You hear and read a lot about smart home technologies, but they don’t always fit. After all, a lot of technology tends towards a more futuristic look, but you might not want to give up this family lamp that your family has kept in the living room for generations.
Fortunately, this is not an either-or situation. You can take full advantage of smart home technology without giving up classic and / or rustic style. The key is to turn your dumb technique into a smart one.
In this article, you’ll find some inexpensive ways to make your classic lamp the technical equivalent of a Harvard degree. Devices such as smart plugs, smart batteries, and other similar devices can give you the ability to control common household appliances over Wi-Fi without having to change the look of your entire home.
Install smart batteries to increase efficiency of stupid smoke detector
One of the most useful aspects of a smart smoke detector is the push notifications that come when the battery is low. It completely eliminates the annoying squeak that always seems to be heard late at night.
While the smart battery may not provide the same level of data analysis and / or voice announcements as the smart smoke detector, it can send push notifications to your phone when the battery is low. Smart batteries are less common than other smart devices, but you can find them from companies like Roost. Plus they are much cheaper.
Smart bulbs give smart home control even over old appliances
Most smart lights are nothing more than a light bulb and possibly a Wi-Fi hub. One inexpensive way to intelligently control almost any lamp by simply inserting a smart light and setting it up. The smart function comes from the light bulb itself, not what it is connected to.
The only catch is that smart bulbs require a constant flow of energy to operate. Smart bulbs use less power than traditional bulbs, but make sure that the wiring in your bulb, especially if it’s older, is intact before passing current through it for an extended period of time.
Smart Light Switches can turn all lights on and off at once
While smart bulbs can be useful for individual bulbs, if you want to control the lighting of your entire room without investing many bulbs, you need to turn to a source: a light switch.
An inexpensive smart light switch is essentially a Wi-Fi switch for your lighting. Some also include the ability to dim the lights. You can control the switch with a smart assistant like Google Home or Amazon Alexa, or from your phone.
Use smart components to schedule devices and control power remotely
Ever wanted to wake up to freshly brewed coffee but never invested in a programmable kettle? A smart plug can help.
Smart sockets allow you to monitor the power of any device connected to them, and some even provide detailed usage statistics such as the amount of power used by the device, the number of on and off, etc.
Smart plugs are great for plugging in your coffee pot and scheduling it to turn on at a set time every morning. You can also plug in dangerous appliances like an iron or heater and set a timer to make sure it goes off so you don’t accidentally leave anything plugged in that could start a fire.
Use HDMI Streaming Device and Settings to Turn on Stupid Smart TV
Devices like Chromecast, Roku, and Amazon Fire Stick are inexpensive and can do just about anything a smart TV can do. Most smart TVs are nothing more than regular TVs with certain streaming services built in. If you connect your streaming device to your TV and enable HDMI-CEC, you can get almost the same level of control on a regular TV as you would on a smart TV.
HDMI-CEC allows you to turn on a connected device (such as streaming), as well as turn on your TV and switch it to the correct input. Just turn on your Chromecast and your TV will turn on exactly where you want it.
Put all these devices together and you will have a smart home much cheaper than if you purchased a completely new set of devices and household appliances. Smart homes can seem expensive and limited in color, but they are possible for any budget and any style – you just need to know where to look.
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