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There’s no place like home — and a smart home is even better! Since we’ve all been spending more time at home, you probably know that there are gadgets like lightbulbs, speakers, and cameras that can make your home more comfortable, convenient, and safe. New devices are being introduced all the time, but here are a few of those that you might want to consider because they can save you time, money, and maybe even conserve energy!

The Top Smart Devices for Your Home

Smart Plugs

Smart plugs are one of the easiest connected home devices to understand — perhaps the gateway to a smart home — and there are a lot of smart plugs. They’re usually affordable, simple to install and take care of a home function that makes sense, which is turning the power on and off remotely. 

Smart Light Bulbs 

Smart light bulbs are about controlling personal preference and one of the most popular of the Smart Devices for Your Home, but they also can help you to save energy and spend less money in the long run. And that’s a win-win! Smart bulbs are customizable, able to dim or change colors often with a simple voice command. 

They can be controlled from anywhere using apps and other scheduling features, which can make your home never look empty — a great safety feature. This also means you never have to come home to a dark house, but you don’t have to leave your lights on and waste electricity.  

Another fun feature of smart light bulbs is that some can play music or use light settings that can help you sleep better by emitting light that preserves your circadian rhythm. 

Smart Locks

A smart lock is designed to replace the bolt lock on your door. Once installed and paired via Bluetooth with your smartphone, a smart lock can be locked and unlocked without a key. Depending on the model, this can be done with your biometrics, your voice, or even with an app. 

One reason smart locks are so useful is that virtual keys can be used by others your trust, like family, friends, and service providers. They can be programmed to work for them all the time or only during a specific period of time. And you can be alerted when these keys are used, so you can keep track of who is coming and going and when they go in and out.

Smart locks are also great for homeowners who are apt to lose their house keys, or who enjoy going out for exercise or errands without having to take a house key with them. Convenience is literally key with these Smart Devices for Your Home!

Smart Speakers

Like a regular speaker, a smart speaker provides sound and other audio communication, but a smart speaker is internet-enabled and controlled by audible commands. Smart speakers can stream content, relay information, and even communicate with other Smart Devices for Your Home. 

Smart speakers come from a variety of well-known tech companies like Amazon and Google can do so much more than simply playing music and telling you the weather and the news. Often they come with an assistant that can help you with directions, calendar reminders, and timers, and they can even work with other enabled devices making WiFi-connected gadgets like lightbulbs and locks work seamlessly and more reliably. 

Smart Thermostats

Smart thermostats allow you to create automatic and recurring temperature settings based on daily schedules, weather conditions, and heating and cooling needs in your home. Some of these are programmable, some use voice control, and some of them are also controllable via an app from remote locations, so you can change your home heating and air conditioning system settings from afar.

This is useful because it can reduce energy usage, but also have the temperature ready for you when you are home to use it. It also helps with vacation home maintenance, since you can monitor whether your HVAC is working properly even from far away.

Home Security System/Cameras 

You can rest assured that what matters most to you will be kept safe and sound when you have a smart home security system or at least smart home cameras in place. Whether you are at home or away from home, these systems send you security alerts, access camera footage, lock and unlock doors, adjust lights, and otherwise control home security. They can also let you know if a smoke alarm or other environmental sensor was triggered.

Our favorite smart home cameras have a lot of basic security camera features but also allow for HD live streaming, night vision, and two-way talk, as well as support for Alexa and Google Assistant voice control so you can control other smart devices in your home if needed.

Video Doorbells

Video doorbells do much more than let you know who has come knocking. If your home is equipped with a video doorbell, you’ll enjoy a camera for live video interactions and security monitoring, motion sensing for proximity alerts, and possibly even two-way audio for communication with people at your front door.

And not only will you be able to see who is there, but you can also often use a video doorbell to answer your door without actually opening it and coming face-to-face with whoever is waiting, meaning you can tell the mailman to leave your packages and alert the landscaper that you’ll be home before she’s finished unloading the equipment from her truck. 

With these Smart Devices for Your Home, our homes are better than ever and more and more of our clients in the Springfield and Burke areas are looking for them to add value to their homes. Whether or not smart devices are important to you right now, let List With Elizabeth show you how properties in this popular area — with smart gadgets or not — can make you feel right at home.