The first thing that comes to mind when you think of a smart home is the fictional Skypad Apartments of the animated comic science fiction show, The Jetsons, that first aired in the 1960s. In fact, many of the technologies featured on the show were inspirations for modern smart home inventions. For example, did you know that the show was one of the first to feature a flat screen television, home video chat and small robotic vacuum cleaner?  

 While our smart homes have yet to reach the advanced technological level of the Jetsons’ Skypad Apartments, the good news is that our understanding and use of technology is advancing, which means that smart homes are poised to get smarter and more secure. Since the smart home market is still relatively young, now is the perfect time to build a home or upgrade your current house with the following 5 smart home essentials.

• Robovac

• Small, compact and efficient, a Robovac is easily one of the most ingenious solutions to keeping the floors of your home spick and span. Robovac is an essential component of a smart home. It is designed to clean your house without the need for any human intervention making it an ‘intelligent’ tool. The first thing to know about Robovac is that it is effective at what it is designed to do. Secondly, it comes in a range of models. The simple ones are loaded with sensors that help them change direction when they come in contact with a wall and enabling them to move around. The more advanced devices come packed with advanced sensors and navigational systems. Although all models are completely automated, many Robovac variants give a dynamic control over the device to its users.

• Mass Home Automation Hubs

• Think of mass home automation hubs as the central interface that links all other smart home devices in your home. Depending on the quality and features, prices for mass home automation hubs can range from $50 to $200. Considering the cheap price and overall value, hubs should be the first thing to install in your home since all other devices like the light switch, security camera, thermostat, sprinkler system, coffee maker, and more are ‘controlled’ by it. Automated hubs come in a number of different varieties, with each hub having their own benefits and  functionalities.  When selecting a hub for your home, you should look to buy them based on the technology that it has on board, the number of devices it is capable of connecting to, and the functionalities that it lets you have. Versatility, the range of connectivity, remote access, and advanced notification system are customizable and its interfacing speed with your home internet connection should be the primary considerations when you are choosing a mass home automated hub.

• Smart Light Bulbs

• Enabled by a smart home network that can be controlled with a central hub system (controller), a smart light bulb can help you in creating an energy efficient smart home. You can fix these dimmable bulbs in any area of your smart home and also save yourself from messy electrical wiring. It is a novel way of controlling the illumination of the lit area according to your mood and need for lighting conditions. The ability to control the brightness of the light emitted by them using your smartphone is a standard key feature. One particularly impressive feature of these light bulbs that will blow your mind is that you can also change the color of the light emitted by the bulb using the app. You get to choose from a total of sixteen million colors! This should add a lot of glamour to your smart home, especially when you have some guests over.

• Surveillance Cameras

• The versatile features that come with the latest surveillance cameras and the number of things that you can do with them, make these systems essential for any smart home. They rank very high in the list of devices that your smart home must have, especially if you are concerned with protecting your home and family.Once integrated into your home network, these smart devices can be controlled using your smartphone, providing you the ability to monitor your home from anywhere in the world. Additionally, many surveillance cameras come with customizable features like notification dispatch when they detect movement or real-time reporting systems that you can configure any way you’d like.

Amazon Echo Dot

A stunningly brilliant breakthrough product based on Amazon’s voice control technology, Amazon Echo dot has received rave reviews and is similar to Siri or the Google Now for your smart home. Equipped with cutting-edge technology like far-field microphones, the Echo dot is the ideal voice recognition solution for any home. All you have to do is to set it up according to your needs and activate the peripherals connected to your controller using the trigger word. Super impressive.

If you have any questions about these smart home essentials - or even any others - feel free to contact me. I always love to help.