Create 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 But it is not as difficult as you may think! There are plenty of projects you can do in just a few minutes or over the course of an afternoon to get started. These four will introduce you to some of the principles for creating a connected home and add a little beauty factor to your home.
The Nest Thermostat kicked off a lot of interest in smart home technology and paved the way for many new market entries. It's also a great way to start upgrading your home because it's so easy to set up, which is one of the reasons we included it in our list of five smart home products you should buy. 5 smart home appliances you should buy 5 Smart Home Appliances You Should Buy The "smart home" concept is taking off and you need to keep up, otherwise you'll end up missing out on the future. Read more . To install it, all you need is a Phillips screwdriver. There's even one included in the Nest box, though you may find it easier to use your own set to take advantage of different sizes.
According to Tom's Guide, which has a great guide on how to set up the Nest, the whole process should take about thirty minutes, and it's pretty easy. Of course, it should be noted that Nest recommends having a Nest-certified professional installer do this for you, but if you're very comfortable working with electronics, you shouldn't find it too difficult. And if you like the thermostat, you can also get Nest Protect, a smart smoke and carbon monoxide detector Nest Protect Review and Giveaway Nest Protect Review and Giveaway Read More .
Buy the Nest thermostat on Amazon
The lights in your home get used to it all the time and it's easy to take them for granted. You walk into a room and turn them on, and turn them off before you leave. But there are so many more cool things you can do! We show you some dedicated smart lighting systems, like Phillips Hue Light Your Home the Smart Way With Philips Hue Light Your Home Way Smart With Philips Hue If you can afford the upfront costs, you won't find a better option. Compatible and easiest to use smart lighting system on the market. Read More and Holi Smart Mood Lamp Holi Smart Mood Lamp Review and Giveaway Holi Smart Mood Lamp Review and Giveaway Is the Holi Smart Mood Lamp the ultimate night light? mood lamp? disco ball? Read More " 3 Ways to Your Ordinary Home Lights The Belkin WeMo You Can "Choose" Your Ordinary Home Lights We take the time to look at the possibilities of turning your everyday lights into smart lights. Read more.
WeMo setup lets you program your lights, operate them remotely with an app, use the attached motion sensor to control them, and even integrate with IFTTT triggers. The best thing about setting up your lights with WeMo is that no tools are required; Just download the app, plug the switch into a power outlet, and you're ready to go. And once you get the hang of it, you can start integrating WeMo with other devices, too.
Buy the Belkin WeMo Insight Switch from Amazon
There is nothing that says "smart home" How to unlock the door of your house with your cell phone. And with the recent proliferation of smart locks, it's now easier than ever. We outlined a number of options in our article on five great smart locks Forgotten Keys:5 Smart Locks You Can Unlock With Your Phone Forgotten Keys:5 Smart Locks You Can Unlock With Your Phone Here are 5 different locks you can unlock with your phone. Read More In addition to being able to unlock the door with your phone, you can enable proximity-based unlocking, give temporary keys to people who need access, and have the door automatically locked behind you.
For most of these locks, all you need is a screwdriver to remove the old lock and install the new one. It's one of the easiest upgrades you can do.
If you're ready to take the next step in improving your home, Raspberry Pi is the tool for you. Both the Pi and the Arduino are fantastic tools for automating your home. Home automation guide with Raspberry Pi and Arduino. Home automation guide with Raspberry Pi and Arduino. If you have a Raspberry Pi and an Arduino, you can basically accomplish the same thing in... Read More Sunrise Arduino Night Light and Sunrise Alarm Project Today, we'll make a sunrise alarm clock, which will gently and slowly wake you up without resorting to an offensive noise-making machine. Read more . One of the most useful projects we've discussed is creating a motion capture security system Creating a motion capture security system using a Raspberry Pi Creating a motion capture security system using a Raspberry Pi Of the many projects I can build with the Raspberry Pi, One of the most interesting and enduringly useful is the motion capture security system. Read more.
Installation of this system requires a Raspberry Pi, a webcam, an SD card, and a power supply for the camera. It also requires a little more technical expertise to install drivers and stuff on the Raspberry Pi, but our tutorial describes how to do all of these things, making it a great first project for an aspiring Raspberry Pi home automator. And it's significantly cheaper than most standard home security systems!
These four projects are some of the best for people interested in getting started on building a smart home without going through the hassle required for some of the more advanced projects. If you feel motivated, you can easily complete all of these projects in one weekend. So, what are you waiting for? Pick a project and start upgrading your home this weekend! (Don't forget these 6 smart home projects you can tackle in a weekend 6 Smart Home Projects You Can Take On This Weekend 6 Smart Home Projects Things You Can Take On This Weekend Here are six ways to add a little ambient smarts to your daily routine (Read More, too.)
What are your favorite simple smart home projects? What would you recommend for first time smart home enthusiasts? Share your thoughts below!
