{"id":20593,"date":"2022-03-16T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/?p=20593"},"modified":"2022-04-04T18:56:21","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T22:56:21","slug":"smart-home-technology-for-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/smart-home-technology-for-beginners","title":{"rendered":"Best Smart Home Technology for Beginners and Technophobes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

There are many reasons why someone might be hesitant to invest in smart home gadgets. It’s easy to feel intimidated when unfamiliar with how a new form of technology works. And the upfront cost can undoubtedly make it harder to consider switching out your excellent but older home technology for smart versions. But many smart gadgets are available for a very reasonable price. So, installing and using your first smart gadget isn’t as complicated as it might seem. If you have a working internet connection, getting your first home gadgets online and working can take less than a few minutes, in most cases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Should you Embrace Smart Home Technology as a Beginner?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The benefits of a smart home outweigh the cons. For one, a connected home is a home that works for you, so you can spend more time doing the things you want to do. These home gadgets and devices are a significant time-saver. Second, for those with disabilities \u2014 and, as we get older, mobility issues \u2014 some smart gadgets will genuinely improve the quality of your life. Being able to use your voice or phone to do tasks you once had to do physically allows everyone to remain comfortable in their home no matter the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as you ease into it, the benefits can go well beyond simple convenience. A smart home is an energy-efficient home that saves you money while being eco-conscious. It’s good for your pocketbook, good for the planet, and good at making your home life much more streamlined and time-efficient.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart Home Tech Devices that are Easy to Use<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Using<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you’re looking to invest in your first piece of smart home tech, it’s a good idea to start small. This lets you see how simple these home gadgets are to install and test how useful you find them. If you enjoy the advances they bring to your home; then you can continue to invest and make your home fully smart. Here are a few great items for beginners looking to get their feet wet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1. Smart Lighting <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Smart lights can be an easy, relatively affordable option for those looking to test the cheaper smart home gadget waters. All you have to do is buy the bulb, plug it in, and connect it to your phone. Phillips Smart Hue<\/a> bulbs are popular because they don’t require a hub, and we already know and trust the brand when it comes to keeping our homes lit. They are energy efficient, work with voice control and offer a wide variety of lighting colours so you can create the perfect mood in your home depending on the occasion. Phillips works with Bluetooth, but many works with WiFi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2. Smart Plugs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Smart plugs are an excellent entryway into the smart home life, as these magical little plugs can instantly transform any item (like your lamp, coffee machine, fan or TV) into a smart item by connecting it to your phone. This is a perfect first option for testing out smart gadget capabilities. The cost for a small smart plug is very reasonable, with a favourite, the Kasa Smart WiFi Plug Mini<\/a> coming in at $19.99 on Amazon. The Kasa line of plugs is also Alexa compatible, allowing you to control your devices with your voice, making for an incredible value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3. Smart Speakers <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A smart speaker is an incredible tool, and these days they can essentially serve as your home hub \u2014 making them incredibly useful. Amazon’s Alexa has been at it the longest and regularly makes improvements that keep it at the top of the game. Google Home has never been far behind, and Apple is in the race with the HomePod. If you’re not ready to spend over $100 to try out a smart speaker, they also have mini versions available for a much more affordable price point. The favourite, Amazon’s Echo Dot<\/a>, is currently on sale for $44.99. Smart speaker assistants allow you to easily control all your smart devices with your voice. No phone is required. They also play music and podcasts on command, tell you what time it is, what the weather is like, and even ask trivia questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How and Where to Learn about Smart Home Technology<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Controlling<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If the intimidation factor keeps you from diving into the smart home world, there is no need to let this stop you. For literally any smart item you buy, you can instantly find a tutorial on how to set it up on YouTube \u2014 making it crystal clear. Then, if you’re still having trouble, ask a friend or family member to help you set it up. And if it’s something a little more complex like a thermostat, call an expert, and they will make sure the wiring is set up correctly. But if you start with any of the above \u2014 you won’t need extra help \u2014 the instructions in the package show you precisely what to do, and your new technology will be up and running in minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beware, once you start \u2014 you’ll be hooked. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You don’t have to get out of bed to turn off the lights anymore<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":20595,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"guide":[],"class_list":["post-20593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"acf":[],"zolo_excerpt":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20593"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20827,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20593\/revisions\/20827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20593"},{"taxonomy":"guide","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guide?post=20593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}