Should You Invest in Smart Home Technology?

Should You Invest in Smart Home Technology? Energy Federation Incorporation EFI | Energy Federation Incorporation

Smart home technology is an easy investment to make when you understand how powerful it is. Smart home technology can transform your house into a remotely controlled environment that saves you money and makes life easier. Transforming your home into a more convenient and cost-effective environment. In this article, I’ll be specifically talking about google products, but other brands offer similar products with similar features. 


Google Nest Hub 

The Google Nest Hub is a digital display with google assistant built into it. It has a 7” touch screen with two microphones that you can turn on and off to listen to your voice. There also is an ambient light sensor that adjusts the brightness of the screen according to the brightness of your room automatically when turned on. The 7” display also doubles as a digital picture frame.  

 

This device supports native applications like YouTube. YouTube TV, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube Music, Google Play, Sling TV, Hulu, Netflix, HBO MAX, HBO Stars, and more via voice search. You also have the ability to screencast all available applications from your phone to the Google Nest Hub. That means that apps not natively built into the hub can be cast for you to watch. 

When playing music, you can group smart speakers to play music throughout the house at the same time. Since the hub supports multi-room audio, all speakers play together without latency. 

With the Nest Hub, you can control all of the smart devices that you have in your home. Think of this as a physical common place where you can control all your smart devices. For example, you can control your smart thermostat, smart cameras, smart doorbell, and smart speakers. These smart devices can also be assigned to rooms, and these rooms can all be programmed to turn on and off together at the touch of a button. For example, if you have all of the devices in your office linked, you’d be able to turn all of them on and off together with one touch. The hub also allows brightness and color control of your lights. Meaning that you can dim all of your supported lights with a single slider.   

The Google Nest Hub also serves as a digital photo frame with a built-in Google Assistant. Use it to display your favorite photos, control your connected smart home devices, get reminders about your schedule, listen to music, get answers from Google, and more - all with the sound of your voice. 

  • Live Albums feature automatically displays your favorite photos 

  • 7-inch touchscreen display that automatically adjusts to the lighting in the room 

  • Works with Android and iOS 

  • Built-in Google Assistant works with dozens of entertainment apps and smart devices 

More information on the Google Nest Hub here: EVERYTHING You Can Do With The Google Nest Hub 


Smart Thermostats 

The first product that will likely save you the most amount of money and keep you the most comfortable is a smart thermostat. Heating and cooling are responsible for 48% of energy use in our homes, and if you aren’t using a smart thermostat, you’re leaving savings on the table.  Smart thermostats are optimized to learn your heating and cooling patterns to program themselves for both maximum comfort and efficiency. They save up to 10% on your heating systems, and 15% on your cooling systems. Smart thermostats use motion sensors, Geo-Tracking, and monitor the temperature outside to maximize efficiency for your system. So, when you’re not home, and the system doesn’t need to be on, it’s not. A great thermostat that will get you right on track is the Google Nest. It is remotely controllable via the Google Home app, and the Google Nest Hub as well. 

Here’s a link: Google Nest 


Smart Video Cameras  

Nest we get into smart video cameras, and they can be divided into two categories. Indoor and outdoor cameras.

Indoor cameras

Indoor cameras are a great solution for improving household security. Indoor security cameras can be linked to your smartphone and you can receive push notifications when there is movement. For example, Google Nest Cam uses motion and sound detection with crystal clear video to capture what's going on in your home. You can use the Google Nest app to access live or previous surveillance from anywhere, at any time. Meaning that you can check live footage of what's going on in your house no matter where you are. 

  • Use your phone to monitor your home 

  • Alerts you when something happens 

  • Built-in speaker and microphone so you can listen and talk 

  • 24/7 live streaming available 

Here's a link: Google Nest Indoor Camera 

Outdoor camera

Outdoor cameras are another great solution for improving household security. Rain or shine, outdoor cameras stand watch. and provide a live video of what is going on outside of your house. For example, one great outdoor video camera is the Google Nest Outdoor Camera. The Google Nest Outdoor Camera plugs into a power source and sends alerts to your phone when it detects activity. That way you’ll when someone is approaching your house, and who they are. It even lets you talk back through the Nest app.

  • Use your phone to monitor your home 

  • Alerts you when something happens 

  • Built-in speaker and microphone so you can listen and talk 

  • 24/7 live streaming available 

Here's a link: Google Nest Outdoor Camera


Smart Door locks 

Have you ever left the house and wondered if you locked your doors? Well, this is where smart locks come into play. You can remotely control smart locks via a mobile app to make sure that your house is secure at all times. For example, the Google Nest x Yale Smart Lock is convenient, simple to use, and helps keep your home secure. It's a tamper-proof deadbolt that connects to your nest app. You no longer need keys to unlock your door, that can all be done through the nest app of the keypad on the lock. You also get tampering, low battery, lock and unlock alert and it works with google voice assistant. Smart locks help to maximize convenience and security.

This tamper-proof deadbolt connects to the Nest app so you can lock and unlock your door from anywhere, give passcodes to guests, and get alerts whenever someone comes and goes. 

  • No keys needed: lock/unlock with passcode or Nest app 

  • Get tampering, low-battery, and lock/unlock alerts 

  • Works with Google Assistant for hands-free voice control 

  • Replaces your existing deadbolt lock 

Here's a link: Google Nest Smart Lock


Smart Doorbells 

Smart doorbells are a way for you to know who is at your front door, so you never have to guess who might be outside. For example, the Google Nest Hello Video Doorbell provides wide HDR video for you to see who or what is at your doorstep. It detects visitors even if they don't ring the bell, sends you an alert, shows you who it is, and allows you to communicate with them. 

  • Video shows visitors head to toe as well as packages placed on the ground 

  • HDR video for a sharp, clear picture, day or night 

  • Speaker and pre-recorded responses to communicate with visitors 

  • 24/7 continuous recording and streaming available 

Here's a link: Google Nest Video Doorbell



Smart Speakers 

Smart speakers like the Google home are a way for you to simplify your everyday life. Google Home, a voice-activated speaker powered by Google Assistant uses voice commands for you to enjoy music, get answers from Google, and manage everyday tasks. Google Home is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems and can control compatible smart devices such as Chromecast or Nest. 

Here's a link: Google Home


Sources

Statista - Smart Home

E-Source - Smart Home Consumer Survey

E-Source - E Design 2020: A three-year collaborative project

Matt Ferrel - Top 10 home automation ideas - Ultimate smart home tour

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