? 6 of the best on the market today What is a Smart TV? 6 of the best on the market today Most of the TVs you look at right now are smart TVs, but what is a smart TV and which ones are the best on the market right now? Read More With one, I can watch all my Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime movies and shows seamlessly with native smart TV apps.
Buy one? I would recommend the Samsung H6350 2014 series Which offers a tremendous balance between quality and price. It comes in a 32-inch model up to a 75-inch model with six more sizes in between. For best results, choose the one that works best for your setup.
Although there are some known security risks with smart TVs Smart TVs are a growing security risk – how do you deal with this? Smart TVs are a growing security risk:How to deal with this? Imagine being hacked through your smart TV. It sounds silly and mundane, but it can be quite serious. This is what you need to know. Read More At a minimum, cover Webcam Hack Attack:How To Keep Your Webcam Secure Online Peeping Toms Hack Attack:How To Keep Your Webcam Secure Online Peeping Toms What would you do if someone had control of your webcam without your knowledge? Fortunately, there are ways to stay clean in front of these Toms. Read More That will keep any prying eyes away.
We've already mentioned one SmartThings product before, but here's another one worth your attention:the SmartThings Starter Kit . The main component of this kit is the SmartThings Hub, which is a centralized unit that can control multiple other SmartThings devices.
The kit also comes with a motion sensor (fires the cube if motion is detected), an open/close sensor (trigger the cube if windows, doors, or drawers open or close unexpectedly), and occupancy sensor (Track locations and trigger hub when sensor enters or exits specific areas.)
We've noted before that smart hubs are a big battle of smart home hubs:What's out and what's in? Battle of the Smart Home Hubs:What's Out There and What's Next? Read more . As SmartThings continues to pump out more smart home devices, this hub will only grow more powerful and more useful.
Tired of cleaning your house? You're not alone Roomba has been around since 2002, but it's still popular year after year, and when you look at how much it's improved over those years, it shouldn't surprise you.
the iRobot Roomba 870 it is a powerful aspiration agent that is reliable enough to free your hands and mind. It can be programmed to clean itself up to once a day and will automatically return to its charging base when finished.
There is a newer model in the iRobot Roomba 880 But I'm not convinced it's worth the extra cost. The lack of a remote for the 870 is the only reason to consider upgrading.
We've covered the Belkin WeMo Switch in the lighting section, but if you want to spend a little more for a little more punch, consider the Belkin WeMo Insight Switch which is similar but with three additional benefits:energy monitor, schedule and notifications.
With all these amazing smart devices being added to your home, on top of any other devices already running in your home, you want to make sure you're not throwing money away with all that electricity. It is ideal for each and every one of the devices that you use regularly..
The verdict? If all of the above were purchased, including ten of the Insight switches, then we'd come to a total of $2,300. But of course, these are luxury items, so feel free to go with what looks best to you.
When you combine the total costs for smart lighting, smart climate control, and smart security, it comes down to approximately $1,400 . Compare this to these average US home renovation costs.
In the grand scheme, smart home conversions aren't that expensive, and that's true even if you include all the smart luxury items, bringing the total to $3,700 . Not bad, huh?
So what do you think about smart home products? Are you thinking of converting? Or do you think it's not worth the money or effort? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
