Smart Home Automation Gadgets

A smart home gives you greater control over your home security, entertainment, energy use and more from a smartphone or even your voice. But picking the right gadgets for your unique needs can be difficult.

From a smart chicken coop that helps you harvest your own eggs to an intelligent coffee machine that has your favorite playlist pre-heated for when you get up in the morning, there’s no shortage of cool home automation gadgets out there. Many of these devices are designed to make your everyday life easier by allowing you to automate simple tasks that require a manual action, such as turning on the lights when you arrive home or closing the west-facing blinds to reduce the amount of sunlight coming in during the day.

You can also create more advanced automated scenes that involve multiple connected devices. When you pull up to your house after a long day, you can program your smart home system so that the lights automatically turn on, your music plays at just the right volume, your motorized blinds close, and your garage door opens. You can even set the temperature of your home to be at just the right level for you to get comfortable when you’re home from work or out and about.

Most smart home gadgets connect to a central hub that allows you to control them with your voice, through a smartphone app, or on a computer or tablet. Some of the best-known options include Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit, but there are a number of other options to consider as well. The home automation hub you choose depends largely on what other products you already own, which wireless protocols you’re using and what other features you want to enable.

Among the most popular smart home automation gadgets are smart light bulbs, which can be controlled through an app or a voice assistant. Depending on your preferences and budget, you can choose from a wide range of light bulb styles and manufacturers. Some have built-in LED or halogen bulbs, while others require a separate bulb to operate. Smart plugs and outlets are another easy way to add home automation functionality to your existing devices, such as a lamp or coffee maker, without needing to replace them. Brands such as Belkin WeMo, TP-Link and Leviton offer a variety of options.

There are also a wide selection of smart thermostats available, with most supporting multiple voice assistants, mobile apps and Apple HomeKit. These devices can learn your habits and adjust automatically to fit your schedule. For example, your smart thermostat can shut the lights off when you go to sleep and turn them on again in the morning before you wake up.

Smart home technology can be a great addition to any home. To get the most out of it, it’s best to have an experienced professional handle the installation and integration. At Black-Haak, our technicians can look at your home automation goals, help you pick the best devices and systems to meet those goals, then install them properly and seamlessly so they all work together.