What You Need To Setup a Smart Home

Here is What You Need To Setup a Smart Home? Setting up a smart home needs smart products. Putting up a smart home gives your home the most comforting feeling. If you have watched one of the Home Alone series you would remember that the white rich lady could control every aspect of her house.

What You Need To Setup a Smart Home

Imagine Your lights, doors, and other devices are connected to the internet and can be controlled by a smart speaker, device, or mobile device.

Different Voice Assistants Command

  • Amazon’s Alexa.
  • Apple’s Siri.
  • Google Assistant.
  • Smart things.

What You Need To Setup a Smart Home

This is a guide to making your home a smart home:

  • First, choose your Assistant: There are different assistants but we are talking about virtual voice-controlled assistants like Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant which make the smart Home setup easier by just saying simple commands.
  • After Picking the Assistant, you have to pick the Hardware that would aid the voice-controlled assistants. The different voice-controlled assistant has their own supported devices that aid better performance.
  1. Amazon’s Alexa uses Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show.
  2. Apple’s Siri uses iPhone, iPad, or an Apple watch.
  3. Google’s Assistant uses Google Home and Newer Android Smartphones.
  • Test the functionality of your Assistant: Now to test the functionality of your assistant differs with the choice of a voice-controlled assistant. Now’s look at the different ways of testing the functionality.

Siri: Putting Apple’s Siri to work

Not every product works with Apple’s Siri but products with Works with Apple HomeKit description, yes only products with that description happen to be matchable with Apple’s Siri. Accessories like smart lights or thermostats can be controlled with Apple’s Home app on your iPhone or iPad.

Controlling a Smart Light Bulb

To control a smart light bulb like a Philips Hue bulb you will need an iPhone or iPad and a Philips Hue Lighting kit that works with HomeKit. Let’s look at how to control a lamp using a Philips Hue Smart bulb:

  1. Step 1: Follow the instructions that show you how to connect a Philips Hue bridge with a Philips Hue light bulb.
  2. Step 2: Then on your iPhone, open the Home app and click on the plus icon (+) which is located in the right corner. When it opens tap on the add accessory option.
  3. Step 3: Wait till the accessory you want shows, Give the accessory access to the network. Scan the accessory setup code at the bottom of the Philips Hue bridge and follow every instruction that follows.
  4. If you followed steps 1, 2, and 3 then you can test the light by saying to Siri, Turn on my Lamp. Make sure “lamp” is the name you saved it as during the setup in order for Siri to identify it.

How do you Control a Fan?

The above steps are for the smart lamp, now let’s look at how you control a fan. To set up control of the fan you would need an iPhone or iPad, an iPhone or iPad, iHome smart plug, and a plug-in fan. Let’s follow the below steps to be able to control an electric fan with Siri:

  • Step 1: connect the SmartPlug to a power outlet. You would see a green light that would blink and would tell you it was plugged in.
  • Step 2: On your iPhone, navigate to the Home app and open it. On the right corner of the page, click on the plus icon and then click on the tap accessory to add the desired accessory.
  • Step 3: Use the camera to scan the accessory’s setup code at the bottom of the SmartPlug. This is done after the accessory has been discovered.
  • Step 4: You can try the fan after giving the fan a name. Switch on the fan, with your iPhone nearby, then you can give Siri the instruction to turn it on or off the fan.

How to Control the Heat

We have become aware of how to turn on the lights, and fan and now is on how to control the heat, to get started, we would need to set up an Emerson Sensi touch wi-fi thermostat to use Siri to control the heat. Follow the step to be able to control the heat. To get started you would need an iPhone and an Emerson Sensi touch wi-fi thermostat.

  • Step 1: you have to install the Emerson thermostat hardware, after installing the Emerson thermostat hardware > click the menu button on the thermostat to connect the thermostat to your wi-fi network.
  • Step 2: On your iPhone, click on the Home app and click on the plus icon (+) that is located at the right corner of the page in order to add the accessory.
  • Step 3: After adding the thermostat to the accessory to the network, then connect the thermostat with Apple’s HomeKit.
  • After following steps 1, 2, and 3 then give Siri any instructions on the way you want to use the thermostat.

Note that there are other products of lights, fans, and thermostats, the brands listed above are just to set an example.

Products that are Compatible with Apple’s Siri

Some products are compatible with Apple’s Siri and they are listed below:

  • Apple HomePod mini. The best HomeKit smart speaker.
  • Apple TV 4K (2022). The best HomeKit streaming device.
  • Wemo Wi-fi smart plug. The best HomeKit-compatible smart plug.
  • Schlage Encode Plus. The best HomeKit-compatible smart lock.

  • Ecobee SmartThermostat. The best HomeKit-compatible smart thermostat.
  • Brilliant Smart Home controller. The best HomeKit-compatible smart home control center.

Alexa

In order to connect your smart devices, you would need home products that have the “works with Alexa” description. Those are the only home products that are compatible with Alexa.

Products Compatible with Amazon Alexa

  • Amazon Fire TV Cube (2022). The best Alexa-compatible streaming With 4K Ultra HD resolution, 3.4 x 3.4 x 3.0 inches Size, 16.4 oz weight, the available are HDMI out, HDMI input, USB input, Ethernet, power, and IR extender.
  • Philips Hue White LED Starter Kit. The best Alexa-compatible smart lights.
  • Lifx Mini. The best Alexa compatible wi-fi smart lights.
  • Wemo Wi-fi smart plug. The best Alexa-compatible smart plug.
  • August wi-fi smart lock. The most connected smart lock.
  • Amazon smart thermostat. The best smart thermostat.
  • Wyze Cam v3 (2020). The best smart camera.

Google Assistant

You would need home products that would have the description “works with Google Assistant”. There are some products that are compatible with Google Assistant. Some of them are as follows:

  • Google Nest Hub (second generation). Best Google Home compatible speaker.
  • August Wi-fi Smart Lock. The best Google Home-compatible smart thermostat smart lock.
  • Ecobee Thermostat (fifth generation). The best Google Home-compatible smart thermostat.
  • Wemo Wi-fi Smart Plug. The best Google Home-compatible smart plug.
  • Nest Doorbell. The best Google Home-compatible video doorbell.
  • Philips Hue White Starter Kit. The best Google Home-compatible smart light kit

Smart Speakers

Smart speakers are just like every other regular speakers. But what differentiates them is the built-in voice assistants. With different models and brands, you could use it also for playing music and radio. There are different smart speakers you could choose from:

  • Echo Dot (third generation) smart speaker with Alexa. $14.99 at Amazon.
  • TROVOI portable Bluetooth speaker (IPX7 Waterproof). $49.99 at Amazon.
  • New echo dot (fifth generation) smart speaker with Alexa. $43.97 at Amazon.
  • Bose Home speaker 500: Smart Bluetooth speaker with Alexa Voice Control Built-in. $379.00 at Amazon.
  • Echo (fourth generation) with premium sound, smart home hub, and Alexa. (No price tag).
  • Sonos One (generation 2) with a voice-controlled smart speaker with Amazon Alexa built-in. (No Price tag).
  • Echo studio with Dobly Atmos, spatial audio, and Alexa. $199.99 at Amazon.

FAQ

How much does it Cost to set up a Smart Home?

To make your home a smart home is between the range of $2,000 and $6000. Most homeowners spend $4000 to install smart mid-range security systems, speakers, thermostats, and doorbells. The lowest cost is $1500 for a smart thermostat, lighting, and basic security system.

What are the Disadvantages of a Smart House?

Whatever has an advantage has a disadvantage. Well, the disadvantages of a smart home are as follows: energy-efficient, customizable and convenient. The biggest disadvantage is that they are of high cost and internet dependent.

Do Smart Homes need wi-fi?

Not all smart homes but the majority of smart homes devices require a web connection. This is why the class of consumer tech and its related peripherals are often referred to as the Internet of Things components.

Can Smart Homes be Hacked?

Anytime that is internet related has the potential of being hacked, so any smart device that is capable of connecting to the internet could be hacked. And there is the possibility that it can be controlled by outsiders.

What is the Biggest Danger of the Smart Home?

As long as the smart home needs a stable internet connection then it is vulnerable to malware and cyberattacks.

As long as Hackers exist then smart homes are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Hackers can get access to your smart home ecosystem through your router. That is the biggest danger of the smart home, which means it could be vulnerable to hackers.

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