These days, what can’t be done through your phone? Every year, smart home technology gets, well, smarter. There are many ways to bring that technology into your home to make the appliances in every room accessible from your phone. Imagine being able to turn the lights on and off from your phone, monitor the surroundings of your home while you’re away, or even tell your faucet to fill your water bottle up with three ounces of water.
That’s great, but what exactly is smart technology? Well, the definition is hard to pin down. Smart is an acronym for “Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology.” It takes on characteristics where inanimate objects, such as technology devices, are able to talk, think, and act on their own. It takes certain tasks off your hands, thus allowing you to focus on more important matters.
When preparing to bring smart technology into your home, take a moment to think about what your needs and priorities are. Ask yourself questions: Do you need voice control? How do you want to connect to your appliance? How savvy are you when it comes to installation? Your budget is also a major factor. As smart technology continues to evolve and pervade, prices will change depending on the device’s age and available features.
Brunswick Crossing takes a deeper dive into the realm of smart technology and all the opportunities there are to make your house smarter:
Displays
A smart display offers handy, visual information on a screen, such as weather, news, or traffic. Depending on the device, smart displays can even connect to video and music services like YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix. Other possibilities include browsing recipes, playing games, and even controlling aspects of your home such as lights, thermostats, and cameras. Some displays also have voice controls.
To choose the right display, consider what features you want available and how you want the screen to look. Do you want to be able to watch movies and shows on your display? How about listening to music? How do you want the interface to look? How large of a screen do you want? Do you want voice control? Do you want it to connect to other smart devices in your home? Google, Amazon and Lenovo offer leading smart displays with options depending on your needs and budget.
Plugs
These days, so many things are being replaced with smart devices. Smart plugs allow you to connect areas of your home that are not smart: Regular lamps, fans, and appliances can be connected for automation or voice control through smart plugs. They also can offer a variety of features such as energy consumption data and scheduling.
There are many smart plugs on the market. Choosing the right one depends on many factors. On what platform do you want to control your connectivity? Some but not all connect with Google, Amazon, and HomeKit via WiFi. Others offer connectivity through their own mobile app. Consider if energy consumption monitoring, voice control, and scheduling are necessities for you.
Security Cameras
Installing a security system used to entail hiring professional help. But with the boom of consumer smart home technology, it’s easier than ever to install your own security measures. Security cameras are a great option. Smart security cameras come with a wide range of choices in installation methods, flexible setup, and variety of features.
When deciding which security camera meets your needs, here are a number of factors to consider. Where do you want to install your camera? Some security cameras are made for just indoors or just outdoors while some can be deployed in either space. What quality of video do you want? When it comes to video quality, not all cameras are equal and poor footage isn’t going to help keep your home secure. Most cameras offer 1080p resolution while others go up to 2K or 4K. Do you want human monitoring? Deep Sentinel’s cameras use motion detection and AI to alert real guards at a live center who then watch the live video feed and decide if the situation requires intervention. Maybe you want to opt for the video doorbell with real time footage instead. Some other factors to consider include battery backup in a power outage, facial recognition, environmental monitoring, night vision capabilities, two-way audio, and app capabilities.
Lighting
When it comes to controlling the lighting in your home through smart technology, there are two options: smart bulbs and smart switches. Both have their pros and cons. Smart bulbs are LED based and can be controlled by a hub or phone app. Meanwhile, smart switches replace your regular light switches. They can be used as a regular switch but also allow control over lighting or hardwire appliances through an app or voice control.
Which do you choose? For smart bulbs, they tend to be more expensive and usage is only as intuitive as the control app allows. Smart bulbs also usually don’t offer dimming capabilities. On the other hand, smart switches are more complicated to install, especially when dealing with exposed wires. Smart switches also don’t offer a variety of color options the way smart bulbs do.
Kitchen Appliances
These days, you can cook through your phone. We’re not talking about online ordering. We’re talking about smart appliances and there’s one to replace just about every gadget in your kitchen. Never ruin your avocado toast again with a smart toaster that allows you to set your desired level of crispiness and cooks at incredible speed. Smart faucets are not only motion activated but voice activated as well, so that you can control things such as the amount of water dispensed. There’s even a meat thermometer that connects to an app on your phone and displays the temperature of your meat. And, that’s just the beginning. There’s also smart soap dispensers, blenders, slow cookers, coffee makers, and more.
Robot Vacuums
We’ve all seen those videos of babies or pets riding a robot vacuum around the house. Robot vacuums are all the rage and for good reason. They reduce the need to sweep up around the house and are ideal for quick clean ups. Not to mention they’re kind of adorable. These days, they can even be activated through your phone.
There are a wide variety of robot vacuums on the market. Most robot vacuums operate the same way. They drive themselves around the house, use brushes to sweep up dirt from the floor, and then return home when the job is done or their battery is running low. However, they still vary depending on the manufacturer. Most models can be set on a schedule so you can decide when they set out on their journey to clean up. Different robots are able to use sensors to determine how much dirt is in front of them. There’s also many different sizes of robot vacuums which determine what spaces they can fit into and how large their dustpan is.
Imagine waking up in your new Brunswick home that you outfitted with the latest smart home technology. An alarm wakes you up and your bedside lamp turns on. As you head downstairs, the coffee maker is already preparing your morning cup. As you sip your coffee, your smart display checks the weather. All of this can be possible in your new home at Brunswick Crossing. Check out our available models below and schedule your tour:
