SMARTER LIVING
For those yet to make the jump, smart home technology can seem like a pretty daunting proposition. Sure, being able to control your heating from your phone and turn off your lights with your voice might sound like something you’d be interested in, but it also sounds complicated, time consuming and expensive.
Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be any of those things, and whether you fancy testing the water with a few smart touches, or are considering making the jump to kit out the whole house, we’ve got all the tips you need to get started.
WHAT IS A SMART HOME?
At its most basic, a smart home is made up of devices connected to the internet via your home Wi-Fi network. This lets you control them using your smartphone and also allows them to see and communicate with one another, almost like being neighbours on the same street.
That’s important if you’re keen on making use of a voice-controlled smart assistant, like Alexa or Google Assistant. Usually built into smart speakers, such as the Amazon Echo (£89.99) or Google Home (£89), these assistants can respond to your voice commands to control compatible devices wirelessly, and can also pull up general information via the internet, such as weather forecasts and traffic information.
Smart home devices can be found for just about every room of the house, and depending on what you have installed, they can control lighting, heating, keep your
