Smart Home Devices – Setup a Smart Home in 2021

The Internet of Things has brought a number of changes in our lives. It has made it much easier to set up a smart home, where you can now remotely control and manage your light, door locks, thermostats, doorbells, among others, through the use of its app on a smartphone and tablet.

It has further made it possible to monitor your home from anywhere in the world. Smart home security systems are customizable and there are do-it-yourself kits available as well. You can also opt for professionals to do full-blown home security set up for your house.

It ultimately depends on your needs for home security. For instance, you can set up a smart home and monitor it yourself, or have your home under 24/7 surveillance, for which you’ll have to pay a subscription fee.

Moreover, you can always benefit from an on-demand monitoring service whenever you’re away for a longer time. Of course, you’ll have to pay more if you want more coverage. Then again, if you’ve just begun setting up a smart home, you may not be ready for a full-on home security system.

There’s nothing to worry about as there are a lot of individual smart home devices that will allow you to control and manage your home’s surveillance remotely. Here are some smart home devices that you should consider when setting up a smart home.

August Wi-Fi Smart Lock – 4th Gen

The August Wi-Fi Smart Lock – 4th Gen, comes alongside August’s retrofit lock and it’s a very new feature, a DoorSence sensor. This smart lock has an in-built Wi-Fi, which saves you money as there’s no need to purchase the Connect module to control it remotely.

The August Wi-Fi Smart Lock is smaller in size as compared to its predecessors. Furthermore, it’s compatible with all three voice assistants, Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, and Apple’s Siri.

You’ll have unlimited codes and user access, as well as an activity log that records each and every action happening at your front door. Wi-Fi makes it possible for you to access your front door at any point and also lock and unlock it from your smartphone.

It’s also highly capable and has an easy installation manual. You can purchase the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock – 4th Gen at FirstEnergy Com for $250.

Google Nest Hello – Video Doorbell

The Google Nest Hello is perhaps one of the best smart video doorbells and has an extremely attractive video resolution. Google Assistant is known to be user-friendly, and if you have Google Home, this will be like a cherry on top of the cake.

The Nest Hell’s speaker and microphone have an amazing quality. It has the ability to recognize people’s faces through its facial recognition feature. It will further announce the through a Google Assistant compatible device whenever a familiar person is at your doorstep.

The Nets Hello works well with Alexa as well. Do be mindful that it needs to be hardwired. It can also record videos and store them so that you never have to miss a visitor coming over if you weren’t around.

You can also set it up in specific zones so that it informs you whenever a person is in that frame. You can purchase the Google Nest Hello Video Doorbell at FirstEnergy Com for $230 or directly from the Google store.

Arlo Pro 3

The Arlo Pro 3 is a highly praised smart camera. It has progressed impressively as compared to Arlo’s predecessors, by bringing in a 2K video quality. It also has a color night vision video with a bright spotlight.

The best thing about the Arlo Pro 3 is that it’s wire-free and is super easy to set up. It also has a motion detector that will alert you whenever someone is in its vicinity. Moreover, the Arlo Pro 3 has both an indoor and outdoor.

It’s a solid camera that works inside and outside. However, you must know you’ll need to buy a base station apart from two cameras. This makes an expensive camera when compared to its competitors.

You can purchase the Arlo Pro 3 at Amazon for $365.

Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit

Philips Hue’s White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit comes with your choice of both two or four dimmable colored bulbs and a hub. What’s so different about this smart light starter kit is the intensity of its app, which has all sorts of features, such as routines, geofencing, vacation mode, and many more.

The Philips Hue system is compatible with almost every smart home system and device. If you’re in search of a white smart bulb that has a versatile touch to it, then this is the perfect choice for your home.

Do be mindful to update the bulb’s firmware from time to time to prevent any sort of malware from pooping into your network through the bridge. You can purchase the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit at FirstEnergy Com for $200.

In Summary

Smart homes are fun to set up as they can be customized in whatever way you’re comfortable. That being said, it’s necessary to have some sort of a hub that your devices can be connected to.

The above mentioned smart home devices are a good way to begin setting up your smart home. Good luck!