There is a lot to talk about with this subject, so lets get started. Some people are a little hesitant to make their home a smart home in 2021 because it can seem like a daunting high tech task, but the truth is that you do not need to be tech savvy! A tech company’s main goal is to make revenue through their products, so they have created products that have little to no learning curve. This approach allows the company to reach a larger demographic.
Step 1: Google or Amazon?
The first thing you will need to decide is what company you would like to buy your smart home hub from. The two best options is the Google Nest Mini or the Amazon Echo. If you utilize a lot of Google products such as Google Task, Google Keep, Google Calendar, etc. then I would recommend choosing the Google Nest Mini. If you have an Amazon Fire Stick, or do not utilize Googles Suite, then I would recommend buying the Amazon Echo. You will need to buy one or the other to be the central brain for your home. I personally have the Google Nest Mini as my hub because I utilize the Google Suite for everything. If you want to make your whole house a smart house you will need to have a hub in every room. I have a hub in my living room/entry, bedroom, and kitchen.
Step 2: Buy smart plugs and smart bulbs
I utilize the Kasa Smart Plugs to turn on and off all of the lights in my apartment. My apartment does not have any overhead lights, so when I walk through the door at night the first thing I do is say “Hey Google turn on the lights”. There is a Google Nest Mini is located in my entrance that registers this command and activates all of the lights in my apartment. I could say “Hey Google turn on the living room lights” and this would just activate the lights in the living room. Or, I could say “Hey Google turn on the desk light” this activates the light next to my desk. Kasa Smart Plugs have a great user friendly app that was quick and easy to set the plugs up with and then link to my Google Nest Mini. These plugs also work with the Amazon Echo.
I opted to use the Kasa Smart Plugs over smart bulbs because they are more versatile in their capabilities. For example, this holiday season I choses to move the Kasa Smart Plug that was linked to my living room light to power my Christmas tree. So at night all I have to say is “Hey Google turn off the tree”. If I had a smart bulb I would have not been able to do this. However, smart bulbs are great if you want to set different tone to a room. Smart bulbs have the ability to be a variety of different colors and tones. This is useful if you like to host and want to set an ambiance. These smart bulbs work with the same commands as the Kasa Smart Plugs.
Step 3: Buy some security measures
I am fortunate that I have a peephole in my front door, but my sister is not so fortunate. She recently was placed in an uncomfortable situation when she heard a knock of her door and went to answer it. She opened the door to a stranger who was asking for handouts. Had she seen the person prior to opening the door she would not have answered it. You may have a personal story come to mind, maybe a very similar one. A great solution to this unfortunate situation is to buy the Ring Video Door Bell. This product sends a live feed straight to your phone and other devices. The price of this product is completely worth it for the peace of mind it give you.
Step 4: Get fancy
If you have followed the steps up to this point then you have a fully functional smart house! However, there is still so much more that you can do. I recently bought the Google Home Max, but you can get the Google Nest Audio, to have a better audio system in my apartment. I have all of my Google hubs linked to one another so that when I play music from my Spotify on one, I can have it be played on all of them at the same time, or I can cast to different rooms.
You can also make you TVs smart too. If you buy an Amazon Echo then you will want to buy the Amazon Fire Stick. If you buy the Google Nest Mini then you will want to buy the Google Chromecast. These products allow you to wirelessly connect your TV to your hubs. This means that I can say “Hey Google Play Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix” and it will start playing the episode right where I left off last. This is one of the minor capabilities that the products provide and there are many more.
I am very interested in the Google Nest Hub Max for my kitchen. Amazon has the Amazon Echo Show. This product looks similar to a tablet with a speaker for a base. I love watching Youtube videos while I cook or do dishes, so this device would be great to stream this content for me. I also want to utilize this screen to display recipes of food that I would be preparing.
Everything in the blog post is just barely scratching the surface of all the capabilities that a smart home can provide you. Everything has an easy to use interface and little to no learning curve. Take the first step and order you Google Nest Mini or Amazon Echo right now!
