It feels like it was just yesterday Add smart lights to your backyard Have fun and get in the mood during the summer. Now that winter is officially here, I’ve started thinking more about how I can put it to use. best smart home devices To make your home feel a little more cozy to survive this cold season.
Most people probably new comforter Or maybe some perfect sleep products, Personally, I feel most comfortable when surrounded by technology. It’s weird, but you have to love what you do, right? Over the years, We’ve tested dozens of smart home gadgets There’s nothing more fun than unpacking and setting up a new device, but sometimes it’s even more fun finding entirely new ways to use the technology you already have.
Whether you got yourself a new smart home device during Black Friday or just need a reason to dust it off. old smart speakerHere are three ways I’m using my own smart home devices to stay cozy this winter.
The sound of the fireplace echoes in every room.
There’s so much you can do with one, from listening to music to making phone calls to setting up an intercom system throughout your home. best smart speakers. I originally picked up my first Google Home Mini to control my smartphone. Philips Hue lightI found the ambient sounds produced by this small smart speaker to be very useful when I wanted to relax.
For years now, I have used the sounds of the ocean and rain to help me fall asleep. However, recently I discovered that best google home speakers You can also reproduce the sound of a roaring fire.There is a fireplace, but I don’t mind it. clean it And make sure your firewood pile is well stocked. Plus, you can’t leave the fireplace alone, especially now with toddlers running around the house. But with fireplace sounds coming from a smart speaker, you can ask: Google Assistant Turn it off or use your phone to turn it off.
I could have started building my own DIY smart home I was using a Google device and quickly realized that: best smart lights, Alexa does a better job It’s about controlling them.This is what I am currently using with my Google device. alexa speaker All over my house. But luckily, Alexa can also play fireplace sounds. Usually he stops after an hour, but if you want it to continue playing longer than that, you can tell Amazon’s virtual assistant to “turn on loop mode.”
If you want to listen to the sound of the fire and watch it crackle, best smart display that’s what you’re looking for.in nest hub max With Google’s smart display, all you have to do is view a YouTube video of your fireplace. On the other hand, you’ll find a variety of features in Amazon’s Echo Show devices. alexa skill For example, ambient vision that can be used to start a fire on a smart display.
Indeed, nothing beats actually sitting in front of a fire. But playing the crackling sound of a fire on your Smart Him speaker or watching it on your Smart Him display is an easy way to stay cozy this winter without any hassle.
Christmas trees don’t need to be unplugged
A few years ago I made some best smart plug Now you can control all your holiday decorations remotely. This was a big change, to say the least. My wife’s birthday is on Christmas, so we have trees in every room in our house, and it was a pain to manually unplug each one every night. But that’s no longer the case. You can turn it on and off using an app on your phone or by voice using Google Assistant or Alexa.
There are many good and affordable smart plugs out there, and these are the ones I’ve used so far. Kasa smart plug Over the years since I invested in TP-Link. home security camera. I love how I can control all my Christmas trees and even my outdoor decorations from the same app I use to check on my toddler and dog.
In addition to naming each smart plug, you can also take a photo of the Christmas tree it controls and see each image within the app rather than the generic icon. The Kasa app allows you to schedule your Christmas tree to turn on or off at specific times, but the app also displays the running time so you can get a better idea of how much energy it uses. This way you can see how having a fully decorated home for the holidays will affect your utility bills.
Nowadays, there are smart Christmas lights for trees. Philips Hue Festavia And that Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights, both of which are much more expensive than using traditional Christmas lights and smart plugs. In fact, you can buy Kasa’s 4-pack of mini smart plugs ($22, Amazon) If you want to remotely control or automate your own holiday lights, we’ve got you covered right now at a discounted price.
Smart heating per room
i already have smart thermostat Although it’s mine, I live in a large house, and heating every room to a comfortable temperature can quickly get expensive. This is why I decided to invest in several companies this year. best space heater Instead, you can heat one room at a time. We already have two small space heaters in our bedrooms, but we decided to purchase a larger, smarter space heater for the larger rooms of our house.
Thanks to the company, I am already invested in the Govee ecosystem. cheap outdoor string lightsI picked up the Govee smart space heater ($70, Amazon) during Black Friday. It’s actually on sale right now, and thanks to a $30 coupon, you can get it for $10 less than what I bought last month.
The Govee app takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, there’s a lot you can do with it. For example, you can control the temperature and power of a smart space heater, make it vibrate, or make it stay in one place. While there is Slightly cheaper version, I’m a big fan of smart lights after all, so I took the plunge and bought one with RGB underglow. The app lets you choose from several different preset colors or use a color wheel, but like all of Govee’s smart lights, there are also a number of scenes to choose from, including fire and rainbows. You can also set a timer to turn off automatically, or ask Alexa or Google Assistant to turn your smart heater on or off.
If you don’t like using apps or having audio, there are also manual controls on the top, which can come in handy if you have non-tech-savvy relatives visiting during the holidays. We continue to be impressed with our new smart space heaters, but there’s a lot more to see. Never place it near heating equipment For your own safety.
the gift that keeps on giving
Rushing to build your own smart home to stay comfortable this winter can get expensive. However, if you shop wisely, best smart home deals You can actually build a smart home without spending a fortune, without having to buy all the gadgets you need at once.
Once you’ve built your own smart home, you need to make sure that all your smart home devices are kept up to date. This helps keep your device secure, but it also gives you access to new features as Amazon and Google are constantly updating your device.
In addition to this, you will want to experiment and try new things with smart speakers, smart plugs, and smart lights.From new setup alexa routine Coming up with new use cases like how I used Cool your garage with Echo Dot, Smart home devices truly are the gift that keeps on giving. It takes a little time and a little curiosity to truly unlock their potential.
As I lounge in my smart home for the rest of this cold winter, I’ll be coming up with new ideas for how these connected gadgets can do even more.
