Curious About Smart Homes? Here Are Three Baby Steps You Can Take

If you're tempted by the idea of a smart home but aren't sure whether you're ready to make the leap, you're not alone. It can seem like a big decision, and until you've done it, the benefits may not seem immediately obvious. Here are some easy starting points to decide if it's worth it for you.

How to Trial Smart Home Tech in a Practical Way

As someone who first dipped a toe into the world of smart homes in 2013, I very quickly found myself sold on the idea. I found that technology made my life easier, especially concerning automations. My investment delivered a bigger bang for the buck than any other home improvement I'd ever made, and I even managed to save money along the way.

But even I would acknowledge that smart home tech isn't for everyone, and it's sensible to start with a small experiment to find out how well it works for you. The key to such a trial is to ensure that you're not just testing a single type of device, but instead getting an accurate taste of the three core types of smart home products and how they can work together.

Smart Homes Don't Need to Be Complicated or Expensive

You've probably seen plenty of buzz from people who are all-in on smart home tech. These people seem to have swapped every single item in their home for a smart version. While it's possible to do that, it's by no means the only approach.

There are smart homes out there with half a dozen devices, and others with hundreds. There are people who've spent thousands on tech, and others who have barely made it into three figures.

For this experiment, you could spend less than $50 all-in, though I'll admittedly recommend that for the best possible experience, you invest closer to $100. This will give you a more complete experience of the benefits the right tech can deliver. Time-wise, you'll probably spend around half an hour, though subsequent additions will be much faster as you familiarize yourself with the process.

Smart Plugs Are a Great Place to Start

Smart plugs are one of the simplest smart home devices and also one of the most flexible. They allow you to turn almost any type of dumb device into a smart one.

You'll find smart plugs available for less than $10, but I strongly recommend opting for something like Eve Energy, because it's fully compatible with ecosystems like Apple's HomeKit, Google Home, and Alexa, and this will make life much easier.

Fitting a smart plug is as simple as unplugging your existing item from the wall socket, plugging it into the smart plug, and then plugging that back into the wall. You'll then need to install a companion app to control it, or link it with your smart home system of choice. To keep the installation simple, just use the app the manufacturer recommends for now, and we'll come back to switching to an ecosystem app later.

You can use a smart plug to control almost any device that plugs into a wall socket. Let's take the example of an electric blanket, a simple device that can benefit from simple on-off functionality.

Instead of having to walk to the bedroom to turn it on to pre-warm your bed, you can tap a button on your smartphone or issue a voice command like "Hey Siri, turn on the electric blanket." Or, if you habitually go to bed at the same time, you can set a schedule to have it automatically switch on and off at fixed times.

You could use a smart plug to control floor and table lamps too, but in most cases, you'll be better off using our second type of smart home product...

Smart Bulbs Give You More Control

The reason I recommend smart bulbs over smart plugs for lamps is that they allow you to do much more than switch them on and off.

Let's talk first about dimming. Normally, if you want dimmable lighting in a room, you'd have to remove your wired light switches and install dimmer units instead. But with smart bulbs, you literally just fit a new bulb. Dimming will then be available from the app, or by using a voice control like "Hey Siri, set the living room brightness to 50%."

Next up is color temperature. You may have noticed that some light bulbs cast a very white light (known as a "cool" color temperature) while others cast a yellowish color (known as a "warm" color temperature). Cool lights are best when you need to concentrate, like when you're working or doing craft work, while warm lights are more relaxing.

Many smart bulbs have adjustable color temperature, so you can adjust the lighting to suit your activity or mood. This can make a surprisingly big difference to the look and feel of a room. The Philips Hue White Ambience bulbs give you this control, for example, but to get the most from your experiment, I'm going to recommend that you instead opt for the White & Color Ambience model, which additionally gives you complete control over the color of the light.

Again, you'll be able to use the Hue app to pick the exact color you'd like, or use a voice command like "Hey Siri, set the office to blue."

While a single bulb won't give you the full effect, using many smart bulbs can be a massive upgrade to a home. With white walls and ceilings, a smart bulb can let you make the walls look white, cream, orange, blue, pink, purple, or literally any color you like. Think of it as an instant home makeover!

If you want a cozy atmosphere in winter, for example, orange can be a good choice. Pink can make for a romantic atmosphere in the bedroom. Blue or purple can give a hi-tech look to a room.

Smart Switches Help Keep Everything Easy to Use

While smart home tech can be very powerful, as in the examples we've given of automating routines or changing up the look of your home through color lighting, there are times when you want to keep things simple. Smart switches let you do this.

In particular, if you have any smart home skeptics in your household, who are worried about smart home tech being too complicated or fiddly, smart switches are an absolutely vital part of the solution.

At their simplest, you put up a smart switch next to the existing dumb switch, and use that instead. It replicates the existing on/off functionality, but also adds dimmer capabilities, which can be another way to convince skeptics.

The Philips Hue Smart Wireless Dimmer Switch V2 is one of the easiest options here (do make sure it's the V2 version, as it doesn't require a hub). Installation takes seconds, as the backing plate sticks to the wall using the supplied adhesive pads.

The switch itself is magnetically attached, so it can be pulled off the wall to form an instant remote control. The smaller switches default to dimmer controls, but you can reprogram them to do anything you like, such as setting a particular color—or even controlling a completely unrelated smart home device.

Moving on From Here

To experience the full benefits of a smart home, I recommend trying one of the main ecosystems. If you use an iPhone, Apple's Home app. If you use Android, then Google Home. I've deliberately recommended smart home devices that are compatible with both.

On iPhone, for example, open the built-in Home app, tap the Plus button and select "Add New Home" and then tap "Add Accessory" to find and add your devices. You can then use the Home app, instead of each of the separate companion apps, to control all your devices.

If you find yourself sold on smart home tech, and want to add more devices, then doing it one room at a time can be a good approach. And once you have more devices, then creating some smart home scenes is a great next step. This allows you to use a single command to control multiple devices at once, or to automate more than one device. That really allows you to get the maximum benefit from your new smart home. Enjoy!