Smart home devices have become essential in American households, from voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant to smart thermostats and smart kitchen appliances as well. There is almost every smart alternative to traditional gadgets available on the market as of the present.
Smart home devices are popular and widely preferred now due to the versatility and flexibility that they provide to their users – with their ability to work with a single voice command, through our smartphones, their ability to save energy and reduce bills, and even automate our homes in the process. In simpler words, smart devices have made lives easier for everyone who chooses to install them in their homes.
Here are some smart home devices available on the market that would be great to replace those traditional ones.
Smart Bulbs
Smart Bulbs have changed the way we turn our lights on and off. Gone are the days of wishing your lights would turn off for themselves without having to walk up and press the button yourself because you can do just that with smart bulbs! Whether it’s through the smartphone app, the bulb scheduled to turn off itself, or through a voice assistant, you’ll never actually have to get up to turn off the lights or tumble in the dark looking for the switch ever again.
Need the perfect ambiance to get in the mood for studying or for a movie night? Well, certain smart bulbs can change colors and you can set them to warm or cooler tones however you would prefer, for a good night’s sleep, for studying, for date nights, or anything else really.
Compared to traditional bulbs, smart bulbs are LED and thus, do not tend to overheat like fluorescent bulbs do – and can also last longer in comparison to fluorescent ones. Smart bulbs connect with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to smartphones and other smart devices, through which you can then schedule timings for them to turn on or off, and simply even control them through your phones and with voice commands.
Video Doorbells
Wireless doorbells with video are the perfect safety measure for your households. Often times people can feel unsafe to open and check who is at the door. With a smart device like the smart video doorbells, users can have the maximum field of vision of whatever’s outside their door –allowing them to view any parcels placed at their doorstep or see people from head to toe. As the name suggests, video doorbells use a camera to capture real-time video footage of whatever is happening at your doorstep. Their HD camera quality displays a crisp, bright image that is even clearly visible after dark hours.
Smart video doorbells use AI technology that helps the device in differentiating between passers-by, visitors, animals, objects, and vehicles. Video Doorbells activate their live video footage a few seconds before the doorbell is pressed – or rather as soon as it detects any motion close by, enabling users to preview what is happening outside before the person rings the doorbell. This helps instill a sense of security in homeowners, especially those with younger children or elderly individuals living at home. These doorbells also have built-in microphones and speakers that help the users communicate with those outside as well as having the ability to play pre-recorded messages while they are away. For example, if you are expecting a delivery while you are not at home, you can easily record a message to tell the rider to leave it by the front door.
Now you must be wondering, how would a doorbell know if the package delivery was de by a courier service or not? Some smart doorbells like we said can differentiate between objects and people – that includes a facial recognition feature in some variants. Through the help of their user, you can save names with faces, so that they can be announced or alert the user accordingly whenever the doorbell rings.
When it comes to installation, battery-powered doorbells are wireless, hence they do not require a lot of technical assistance when installing, as opposed to wired ones that sometimes may not be easy to do by yourselves.
Smart Thermostats
Smart Thermostats are among the few great smart home devices there are. Unlike traditional thermostats, smart thermostats provide the user with the ability to change the room temperature through voice commands without even being in the same room!
Some smart thermostats have motion detectors that can distinguish movement. If they detect no movement, they feature the technology to set themselves to away mode or turn down to an eco-friendly temperature in order to conserve energy and help with lowering the energy bill as well.
They also provide analysis reports of energy utilization which help users understand their consumption pattern and in what other ways they can reduce it and further contribute to energy saving. Since smart thermostats are compatible with the HVAC framework, they can easily alert the users if there are any heating or cooling issues, as well as when the air filtration system needs to be replaced.
Final thoughts
Smart gadgets trump traditional ones mostly because of their ability to automate and provide remote control as well as voice control over their appliances. Not just that, they bring with them a plethora of features including one of the best being energy efficiency – because that is precisely what the world could use right about now with its rising climate change issues. Head on over to FirstEnergy’s website www.firstenergyhome.com and browse through their catalog of smart home devices that would be the perfect fit for your home!