Smart Home on a Budget

We all love the idea of having a smart home, but not all of us can afford such smarts. With growing technology, the ability to have a smart home does not mean you need a deep pocket. Here are some inexpensive ideas to get your home started in the smart direction.ROOSTThe Roost is a a Wi-Fi enabled 9V battery, with an accompanying app, that turns your existing smoke detector or carbon monoxide detector into a alarm system. The smart battery will send you a notification in the event of the alarm being triggered and lets you know when the battery is running low.SMART HOME KITThe Smart Home Kit  can add the internet to anything in your home by turning any object into an internet-connected device. You can do things such as automate your curtains or make a remote controlled pet feeder. The kit contains little modules that help the objects in your home communicate with each other. Learn how it works.NESTNest designs and manufactures sensor-driven, Wi-Fi-enabled, self-learning, programmable thermostats and smoke detectors. In addition, Works with Nest allows other devices to work smarter like your lights, appliances, fitness bands and even cars.WINKWink lets you take control of your lighting with GE Link. Using the Wink app, you can operate the bulbs from anywhere, sync them with other smart products, program dims or highlights and automate them to fit your schedule.LEEO SMART ALERT NIGHTLIGHTThe Smart Alert Nightlight keeps track of your smoke alarms, your carbon monoxide alarms, and the climate in your home, such as the temperature and humidity in the home. The system acts as a virtual ear and listens for a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm and then sends notifications straight to your phone.SIMPLICAMSimplicam is a Wi-Fi monitoring camera with face recognition technology. You don’t need a computer, just your smartphone. However, the system does provide streaming HD video to your computer or smartphone. With the facial recognition, you can set up texts to alert you when someone arrives home or if a stranger is on the premises.SKYLINK ALARM SYSTEMSkylink has an easy-to-follow installation kit helps you have your home or office wired for protection. It takes less than an hour to set up, and there’s no wiring required. Your smartphone acts like your personal security monitor, notifying you whenever an alarm is triggered.KEVOThe days of fumbling around for your keys are over. Kevo is an eKey that allows you to open and lock your door with the use of your smartphone. You can also view history of lock activity, and set up other configurable features and options with the Kevo App. Kevo is also compatible with Nest.WEMO INSIGHT SWITCHBelkin has a Wi-Fi enabled switch that connects your home appliances and electronic devices to your network, allowing you to turn devices on or off, program customized notifications and change device status. The WeMo Insight Switch can also monitor your electronics and will send information about the device’s energy usage directly to your smartphone or tablet. The switch is perfect to pair with space heaters, wall A/C units, TVs, washers, dryers and fans.INTERNET OF THINGSOur world is getting smarter by the minute. There are new devices invented every day to make our lives easier. The Internet of Things will grow to make our lives easier with increased machine-to-machine communication, built on cloud computing and networks of data-gathering sensors. There are no limits to this mobile, virtual, instantaneous, and smart connection that is rapidly changing how we live our lives.