In the modern home, smart technology is everywhere—in phones, televisions, cars, and even the kitchen.
A smart home improves comfort and security and can speed up household tasks, leaving you the time and energy to focus on the things that really matter to you.
Is it worth the upgrade? More than likely.
Start with one or two appliances and see if smart technology is the right fit for you. Odds are, at least some of these ideas would make your home life easier.
Kitchen
If you’re looking to update your kitchen, consider going all the way—that is, update with tech-forward updates.
Smart kitchens actually exist, and they will improve your culinary life in both food quality and kitchen efficiency. There are kitchen companies, such as Dacor, that have developed all-inclusive lines of smart appliances that allow you to maintain the aesthetic integrity of your kitchen along with the state-of-the art technological improvements.
Many of these appliances, especially ovens and range tops, operate with intuitive, WiFi-enabled LCD control panels and the ability to connect to your phone. Dual cameras in the refrigerator that connect to your smartphone allow you to check your refrigerator while you’re shopping, just to double-check if you have an ingredient or not.
Security
One of the strongest arguments for updating to a smart home is the advances in security.
A Nest Cam or Dropcam Pro, for instance, is an HD security camera inside or outside your home. These cameras usually run somewhere between $150 and $200. These cameras use motion and sound detection and send alerts to your smartphone should anything seem awry. Some can even tell the difference between animals and people. These cameras allow continuous recording that’s stored in the cloud.
In addition to security cameras, there are smart locks. These locks can be controlled by apps or from other hubs. Can’t remember if you locked the door or are worried a family member left it unlocked? You never have to worry about that again as smart locks allow you to lock up your home with a push of a button on your phone.
Of course, cybersecurity is another important area in the modern tech-forward home, as is keeping track of all of your photos and memories in one place. With a cloud photo storage, private sharing, which is choosing who sees your photos, is now possible. It allows you to share without worrying about the crowd, as well as find all of your photos fast and effortlessly.
Cleaning
When it comes to cleaning, we no longer have to use as much elbow grease as we once did.
Robot vacuums, for instance, use technology to sense objects and floor cleanliness as they go around your home on their own, sucking up dirt and debris.
There are also robot moppers, which can do both deep clean and damp sweeping. And, of course, these cleaning devices can also be controlled from your smartphone.
Hubs and controllers
Appliances such as Amazon’s Echo and Google Home are making simple tasks as easy as a voice command. Just say something along the lines of, “Alexa, play Christmas music,” or, “Alexa, turn on the TV,” and, just like that, the music plays or the TV comes on.
These devices are also gaining a strong reputation as kitchen assistants. Implementing additional skills can allow the device to create shopping lists and keep track of your kitchen inventory. Since it’s a voice assistant, it can even sift through online recipes to help you find what you’re looking for.
And if you don’t feel like cooking, these devices can order take out for you. They connect with other smart devices across the house, making for the ultimate smart home experience.