The Boom of devices for the Smart Home arrived in 2018 in Italy thanks to the availability of intelligent voice assistants such as those of Google (Google Assitant) and Amazon (Amazon Alexa), the two that for the moment are the best ever. Thanks to these devices, it becomes possible to install real home automation systems to make a " smart home " or " Smart Home ", much to be managed via computer or smartphone or even with voice commands to the virtual assistant. They are therefore Smart devices that connect to the home modem and respond to remote commands and can also be programmed to turn on and off based on the time or other factors.
We therefore have electrical outlets, heating and air conditioning systems, window shutters, lights and alarm systems, all Smart, which add remote controls to our appliances or other electronic devices, so as to have a smart and modern home, especially comfortable .
READ ALSO: 8 home automation products (Smart Home) easy to assemble and use
Smart Home devices are now available at affordable prices (or in any case at significantly lower prices than in the past) and allow you to manage every device or appliance or home switch .
While these are devices that can be managed by mobile phone or computer via app, it is clear that the convenience of a Smart Home comes out surprisingly when an intelligent assistant responding to voice commands is placed at the center of the wifi system.
The preliminary advice, therefore, is to appear a Smart speaker to choose between Google Home or the Amazon Echo Dot with Alexa, which cost practically the same price of 60 Euros.
For a complete review, I refer to the two articles:
- How Alexa works on Amazon Echo
- What Google Home can do: voice assistant, music and home automation
Advantages Smart Home
There are very interesting advantages to focus on devices compatible with home automation:
- Electricity consumption can be reduced automatically;
- You can make your home more comfortable and safer;
- They can give an impression or a luxurious appearance to your apartment.
- They make everything more comfortable, using your voice to turn on the lights, the TV, the air conditioner, the heating and anything else you want.
Having connected devices will therefore provide us with greater control over our home, thus making it suitable for electronics and computer enthusiasts (but even if we are not great experts we can certainly appreciate home automation in all its advantages).
Disadvantages and defects Smart Home
The possible flaw that some people may encounter in these Smart Home devices is not the price, but rather the configuration difficulty and the fact that they can only work if there is an Internet connection at home. These devices must be connected to the WiFi router, which governs the internet connection at home, and must be interfaced with an app on the smartphone (even if the modern voice assistants Google and Amazon are very easy to use).
If the Internet connection goes away, home automation obviously doesn't work anymore. Another disadvantage lies in the birth of new standards and new cloud control tools: what we buy now could be extremely obsolete in 2-3 years. Being a sector in full expansion, it is easy to make gross mistakes (such as taking devices that do not support IFTTT, Google Home or Amazon Alexa, considered the cornerstones of modern home automation).
Smart devices to be connected in Wifi
After a brief description of the advantages and disadvantages of home automation, we see some of the simplest "Smart" home automation devices to make a smart home that are easy to install, not demanding to configure and that work very well, at least according to the reviews of who used them.
1) Surveillance system
To have a smart surveillance system we will have to focus on IP Cams, like the one available here -> TP-Link NC220 (95 €).
It connects via WiFi to the home modem and we can control them both through the official website and through the dedicated app, complete with continuous recordings at night and notification system with sound or movement detection.
In another guide we can find the best WiFi IP cameras that can be connected to the internet, excellent alternatives to the model already presented in this guide.
2) Intelligent lighting kit
Among the kits that we can install at home, the Philips Hue Kit certainly stands out, which allows you to have lights controllable via WiFi with different colors and intensities.
We can view it from here -> Philips Hue White Starter Kit with 2 E27 bulbs (€ 64).
With this system we can have soft and colored lights at home and control them via smartphone.
The starter kit contains two bulbs and a central device that connects to the home WiFi network and allows you to control the lights from a mobile phone via the dedicated app. On other similar models, the bulbs can be colored in different ways and it is possible to adjust the intensity in a very sensitive way, creating pleasant atmospheres in each room for resting, reading or conversing.
As a valid alternative we can also focus on Pulse Solo by Sengled smart bulbs .
If you want to spend less, you can buy the colored and dimmable bulb ( dimmable light) compatible with Google Assitant and Amazon Alexa in Bakibo, for 20 Euros.
Many other models of Smart bulbs are available on Amazon, always compatible with voice assistants and speaker devices such as Google Home and Amazon Echo.
READ ALSO: Wireless lights and bulbs to buy
3) Smart sockets
One of the best smart sockets we can use is definitely the TP-Link HS100, available here -> TP-Link HS100 (34 €).
This socket can be connected to the Internet via WiFi and managed remotely via the dedicated Kasa app but also via the Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and IFTTT services, i.e. all the most used home automation services on the market.
Alternatively, we can view the Belkin Wemo Switch socket, which is very convenient to install and use.
As a Smart socket you can also buy the Amazon Smart Plug, for 30 Euros, which is controlled by voice via Amazon Alexa and Echo and Echo Dot devices.
4) Smart thermostats
To control the heating and air conditioning system in a smart way, nothing beats the Nest, a programmable thermostat that can be controlled remotely via WiFi connection, with a beautiful and modern display, easy to assemble and connect to any device it uses with a relay. operation (ON or OFF) or with direct commands.
The cost is quite high, almost 250 Euros, but its effectiveness is celebrated by every user who bought it.
To save money, you can instead buy the Tado thermostat, which is controlled from the smartphone and which can be programmed so that the heating can be turned on and off automatically.
READ ALSO: Smart thermostat to manage heating and air conditioning
5) Home vocal assistants
Even in Italy it is possible to use the Google and Amazon voice assistants to remotely control any device in the house (including most of the products already recommended) but also to make requests such as reminders, alarms, weather information or access to on-demand services (music, movies and TV series required via voice commands).
To use Google voice commands, we will have to place the Google Home device at home, the smaller version of which (recommended unless you want a powerful speaker) is the Google Home Mini (€ 60).
Just connect it to the Internet and manage it through the Google Home app, so as to make it immediately operational in every corner of the house where it will be positioned.
If instead we want to take advantage of Amazon Alexa technology on Echo devices, we can start from the Amazon Echo Dot for 60 Euros.
Just choose the most suitable Echo device for our needs, with some valid additional kits to make the home even smarter (sockets, Hue lights, smart thermostats etc.).
READ ALSO: Smart lights, sockets and thermostats to save on bills
