Nothing too special, but still worth it! Keep reading to check out my bonus Tip!

I’m a huge fan of gadgets, particularly when it comes to smart home gadgets.

I don’t know what it is, but there’s an element of coolness of being able to ask your home to do something for you. If we pair that with home automation, things just get even cooler!

I admit, that even though I am a fan of smart homes and home automation, I haven’t really written much about it.

That’s something I want to change this year.

I wanted to start by sharing 6 main things that make up my smart home.

So without any further ado, here are 6 awesome Home Gadgets I can’t live without, starting with the brain of my smart home…

1. Amazon Alexa

Amazon is no stranger when it comes to smart homes and I remember the first time I was introduced to it back when I was a student working at an electronics store in the UK.

I clearly remember my life changing that day, after that introduction, I just had to buy an Amazon Echo Dot and that was how my adventures with smart home tech started.

Several years later, Alexa is at the core of my smart home, we have an Amazon Echo device in most rooms of the house and we primarily use it for controlling other devices, getting the news and weather, listening to music and the radio as well as a handful of other cool things.

One of these things is making announcements. For example, when dinner is ready, I can ask Alexa to announce it to the entire household and it will do it.

If I wanted to I can also play music in multiple rooms at the same time, this proves to be great for when tidying the house.

With the help of Alexa, I can also set up some pretty awesome routines. For example, If I tell Alexa that I’m leaving it will turn off all the smart devices in my house.

Alexa proves to be great for when I travel as I am able to set routines so that lights and devices turn off and on when I’m away creating the illusion that somebody is home.

Alexa interacts really well with other smart home devices, starting with a must-have device, the Ring Doorbell…

How I Listen To Music

2. Ring Doorbell

The Ring Doorbell was probably one of the best smart home investments I ever made, not only is it great for security, but it also means that I don’t miss my parcels as I can talk to the courier when I’m away and explain what to do with my parcels.

It also shows me what’s happening on my doorstep which is important for security.

I have the 2nd generation Ring doorbell which I had for over 2 years and it’s never let me down. I use it on the battery and it tends to last a long time, I mean I can’t even remember the last time I charged it!

The best part is that I don’t even have to make holes in the wall! I mounted it with double-sided Gorilla Mounting Tape and it has yet to fall, which I kind of doubt it will!

The Ring Doorbell can also prove to be a lot of fun, you can use it to play pranks on friends and relatives and even the post person!

I love how during Halloween or Christmas you can choose seasonal chimes as well as quick replies. However, I must admit, I haven’t tried the quick replies yet, but I know that you can do some very clever things!

Why You Should Get A Ring Doorbell

3. TP-Link Kasa Smart Strip and Plugs

Moving on to another key part of my smart home, the TP-Link Kasa smart plugs. I have a few models and even a power strip!

The TP-Link smart plugs are a great addition to any smart home, you can use them to turn on lights with standard light bulbs, you can use them for your TV and a whole bunch of other cool things.

I mean I tend to use it with my coffee machine which doesn’t have a built-in timer, I just have to remember to put water inside and to put a cup underneath it before I go to bed.

Living in the UK, where air conditioning isn’t as common as it in in the US, we plug our fans into them during the summer months. During the winter, we use them for fan heaters for the rooms that don’t get the best heat.

Speaking about winter, we also use smart plugs for the Christmas lights!

Moving on to the TP-Link smart strip, I tend to use one for controlling the lights behind my desk and another one for the lights and TV in my bedroom.

4. Philips Hue

Philips Hue is a staple when it comes to smart home lighting and we have many Philips Hue smart bulbs in the house!

The only downside to Philips Hue is that you need a Bridge in order for them to connect.

But once you have the Bridge, you can actually do some very clever things with your lights, some of which, we’ll discuss later in this article.

The thing I like about Philips Hue is that they offer a wide range of bulbs and even lights and accessories. For example, I have a few Philips Hue Dimmer Switches which control the brightness of the light as well as the hue.

Like many of the items in this list, smart bulbs can prove to be great for security. When I’m away, I tend to set them to turn off and on at particular times to create the illusion that someone is home.

I also like that you can use the app to set scenes such as sunset scenes and morning scenes to make you more relaxed.

I like to set my bedside lamps as well as a lamp I have near my desk to candlelight which will give the bulb a candle effect, which I think is awesome!

5. Home Assistant

Moving on to the more technical things, with the help of a Raspberry Pi, I was able to build a really cool ecosystem to control my smart home and for home automation.

For those of you who are unaware, a Raspberry Pi is a small single-board computer that you can pick up for around £60 brand new or even less second-hand and you can do some really cool things with it.

I have a few Raspberry Pi’s in my home doing various things, and I’m a huge fan!

To build a Home Assistant, all I needed was the Raspberry Pi and an external Solid State Drive as well as the image which you can download for free.

I almost forgot to introduce the Home Assistant! It’s basically a free and open-source system for home automation. It is designed to be a central control system for your smart home. One of the things that make it an attractive option is that it has a focus on privacy and local control.

You have the ability to set up some really cool-looking dashboards for each room of your house and combine smart home tech from different brands into one cool-looking dashboard.

You can also set up some pretty cool automation, I tend to do this with the help of NFC tags.

Home Assistant: What Is It and Why You Need It in Your Smart Home

6. NFC Tags

NFC tags are probably the cheapest product on this list, but they are by far the coolest!

With the help of NFC tags, I can set up some pretty cool things.

For example, I have an NFC tag under my desk that I use for meetings, so when I’m in a meeting or a call, I scan the NFC tag and it will turn a light outside of my office red which means Do Not Disturb and using Alexa, it will announce that I’m in a meeting.

I know it’s only a small thing, but it’s still really cool!

It doesn’t stop there! I have another NFC tag on the door frame of my office and when I scan it, it turns the lights off inside of the room. However, I am thinking of replacing this with a sensor.

I also have one of these tags near the front door of the house which when scanned, turns off all the lights and plugs in my house if they are not already off helping me to save on electricity!

The possibilities of NFC tags are endless!

Bonus Tip!

Before I conclude this article, I wanted to give you a bonus tip.

As someone who has tried various smart home ecosystems such as Google Home and Alexa, I recommend that before you make any large investments, buy a basic Amazon Echo or a Google Nest Mini to see which you prefer. It doesn’t have to be expensive and second-hand should work providing it’s a relatively recent device.

The idea is that you have a play with both systems before you spend a much larger sum of money on your smart home.

Then based on what you prefer, buy for that platform as you’ll find that if you decide to get a Ring Doorbell it won’t be compatible with your Nest Hub in way as an Amazon Echo.

Final Thoughts

To summarise this article, my smart home ecosystem is only small, but it is something that I am still building.

I want to start using more sensors so that I don’t have to scan NFC tags or ask Alexa to do things. I’m also looking at getting a smart vacuum cleaner that will clean the floor for me, but these are just ideas for products I may get in the future.

I also want to do more with Home Assistant, as some of the things it allows you to do are just incredibly cool!

What are your favourite smart home gadgets? Let us know in the comments!

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