The dream of having a fully automated and intelligent home like Tony Stark's may still be a long way off, but the truth is that today we have many devices on the market that allow us to make our home a little smarter . The massive landing of the so-called smart speakers in the homes of users has made many of us bite the bug of home automation. Or at least that when we go to buy a new device we will see if it can be controlled or not with the voice.
So we have compiled 5 smart devices that will allow us to make our home a little smarter . There are many more on the market, but perhaps these five are the most basic to start creating a smart home.
Smart speaker
The first thing we need to have a Smart Home or smart home is to get a control device. There are many devices that we can already control from the mobile, but the ideal is to be able to do it with voice commands . Because it is much more comfortable to say "Alexa do something" than to have to get up to pick up the phone, enter the application and do what we wanted to do.
So the first thing we are going to need to create a smart home is a smart speaker . What speaker? Well, that already depends on which assistant we want to use and our budget. The best known are the Google Assistant and Alexa. But we also have the option of Siri, Apple's assistant. Although with the latter we may have more problems finding compatible devices.
Once the assistant is chosen, we can take a look at the multiple speakers that we have on the market. The most basic are the Google Nest Mini and the Amazon Echo Dot . They are two small and inexpensive speakers that can serve us perfectly to start.
Smart bulbs
Perhaps the most basic home automation equipment that we can find right now on the market are smart bulbs . It is the star smart device and the one that many start with.
Thanks to the boom in this type of device, we have hundreds of brands on the market that manufacture smart lights . Some of the best known are those of Philips, Xiaomi and even Ikea.
When buying smart bulbs we must bear in mind that not all of them work the same. There are those that have a built-in WiFi connection , such as Xiaomi Yeelight bulbs. And then there are those that need a device called a "hub" or bridge , which is the one that actually makes the Internet connection and controls the bulbs. Here we would have, for example, Ikea and Philips Hue.
If we are only going to use a couple of smart bulbs at home, we can choose practically any that we like or have the power we are looking for. But if all the lighting in the house is going to be intelligent, it might be interesting to choose a system with which we can integrate many light bulbs.
Smart plug
Along with light bulbs, smart plugs are another of the simplest devices to start in making our home smart.
Smart plugs allow us to control any device that we have connected to them through voice commands. Most tend to work with both the Google Assistant and Alexa, being compatible even with routines and schedules. Many even control the consumption made by the device that we have connected.
We can use them, for example, to connect the coffee maker and that every morning it turns on at breakfast time. Or to connect a fan or radiator and turn it on remotely. The applications are multiple and you will surely find how to integrate them into your day to day.
Smart camera
A few years ago having security cameras at home was a luxury that only some could afford. Nowadays, however, anyone can have one or more cameras installed in their home . The installation, handling and price of them has been simplified so much that it is very easy to control our home from anywhere.
In addition, now the vast majority of these cameras are compatible with Google and Amazon assistants . That is, we can say "Alexa, show me the camera in the baby's room" and see the image on our mobile or on a speaker with a screen.
Some like the new Amazon Ring Indoor Cam are really inexpensive. We also have options from Xiaomi or the newcomer to the market Tapo C200 from TP-Link.
Smart thermostat
We have saved the thermostat for last because of the five devices chosen it is the one that not everyone will be able to use. If you have central heating at home with a boiler, you can replace your current thermostat with a smart thermostat .
A good example are the Nest models that you can find in the official Google store. But what does a smart thermostat do? For example, it memorizes the temperature at which we like to be at home and automatically lowers the temperature when we are away to consume less. It is even capable of learning how our house heats up and if we have too many drafts to use only the necessary energy.
In addition to working in a much more intelligent automatic way, they also offer us the possibility of controlling the temperature of the house from a distance . On the other hand, in the case of Google's Nest, they also allow us to keep track of the heating costs we are making.
They are not cheap devices and not all boilers are compatible, but if you can install them they can mean significant energy savings at the end of the year .
These 5 devices are just one example of how we can start creating a smarter home. But in the market we can find many and diverse options. For example, we can install a smart doorbell with HD camera .
We also have the option of installing automatic blinds that work with the assistants, motorized awnings that we can lower and raise with our voice and even connected appliances that allow us to control them remotely. Without a doubt, home automation lovers are in luck.