The productive benefits of an interconnected home

Surging in popularity within recent years and quickly becoming a popular Christmas present, smart home technology is something that many people of all ages have started to adopt and welcome into their houses – even those that struggle to use technology. But how can it benefit you specifically? Well, the benefits of having smart technology throughout your home can be plentiful and varied. Here are some examples of key pieces of smart home technology and some information on how they might benefit your life and schedule.

Smart assistants/smart speakers

Often acting as the hub device within your smart home, connecting different pieces of kit and allowing them to be controlled via voice activation, smart speakers (and the smart assistants within them) are likely the type of smart home technology that you’ve heard of, and that someone in your family already has. These are the Google and Amazon Alexa small, cylindrical contraptions. Again, with voice control, they’re easy to get set up and sorted with, and you can do anything from asking for recipes to checking the weather to set alarms and reminders to help you along with your day. Tip – If you want the benefits of a smart assistant but don’t necessarily need a large speaker in your kitchen or front room, perhaps look at getting one of the smaller speaker units, such as the Amazon Echo Dot or Google Home Mini. These devices pack in all the benefits of voice control, etc., but at a cheaper price point and without the additional speaker volume/quality.

Smart lighting

An upgrade to your home that’s as easy as, well, screwing in a lightbulb, smart LED lights and lighting strips have a whole range of different benefits. For starters, with variations such as the Phillips Hue bulbs, you can get a wide range of colors available, allowing you to switch up the vibe of a room in an instant – and with the control of your voice, if you have the aforementioned smart speaker! Other benefits include the ability to turn lights on and off remotely, if you’re in a hurry from work, forget to check, and even set them to automatically turn on or off on a recurring schedule, helping to gently wake you and get you prepared for the day ahead. Neat, right?

Did you know?

Smart technology is hugely popular among young people and within student properties at the moment and likely will become a regular, integrated feature of modern apartments and city homes for years to come. Property companies are already interlacing modern solutions and trimmings into their minimalist apartments, and the efficiency will continue to improve as the technology gets better.

Smart security

You can’t put a price on keeping your home safe – unless, of course, you get robbed, and then it can be costly. Just taking one look at smart security measures and their sleek designs will make you realize how much of an upgrade over old CCTV setups with tapes and wires they are. Wireless cameras can easily be popped wherever you like, connected to your other devices, and remotely viewable through an app. This means you can have an eye on your home from anywhere in the world!

---

Related reading

• Your home can be smart or secure, but probably not both
• Nikon unveils flagship Z9 mirrorless camera