Where is the world headed in the next 5 years? And how would the evolution affect you? Well, one does not need to be Nostradamus to know that technology is the steam engine of this century.
This is also going to be the story of future homes. We now have the technology to read thoughts, fuse humans with robots, recognize faces, and predict future outcomes of complex events. We also have gadgets that make your home a technological object in itself; a smart home.
Imagine a home where you do not have to turn off your oven, it knows to turn off itself when you forget, where your bulbs know when they are being used and when they are not serving any purpose to turn off themselves to save power, and so on.
As the dispensation of IoTs creeps in, these gadgets are becoming mainstream. In the coming years, they would take over many homes; and you definitely want to be among the early birds of adopters. At the moment, 1 in 5 homes in the U.S having broadband access will buy a smart-home device each year. To support this fact with statistics, we have that sales of smart gadgets rose from 20 million to 36 million in 2 years, according to Consumer Electronics Association survey. And the majority of the buyers were under 35 years of age. Clearly the world has a fairly young population, so we expect the trend to grow steeper in the future.
In this article, we consider 10 gadgets that can make your home smart and earn a reputation as a home of the future.
Table of Contents
1. Ring Security Camera
This is one of the foremost smart camera gadgets you will find out there. With the inbuilt Alexa system, this device is designed for two-way communication, with a siren that can be operated remotely, and a notification feature that alerts you whenever someone is at the door (motion-activated). The system can be installed very easily and has a wireless install option.
The system can be synced with its corresponding app on your phone so that you technically are never out of the house even when you are out. You may also call it a doorbell that lets you tell your visitor to help himself/herself in from wherever you are in the house. The camera, connected to the home WiFi, streams quality videos with impressive resolution.
The ring system is a redefinition of safety for homes of tomorrow, and it costs between $179 to $249.
2. Whirlpool Smart Top Load
Talk about a washing that maximizes efficiency, then we should be looking at the Whirlpool Smart Top Load. This washer-dryer syncs well with the Nest thermostat to trigger off a silent mode and has inbuilt smart delay mechanisms meant to conserve power consumption for times when power costs less.
With the efficiency and smart power cuts you get to enjoy, the machine costs between $2300 and $3000.
3. Smart Kitchen Gadgets
Today we have tools like The Fat Magnet, Beater Whisker, Satellite Grater, Stainless Steel finger guard, and the Admetior Digital Volumetric Spoon scale. These tools make running your kitchen a very efficient and productive process.
Think for a moment what it means to meet your cup of coffee lying in wait for you before you get back from work? Or your dishes are done without too much effort on your part? Great right?
One of such gadgets is the auto-measure spice dispenser carousel. The gadget is a 12-compartment spice holder with a rotating base for organizing all the spices in your kitchen. If you are like me and have looked for a spice bottle in your kitchen, you would understand how invaluable this gadget is.
4. Smart Door Locks
It is possible to use doors that are difficult to be taken apart by burglars who have mastered the art of dismantling keys. There are several ways to do this from smartphone encryptions to fingerprints and facial scans. What do such burglars do when there are no keys to dismantle? They get busted.
To top it off, these doors also come with features that allow you to integrate them with your phone app. This way, you can have conversations and greet your guests even when you are not around.
5. Mini Home Speaker – Sonos Play:1
Many people prefer a sound system that would deliver the very quality audio output and occupy very minimal space. If you add low budget to those conditions, what you get is the Sonos Play:1. It is very portable and perfect for almost any home; you could say it sounds louder than its size.
Although it has no support for streaming activities at the moment, it has more than enough features for its price of $149 on Amazon.
6. Nest Thermostat
This smart device connects with your WiFi and helps you monitor temperature automatically. It can detect when the season changes and tracks daily temperature variations. You would have no need to turn the knobs of the thermostat as it would do this on its own.
You may say this is a classic case of where AI takes away your job, or more accurately, lets you do more productive tasks with your very valuable time. Who would not want to save the time spent on flipping switches and monitoring temperature changes?
The device costs anywhere between $159 to $250. Honestly, it’s well worth the cost if you consider that with the Nest thermostat device, homes get to save as much as 12% and 16% on heating and cooling bills respectively.
7. iHome SmartPlug
I can bet what came to your mind when you heard the name was whether this device is related to Apple or the iPhone series. Well, you are not far from the truth. The iHome gadget lets you manage smart devices in your home just by talking to our very own Siri.
Provided the device is plugged to this plug, you can operate it from about anywhere. Turn off lights, heating systems, just name it. It can be connected to your home WiFi and it is compatible with iOS 9.0 and higher. It is also Alexa-compatible.
The iHome costs $69.99. This is quite a good deal considering that you can connect as much as 1800 Watts of devices per plug.
8. Smart Lighting
You want to turn off the light before going to bed in the easiest way possible, because let’s face it, you go to bed tired usually. How about just talking? Just tell the bulb to turn itself off, and on when you wake.
Some smart bulbs actually do this; connected to your home WiFi, they have Google Assistant or Alexa enabled, and so recognize your voice. This is a huge relief, right? As great improvement in the light bulb industry as the snooze button was for the alarm clock, you know what I mean.
Indeed, comedy aside, these light bulbs have been proven to save many homes good cash in monthly electricity bills. Here is one of them known as KASA Smart WiFi Bulb.
This light can be controlled remotely, dimmed to preferred lighting intensity, and costs only $20.
9. iDevices Switch
With Apple Homekit support, this device is a plug-switch that allows you to manage and control the electronics in your home from about anywhere. It is Alexa enabled, so you can talk to the switch, and even schedule when to disconnect power from certain appliances.
It is easy and fun to use, it does not take a degree in rocket science to know how to plug a switch and set up an Internet connection, does it?
And what’s more? The device also tracks your power consumption and energy usage, presents, and report. That way you can understand how you consume energy and make informed decisions. This compact rectangular device costs about $50. Looking at how automated this small box makes your life, this price is super-discounted.
10. Canary
You probably have heard or watched it in movies where people get trapped by fire or arm robberies in their homes and cannot make any calls. Well, thanks to technology, this problem can be solved to the ignorance of whatever agent it is that poses a threat.
One should always keep a positive spirit, but it is wise to prepare yourself, just in case an anomaly occurs. The Canary device is a smart home gadget that fills the gap for you when you need to make a call in an emergency but is unable to because of certain circumstances.
The system is built with audio and video surveillance monitoring any motions around your property. So even if anything unusual happens in your house in your absence, the system keeps your back. Plus, you might just want to check up on what is happening in your house, perhaps your kids.
It can also be connected with your smartphone so that whether you are at the beach or on the go, you are home. It costs about $39.
The future is one of automation; of AI, IoT, and digital realities. From homes to workplaces, and to win in the race of efficiency, we must leverage these smart devices in handling basic tasks. You have them here, get one for your home as soon as you can.
