Smart Homes Are the New Normal: How Everyday Tech Is Making Life Easier

Smart homes are changing how we live. They are transforming mundane routines, enhancing everyday tasks, and even customizing moments of joy to your preference. Some of these smart technology options are inexpensive optimizations, while others typically require a bit more research and comparison before you’ll want to implement them.  

Regardless, one of the main advantages of smart technology is that it can be controlled from literally anywhere. Whether you’re in your home’s kitchen and asking Alexa to read a recipe for you or vacationing across the world and monitoring your home’s safety, you can adjust your home’s systems to your liking. Here are just a few ways that everyday tech in smart homes can make life easier. 

Enhanced Safety and Security

For any homeowner, safety and security are of paramount concern. You want to keep yourself, your family, and your possessions as safe as possible. Even if you are the most conscious individual, both burglars and hackers are outsmarting many traditional protective measures. Not to mention, package theft is a year-round problem, not just something to be aware of during peak shopping periods like the holidays.    

With a smart home, you’ll never find yourself lying awake during an overnight trip, worrying that you closed the garage door can ruin a vacation. Smart technology allows for remote monitoring, checking cameras and doors, and alerting you via a smartphone app of any suspicious happenings. A smart lock and doorbell allow you to grant access remotely to select visitors, meaning you don’t need to loan out any keys to neighborhood kids watching Fido for the weekend. 

These systems can respond automatically, turning on lights or sirens when any motion is detected or begin recording when a window is opened, or a door is unlocked. These systems are known to burglars, and can be a deterrent in themselves. Best of all, these systems can be centrally integrated to work together as a cohesive unit, offering unparalleled comprehensive protection. 

Convenience via Automation

Saving valuable time is a main reason why many homeowners look for smart homes or outfit their residences with smart technology systems. Thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), physical objects such as appliances, thermostats, and lights can connect to the internet. Thermostats will adjust automatically when you return home from a vacation, and an overhead light will go on when you walk through the front door at night. 

How does this work? To start, many of today’s appliances and home systems on the market can connect to a home’s Wi-Fi system. With this, you can control each device from an app on your mobile device or dictate a command to a smart speaker. Many devices also have the option to trigger each other. For instance, when you exit through the front door and lock it, all the lights in the house can turn off. These systems provide homeowners with a convenient way to create a personalized living environment, saving them time and energy as well. 

Energy Savings

If you flinch every time you see your energy bill, it may be a good time to start investing in smart energy savings technology. Smart homes can leverage real-time monitoring to optimize any heating and cooling systems. The temperature can be adjusted automatically when you’re away on vacation or during the nighttime. This technology alone can end up saving you hundreds every year. 

To take it a step further, your appliances can adjust based on usage as well. Of course, more energy is needed to cool down food in the refrigerator when the door is constantly being opened and closed. But if you and your family members are away, the refrigerator sensor can adjust its cooling accordingly. For any high-energy tasks, such as dishwashing or laundry, smart appliances can schedule these tasks to be done during off-peak hours to optimize efficiencies. 

Another low-cost option to consider is smart plugs and strips. Unplugging your television, laptop charging station, or other electronic devices after use can be annoying. But with a smart plug, you can eliminate any phantom energy drains from devices currently in standby mode. Smart lightbulbs are like standard LED bulbs but can be controlled via an app or voice assistance technology, such as Alexa or Google Assistant. These energy-saving bulbs can be programmed for routines and even stimulate a sunrise or sunset for improved sleep. 

Health and Wellness Connectivity 

Even if you try your best to live healthily, life can get in the way. Pressing snooze on your alarm feels like the best decision when it blares in your ear early in the morning. And making a nutrient-rich breakfast takes more time than it does to pour a bowl of cereal or grab a granola bar on the way out the door. While your home can’t force you to wake up on time or cook a nourishing breakfast, it can nudge you in the right direction. 

New technology is empowering individuals to make healthier choices every day. Wearable devices are suggesting you head to bed earlier, while lightbulbs are automatically dimming the lights during the evening hours to create a relaxing wind-down routine. Speakers can switch from a pop playlist to a calming jazz mix during the evening, too. Kitchens can even suggest recipes based on what’s in your refrigerator, and track intake for a holistic health view of you and your family’s eating habits. These systems can be personalized to your exact needs, providing you with relevant feedback and adapting appropriately to your health goals. 

Conclusion

Making your home work for you can upgrade your life. If you’re curious about smart home technology, consider any of the above recommendations. You may just be shocked by how much your home will quickly learn about you and your habits.