{"id":941,"date":"2018-12-07T19:50:46","date_gmt":"2018-12-08T00:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yourhome1source.com\/blog\/?p=941"},"modified":"2019-02-28T15:22:02","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T20:22:02","slug":"smart-homes-smart-locations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yourhome1source.com\/blog\/smart-homes-smart-locations\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart Homes, Smart Locations"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Priorities change. More home owners today seek convenience and safety as two of their top buying considerations. For example, when choosing neighborhoods, Millennials put a premium on convenience<\/a>, wanting an easy commute or walkable access to employment centers, shopping, fitness and recreational amenities. On the other end of the spectrum, some Boomers are giving up on suburban homes, also heading to urban downtowns, from large cities to smaller towns or villages. And both groups desire low-maintenance, energy-efficient homes and seek budget-minded solutions, including smart-home features that conserve energy, i.e. monitor use of gas, electric and water usage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

And there are a variety of ways to achieve these goals. By adding smart-home devices, homeowners now have help with performing home tasks. They can also monitor what\u2019s happening at home from anywhere via smart-home apps. Many homeowners find it helpful and amusing to have a virtual assistant\u2014like Amazon\u2019s Alexa or Google\u2019s Home. With a brief command they can turn on the sound system or TV, even while their hands are covered in flour from making a Buche de Noel for the Christmas holiday, or frying latkes for Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. The possibilities seem almost endless as an abundance of these home-tech tools\u2014some label them as "toys" \u2013 keep hitting the market.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

There\u2019s a downside, however. Having so many choices makes it harder to decide which ones to purchase. The Arlo Smart Chime Speaker<\/a>, for example, retails for just under $50, but add this and that, and you might be surprised at how much you\u2019ve spent on these smart-home devices. We suggest you carefully read online reviews and consider items that appear easiest to use or program, and work well with other smart devices in your home \u2013 let\u2019s say, "speak the same language" \u2013 so all your smart-home devices function together without a glitch. Many companies list this information on their websites. For example, both Alexa, and Google\u2019s Assistant can be used to control many Samsung appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, washers, dryers, and robotic vacuums. Know this before you go to buy. A helpful article to read about connectivity can be found on Consumer Reports<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

If either of us wanted to make our homes smarter \u2013 since we\u2019re absolute newbies to this trend and we live in older, non-smart dwellings \u2013 we\u2019d be most interested in a doorbell video to see who\u2019s at the door (Arlo doorbell<\/a> or Ring Video Doorbell<\/a>), a lock that can be programmed to open (August smart lock<\/a> or Schlage Sense smart lock<\/a>), a light system that would turn lights on and off, dim them to conserve energy, offer safety to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night (Philips Hue lighting<\/a>), or allow us to return to our home with entry lights on after sundown.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

For those of us who aren\u2019t DIYers or very tech savvy, we recommend hiring a tech consultant who\u2019s connected with a store or has an independent consultancy. This idea appeals greatly to us. Such specialists can remove the hassle of searching for the best smart-home products or setting them up properly. The hourly or per-project charge might be very worthwhile to get started on the right foot, so to speak.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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