6 ways to make your house a smart home

Smart home tech can help you save time, money and energy – plus it can add value to your home. Here’s how to turn your house into a smart home.

45% of people in the UK already have smart home technology. And it’s expected to hit nearly 85% by 2026, according to Statista.

It’s not going away any time soon. But is smart tech really all it’s hyped up to be?

Let’s take a look at the benefits of smart home tech and how you can turn your house into a smart home.

First of all, what is a smart home?

A smart home is a house with electrical items that are connected to the internet. They’re all linked up to your phone and each other through Wi-Fi, 4G or Bluetooth.

This means you can control appliances and monitor usage through your phone.

As well as switching things on and off, you can set schedules and triggers for a group of connected devices.

So you could set your smart speaker to recognise “Good morning”, and it would get the coffee brewing and your favourite radio station playing. All before you get out of bed.

Or you could set the oven to warm up and the heating to come on when you leave work. It’ll be all ready for you when you get home.

Smart home appliances all come together to help you save time, energy and money.

What are the benefits of a smart home?

1. Smart tech helps you save on energy

You might be looking to reduce your impact on the environment or keep your energy bills down.

Smart devices can help you save energy by turning appliances on and off as you need them.

It won’t matter if you forget to turn the lights or heating off when you leave the house. You can just do it on your phone instead.

2. It can help keep your home safe and secure

Keeping your home safe and secure is a great benefit of smart technology.

You can keep an eye on things while you’re away and set triggers to deter burglars.

Surveillance cameras can ping you if they detect movement outside your home.

You can run smoke and CO2 detectors from your phone too.

3. It’s convenient

A lot of people like smart home technology because it makes life easier.

You can set appliances to turn on and off in line with your daily routine. And change their schedule just as your plans change.

4. Smart tech can add value to your home

A home with integrated smart tech will often have a higher value than a similar non-smart home.

Many buyers are looking for more convenient ways to live, and smart home integration does just that.

Energy efficiency is also high on the list for buyers, and smart homes can help keep energy usage to a minimum.

1. Choose your smart ecosystem

The smart ecosystem lays the foundations for your smart home.

Think of it as the network for your smart devices and appliances. If they’re all designed to work on the same network, they’ll work better together.

Apple, Google and Amazon are behind the three main ecosystems at the moment. They all have similar features, so it’s down to personal preference.

Keep in mind that most smart devices are designed for a particular ecosystem. It’s not always easy (or possible) to use a device designed for Apple as part of an Amazon ecosystem.

2. A smart speaker

The next thing you’ll want to get is a smart speaker.

A smart speaker means you can control all smart aspects of your home with your voice.

Choose the speaker that fits with your ecosystem – so Alexa for Amazon, Google Nest for Google or Apple HomePod for Apple.

You can then turn things on and off with just a word or phrase.

Or you can then set up rules to trigger multiple actions from your speaker at one time.

3. Smart plugs

Smart plugs are an easy and affordable way to make your home smart, without buying loads of new appliances.

A smart plug can turn an ordinary lamp, coffee machine or TV into a smart appliance. Once they’re plugged in, you control them from your phone or speaker.

Just like smart appliances, you can schedule smart plugs to turn on and off with your schedule.

You can label your smart plugs too. So if you ask Alexa to turn the kettle on, it’ll know which plug you’re talking about.

4. A smart heating system

A smart heating system is one of the best choices to save on energy bills.

86 per cent of users claimed a smart meter has helped them reduce their spending, according to The Coexperts.

You connect your phone to the smart thermostat and get total control over your heating.

Some smart heating systems can work off the GPS location of your phone. So it could tell when you’re nearly home and turn the heating on for you.

Or it could detect when you leave the house and automatically turn the heating off and save you energy.

Smart heating systems can also give advice on how you can use less energy. They can suggest automations to help you manage your home’s temperature.

5. Smart lighting

Smart light bulbs are another popular smart home product.

Smart light bulbs are very energy efficient and they’re fairly easy to install.

You replace your normal light bulbs with smart ones and connect them to your smart ecosystem.

The cheapest smart light bulbs will allow you to control the lights from your phone. You can set rules to turn them off as you leave the house or when it’s time for bed.

More expensive versions change colour or connect to your TV. If connected to a TV, smart lighting can automatically match the mood of a film or programme you’re watching.

6. A smart security system

Smart cameras are a great way to boost the security of your home. They can also make sure you don’t miss deliveries.

A video doorbell is a popular and easy to use option. It uses a camera to pick up if someone’s outside your house.

A livestream from the camera then feeds through to your phone.

If security’s a concern for you, you can add more features to a smart security system. You could incorporate motion sensors around your home and garden, as well as sirens and door and gate locks.

A local estate agent can give you the most accurate estimate of your home’s value.

If you’ve got smart home tech – or are thinking about adding it – they can let you know how it changes your home’s value.

Key takeaways