Smart Tech for Keeping Your Home Safe

Whether it's snapping pictures, checking out your Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify, or ordering a Big Tasty to your door, we have a piece of tech capable of doing it all right in our pockets. Think about that for a minute. For anyone that grew up smashing Snake on an old Nokia, mobile devices have come a long way. 

Smart technology has changed the way we live our lives. There are loads of smart appliances that can take care of the simple things. This is your guide to the best smart tech to keep your home safe and secure.

What is SMART tech?

We've all heard the term thrown around, but it's not quite as simple as technology that's intelligent. SMART stands for ‘Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology’. This is a technology that uses Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and data analysis to control and monitor devices to adapt to the user and provide a seamless experience. Smart, right?

What Appliances are Actually Considered SMART?

These days there are smart appliances that can take care of a massive range of tasks. That could be a smart TV that makes on-point show recommendations, singular devices for individual tasks, or a home hub that controls your home. This article will focus on the appliances that will make your home safer and more comfortable with a host of time, money, and hassle-saving features.

SMART Tech Home Hubs

Before getting into the appliances, we need to discuss home hubs that can control your new devices. They can truly turn your home into a SMART haven. They allow you to regulate every aspect of your home by uttering a command.

They’re known for being smart speakers that can play all your music and give assistance with anything from schedule reminders to reading out recipes. Still, most SMART devices can be connected and enable you to adjust every detail of your home. SMART homes are becoming the norm, and this will only develop further in the future.

Right now, it’s a choice between Amazon’s Alexa and Google's Nest. In truth, there isn’t much difference between them, and both will offer the kind of Smart features you’re looking for. Whichever you go for, and with minimal set-up, you’ll be able to say, ‘Good Morning’, and your lights will come on, the weather read out, and your schedule relayed.

Google Nest takes a holistic approach to home security, offering a suite of products that work in synergy to create a fortified, smart home. Nest’s ecosystem is about security and focuses on creating a connected, convenient and energy-efficient home. At the same time, Amazon provides much of the same but works in synergy with Alexa and Echo products such as Blink and Ring. 

SMART Lighting

Smart lighting puts the light switch in the palm of your hand with your bulbs accessible by apps. These allow you to turn them off and on, dim them, or change colour from your phone. You can set up individual rooms and appliances to have complete control over your lighting. From an atmosphere point of view, this means you can have specific lighting levels for movie night, reading in bed, or late-night work.

The aesthetic options are a big selling point, but you’re here to find out how smart lighting can make your home safer. With smart lighting systems, you can easily set up schedules for your lights to come on and off. That means if you’re on holiday, you can set your lights to come on in the evening without having to fiddle with those unfathomable plugs. If you get stuck and you're going to be home later than expected, simply open the app and the street will think your in. It did the trick on Home Alone after all.

Philips Hue is the most popular smart lighting system because it has a plethora of options that will work for you. All your lights will be connected via the Hue Bridge, essentially a home hub that will control every smart bulb in your house, even the patio lights if you want.

Another benefit is knowing exactly which lights are on or off. This adds a bit of money-saving potential to smart lighting if you're good with the initial investment. 

SMART Heating

Smart heating is perhaps the most well-known of the smart tech systems and it is fast becoming an essential kit for a modern home. Like lights, these systems make it easy to control your heating with a few taps of an app. In a time when our energy bills are particularly high, the ability to flick our heating off on a whim is a bit of a godsend.

Aside from being able to flick the heating on from your sofa and making things nice and toasty without having to pause the box set, there are loads of advantages to smart heating. In the winter, they offer comprehensive control over your home's temperature to keep things comfortable. Once you’ve got young children this is a godsend. You’ll never have to worry about their room being too hot or cold ever again.

One of the best features of smart heating hubs is their ability to monitor your boiler. They’ll work in the background to keep an eye on things and raise the alarm at the first sign of an issue. Rather than waiting for your boiler to die when it’s snowing outside, you can get small issues fixed before they become life-threatening.

Essential your smart heating choices boil down to a Hive thermostat or a Nest thermostat. They both do a similar job, but Nest will offer a few more features than Hive can deliver. These include a motion sensor that will detect when you are home to prevent you from spending money on heating an empty home. Nest has the advantage, but it could come down to your boiler type; make sure you check compatibility before you make your decision.

SMART Doorbell

Doorbells are so small it’s easy to forget about them, but when online shopping has sent deliveries turbo, they’re getting more use than ever. A smart doorbell will let you check who's knocking.

That’s all a bit of a novelty, though, and intelligent doorbells' natural beauty keeps you connected. They notify your mobile to let you know when someone’s ringing your bell. You can then view live footage from your front door to keep an eye on things, and 2-way communication means you can let the delivery driver know where to leave the package.

Some models are fitted with a motion sensor to tell you if someone’s lurking in your garden when they shouldn’t be. You won’t need to go to twitch the curtains, and you can shout at kids in your garden while you’re sitting on the toilet.

Suppose you're looking for a reliable brand. In that case, the Ring doorbell has revolutionised home security, allowing homeowners to answer their doors from anywhere in the world while keeping an eye on your front doorstep for added peace of mind. This smart doorbell is equipped with a high-definition camera, microphone, and speaker, which enables users to see, hear and speak to visitors in real-time via their smartphones, tablets or PCs. 

SMART Smoke and CO2 Detectors

Smart detectors are a superb way to make your home safer. Traditional alarms let you know if there’s a fire in a particular room; Smart alarms will tell you if there’s a fire no matter where you are. This gives you more of a chance to react when you need to.

These ingenious devices will notify you of the fire or rise in CO2 and offer helpful advice instead of an ear-piercing screech. They can also have colour-coded lights representing the threat level to help keep you calm when it matters most.

There are superb options that will protect your home and keep you updated, including Nest Protect, SOMFY Protect, and Netatmo. All of them are worth a look to see which is suitable for you and provide the most piece of mind out there.

SMART Security Cameras

Smart security cameras have taken CCTV to the next level to let you keep an eye on things from afar. Unlike traditional systems, a Smart camera doesn’t need to be hooked to recording equipment. Live footage can be viewed from your phone and stored directly on the camera.

These high-tech devices have features that will make you feel even more secure. Night vision, motion sensors, sirens, and even facial recognition can be part of your system to scare off dodgy characters lurking around.

When you’re looking to boost your home security, brands like Arlo, Google Nest, and EUFY offer top-quality cameras that simplify home security. They all come with futuristic features at a more affordable price than ever.

Blink offers a range of wireless, weather-resistant cameras for both indoor and outdoor use. Known for their ease of installation and user-friendly features, Blink cameras have become famous for homeowners looking for practical, uncomplicated security solutions. With wire-free designs, HD video and customisable alerts, they are a great addition to your smart home security.

Get Smart

One thing is for sure: SMART tech isn’t going anywhere. You can bet the devices are only getting more innovative, and new ways to make life easier will emerge. Whether you’re an early adopter or like to take things slow, Smart devices will find their way into your lives simply because they will become the standard. Homes will be built with these things included and will become a regular part of everyday life. You might as well dive in and smarten up your life.

If you want to modernise your home, smart is the way to go, but always keep an eye out for a deal, as it can get pricey Amazon usually has massive sales on its brand of smart tech such as Blink, Alexa, and Ring so check out our guide to saving on Amazon Prime Day.