Discover how to automate your home

More and more Brits are choosing to transform their homes into high-tech smart homes, and now there are a huge range of smart products that can make home automation easy.

From fridges that tell you when you’re out of milk, to heating systems that warm the house before you arrive home from work, smart devices linked together with the ‘internet of things’ have the potential to make your life much more comfortable and connected.

Smart homes incorporate lots of different technologies that allow you to control many aspects of your home, whether it’s by a few taps on your smartphone or even by voice recognition.

In this article, we’ll show you how to create your own smart home setup, including the types of devices you can choose from, and how much they cost.

What Can Your Smart Home Do?

When you want to make your life more efficient, a smart home can step in and help you with tasks large and small, including chores you waste valuable time doing yourself.

Some devices in your home already have smart features, such as the timer on a thermostat, but making your house into a fully integrated smart home takes things to the next level.

Let’s look at the 4 main areas of your home you can automate, and which devices you can use for a seamless experience.

The prices for each of the devices below are approximate, at the time of writing this article.

Lighting

This is one of the most common types of smart home accessory, as it allows you to control the lighting in any room of your home that has smart bulbs installed. You can do this by using the app to turn lights on or off, or there are even connected devices that you can control with just your voice.

Hive Active Light: change the dimness of your bulb or even its colour. It needs the Hive Hub to provide full functionality, but it’s compatible with systems like Alexa. £19 per bulb

Ai Dot Linkind Matter: connects with a wide range of hubs like Alexa and Google, providing a range of colours that can adapt to the ambience of your home. £15 per bulb

TP-Link: with this bulb you can do so many things directly from your smartphone, including adjustable dimming and brightness schedules. Great value at only £10 per bulb

Heating

Heating systems that are intuitive and can be controlled remotely are gaining in popularity, as it allows you to be in full control of your heating, and save money on energy bills too. Having the heating already warm the house for you before you wake up, or making the house toasty when you get back home from work on a cold day is a huge plus.

Google Nest Learning: keep every room at the perfect temperature night and day with this product which uses AI intuitively to maintain the home’s temperature. £250

Hive Thermostat: part of a larger range of smart home products, the Hive is the ultimate way to remotely control your home. £125

Drayton Wiser: when coupled with smart radiator thermostats, this has the potential to allow you to control the heating in every room, individually. £115

Security

Keeping your home and your possessions safe is a top priority for every homeowner. From security lighting and cameras that can monitor any movement in your home to burglar alarms that provide an instant update, smart security is an essential. You can even have smart locks on your home that open the door without a key.

Ring Cameras: from doorbells to internal and external security cameras, Ring has it all. You pay for the initial setup and then a monthly fee for the 24/7 service. £50 to £130

Arlo Pro: if you want to stay alert to what’s happening in or around your home at all times, Arlo cameras give added security with wireless alarms and infrared vision. £150 to £180

Yale Assure: when you need to control who has access to your home more securely, a Yale smart lock can work with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and gives ultimate security. £100 to £280

Kitchen

The kitchen is a place where smart home devices come into their own, and there are so many ways that smart devices can make your home more enjoyable. They can anticipate your needs and save you hours of time each week doing chores that you don’t really like doing anyway.

DeLonghi Coffee Maker: have your coffee freshly brewed by the time you walk into the kitchen in the morning, made just how you like it. From £320

Samsung Series 5: washing can be a chore if you can’t hang it out before you leave for work, so a smart washing machine lets you set the start and finish times. £360

LG InstaView: this fridge allows you to see inside of it so when you’re at the supermarket, you can see items you already have, and which ones you need. £1440

Shark Matrix Plus: set this smart vacuum cleaner to work at any time of the day or night to keep your home around the clock. £400

Kenwood KDW60T23: this dishwasher will sense how dirty your dishes are and adjust the heat and water usage to save you money while delivering a quality clean every time. £330

Get Total Control of your Home

Now that you know the basics of setting up a smart home, you can decide which features would be most important to you, giving you more free time to do the things you love.

All modern devices can be linked to your smartphone or tablet with their own app, and many devices from the same brand such as Google or Amazon can be controlled from a single app.

If you want voice controlled actions within the home, then you’ll need a speaker in addition to the products, and you can place them in multiple rooms.

Setting them up is easy, and provided you have good Wi-Fi connectivity in your home you can access any of your devices remotely at any time.

In total, you’ll have to pay for the costs of setting up your smart home products, as well as a speaker or hub, and some products will require a monthly subscription.

You can set a smart home up for as little as £500 with a product like Google Home for heating, lighting and entertainment, or you can choose to purchase each device separately and control it all from your smartphone.

If you are short of time, our smart home automation experts can help you to build your dream home set-up. Check out experts near you and request a free estimate: Home automation experts in your area

Author: Scott Anfield