Smart home technology has become a mainstream option for everyone, not only the wealthy and technologically adept. The tech industry has responded by introducing ever-more sophisticated solutions. Many people believe that smart home technology is a result of gadgets like Google’s Nest or Amazon’s Echo however the term covers a variety of solutions for your house. These include everything from remote-controlled lighting and heating to CCTV, doorbells, home security systems and smart locks. Some allow you to monitor your elderly relatives, pets, or children and even keep track of your children.
Integration is the most important aspect of a good smart home system. This is why the most effective products integrate with other systems and devices to make your home more intelligent. A smart light bulb, for example can connect to the central hub to set your lights to run on a timer or turn them off after leaving the house. A video doorbell could alert you to unexpected visitors or alarms could call the police or fire departments. Once you’ve got the hang of the IFTTT (If this, then that) service and you’re ready to use other services like Stringify to automate devices in more complicated ways.
Of course, bringing in a range of new devices to your home can have its own concerns. CNET is determined to learn about the policies of companies, raise privacy concerns and ask questions directly to companies.