In recent months, smart home devices have made huge strides in the tech industry, with tech behemoths such as Google and Amazon paving the way for this futuristic technology.
Here we’ve come up with a list of the hottest smart home devices that are a must have for any homeowner for 2018. But with the growing connectivity to the internet through smart home devices, the need to protect one’s privacy on the web has also become more compelling. To this end, you can read about some of the popular Virtual Private Network software on the market at https://securethoughts.com/vpn-review/, to ensure that your privacy is not affected by your smart home device.
Amazon Echo
Available in several fabrics and colours, Amazon’s newly relaunched Echo sports a bold new look that fits in seamlessly into your home. You can interact with Echo through Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa, which is capable of connecting to the cloud to respond to your questions, or perform other tasks like playing music. With Echo’s Alexa, you can also ask it to read news stories, make phone calls, or even order pizza from Dominos. Read about how Amazon is also planning to release Alexa powered smartglasses at https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/20/amazon-alexa-smartglasses-google-glass-snapchat-spectacles-voice-assistant, as an addition to its lineup of voice controlled devices.
Google Home
In a typical competitive fashion Google followed on Amazon’s trails by going ahead and launching its own smart home system. The device is versatile, offering all the conventional services provided by Google’s search engine including traffic information, reading out your daily itenary and giving weather information. Unlike Amazon’s Echo, Google Home offers a significant advantage over other systems on account of its seamless connectivity with Chromecast and Android smartphones. In addition, it can also be given voice commands on the go through Google Assistant, available on Android devices.
Curb – Energy Monitor
Curb is a new technology that promises to change the way you think and talk about energy consumption at your house, by being directly connected into your home breaker panel. After that, you have access to a monitoring system which gives you data about the energy consumption at your house, all in real time on your smartphone. With Curb you have complete knowledge about where you’re wasting electricity, information about abnormal usage patterns, and a better idea as to how you can reduce your electricity consumption. If you’re interested in learning about cool electricity innovations, read about how one Central London street is paving the way for renewable electricity generation, at http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/power-harvesting-high-street-turns-footsteps-into-electricity_uk_59807b90e4b0d6e28a107615.
Ecobee4
Ecobee 4 is the perfect solution to all your thermostat woes, offering a smart temperature control system with a built in microphone and a responsive display. The smart thermostat manages the temperature throughout your house and not just where you’re sitting to provide all round comfort. Powered with an incredible speaker, the Ecobee 4 has been designed to be operable from across the room, and also comes with built in Amazon Alexa Voice Service, which allows you carry out your daily tasks with just a simple command.
On the whole, these smart home devices promise to make your life much more comfortable within your home, and are must have devices for any homeowner for 2018.