Smart Home Technologies

Smart home technology has become a common option for all, not just the wealthy and tech-savvy. The tech industry has responded by introducing ever-more sophisticated solutions. While a lot of people associate this automation with devices such as Google’s Nest and Amazon’s Echo or Apple’s HomeKit, the term is more comprehensive than that, and covers an array blog here of options for your home. They range from remote-controlled lighting and heating to CCTV, home security systems, doorbells and smart locks. Some even let you keep track of children pet, elderly relatives and other pets and monitor electricity or water use; and more.

Integration is the key to the success of a smart home system. This is why the most effective products are those that work with other devices and systems to make your home more intelligent. A smart light bulb, for example can connect to an central hub to schedule your lights on a specific schedule or turn them off when you leave the house. A video doorbell can notify you of visitors who aren’t expected and trigger your alarm system call the police or fire department. Once you’ve learned the IFTTT (If this, then that) service that you can utilize services such as Stringify to automate devices in more complicated ways.

Of course, bringing in new smart devices to the home is not without its own set of issues. This is why CNET works to learn about company policies, raise privacy issues and respond directly to the businesses concerned.