What is a Connected Home?

What is smart home technology? Not too long ago, you may recall when all household tasks were done by hand. From adjusting the thermostat to preheating the oven for dinner, all the day-to-day drudgery required some form of manual labor (or at least getting up off the couch). 

Those days seem to be fleeting as the rapidly evolving tech industry continues to unveil new devices that are controlled by smart computers, sensors, and the sound of our voice. It's much easier to keep your home and your life in order when you have a central hub to assist in your everyday routine. 

A connected home gives you the power to see what’s going on in your house when you’re not even there. If you’re expecting a delivery while you’re away, you can see who’s at the door thanks to your smart security system. If you can’t remember if you need to pick up milk at the store, you can check the contents of your fridge on your smartphone while you do your grocery shopping.

To put it simply, smart home technology is all about making your home do the work for you instead of you doing all the work yourself. It’s about making the little things in life easier and turning routine tasks into easy, simple, and automated processes.

The terms “smart” and “connected” come off as simplified tech jargon to describe something straight out of Silicon Valley, but these upgraded appliances are actually adjusting to our needs to keep us connected to our homes so we can continue to work smarter and not harder.

A connected home or smart home adds a level of convenience and safety to our homes. It can be as advanced or as simplistic as you need to fit your lifestyle. A truly smart home automation system is equipped with lighting, electronic devices, heating, and more, that can be controlled remotely from a smartphone or other electronic device.

It’s time to wise up—let's take a further look at some of the smart devices and appliances that help keep your home and your life connected.

Smart speakers are a perfect entry into a smarter and more connected world. There are many smart home technology brands to choose from, but Sonos is one of our favorite speaker brands for automation and control. Sonos offers in-wall speakers for an entertainment system, Bluetooth speakers for outdoor parties, and smart speakers for streaming music wirelessly from your favorite music apps.

The Sonos One speaker (ONEG1US1WH) is easy to use and a great way to utilize smart tech to improve your home life. It offers Amazon Alexa, a Bluetooth speaker for high-quality, wireless streaming from your mobile device, and the ultra-lightweight design is made to travel and transport effortlessly with a convenient carry handle.

You can play music, check the news, set alarms, pull up a recipe, get your questions answered, and more, completely hands-free. Your speaker will have you covered with the knowledge you need and the crisp, quality sound you desire. 

While you’re starting your plans to add smart tech into your home, don’t forget about your entertainment space. 

Smart TVs aren’t exactly new on the scene, but they are still a vital part of any blossoming connected home.

Smart TVs like this Samsung QLED 4K UHD HDR Smart TV (QN55Q60TAFXZA) deliver picture quality with color that is true to life and provides a level of detail and expanding range beyond what was thought possible on a TV. 

An intuitive smart TV interface learns what you like and suggests exciting new content. If you’re prone to losing things in the couch cushions, you’ll want to hang onto this clicker—OneRemote provides total control, automatically detecting and controlling all compatible connected devices and content. 

Choose your voice assistant (Bixby, Alexa, or Google-Assistant) and quickly access favorite content, get answers, and even control your TV and other connected devices around your home. Lastly, control your home from your TV using SmartThings. QLED links and sensors other parts of your home so you can turn on the lights, check what’s inside your fridge, and even run the robot vacuum cleaner right from the comfort of your couch.

When it comes to appliances, there are plenty of smart home technology brands to choose from, so which appliance type would you want to act as the central hub in your home? If you’re an aspiring chef, a smart range is the way to go—if you handle routine trips to the grocery store, check out a smart fridge—if you’ve got a house full of kids, smart laundry appliances will simplify your chores. 

With the holidays in full swing and a big Thanksgiving menu to prepare for, we prefer to have a little extra help in the kitchen. The LG Studio Slide-In Gas Range (LSSG3017ST) features impeccable performance and a flawless appearance. With this smart WiFi enabled gas range with ProBake Convection, you might find yourself hosting the holiday celebration every year. 

If you’ve got to make a last-minute trip to the store and you’re worried about your oven timer going off while you’re away, with the LG SmartThinQ app, you can control your smart oven from anywhere so you can always check how much time is remaining. And if you’re behind on your meal prep, you can also start preheating the oven from your smartphone or with voice commands—it even works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

If refrigeration is your main concern, you can find smart home technology in a fridge, too. 

A Samsung refrigerator with the Family Hub screen allows you to access your smart devices, set lights, speak to someone at your front door, monitor your baby’s room, and receive laundry end-of-cycle notifications. Three built-in cameras allow you to see inside your refrigerator from anywhere. Create and share shopping lists and plan meals based on the food inside your refrigerator, automatically set expiration dates, leave handwritten notes, and play music hands-free with intelligent Bixby voice assistant. With this much connectivity in your home, the only thing this fridge can’t do is eat your food for you. 

We'd be negligent to not mention lighting, temperature, and safety in the realm of the connected home!

Bright Idea

If you’re new to the world of home automation and smart home technology, smart lighting is a great place to begin. You can start with smart switches and dimmers or keep it simple with smart light bulbs. Either way, lighting provides an excellent entry point to the convenience of a smart and connected home.

They're easy to maneuver—all you need to do is set up a schedule for them to operate and you’ve got yourself a smart lighting security system to make it look like you’re home even when you’re away.

Smart Safety

Home is where the heart is, which means it’s where your family is. With smart locks and security systems, you can easily keep an eye on your family and your dwelling no matter where you are. Lock the windows, close the garage, turn on the porch lights, whatever your needs are, smart tech is a great way to enhance security on the home front. 

Temperature

Controlling the climate inside your house can be a royal pain. If you forget to turn off the air on your way to work, smart thermostats can adjust your home’s temperature from anywhere. Some smart thermostat systems even let you set different temperatures for different rooms—a great feature that can keep everybody in the family happy at their preferred comfort level.

This is just the beginning when it comes to connected homes—there's a whole world of new high-tech appliances out there waiting for you. If you have questions or want to further explore our selection of smart home appliances and electronics, give us a call or stop by Spencer's. It's the first step toward a smarter, safer, and more enjoyable home life.