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There are numerous reasons to set up the best smart home devices in your living space. For some, it’s about making their home more energy-efficient in the summer months; for others, it’s about making their homes safer with security cameras. A recent CNET survey found that 71% of US adults are taking action to prevent porch thefts, something smart home devices can help deter.
Years ago, having a smart home seemed like living in the future. Now, it’s easier than ever to make your home smart. After all, smart home devices are much more accessible and affordable, so anyone can have the smart home of their dreams. But if you’re just starting to look into making your home smarter, the number of choices can be intimidating, or perhaps you think it’s still very expensive or too technical.
Those concerns are valid, but smart homes are no longer just for techies or the one percent. Here, I’ll explain three easy steps for starting a smart home in 2025.
How to start a smart home
Getting started with a smart home can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to. The first steps are picking the platform you want to manage your devices with, choosing a few devices, then making it all work together with programmed automations.
Stay with me, and by the end of this, you’ll be ready to begin your smart home journey.
Step 1. Decide on a platform: Google, Amazon or Apple
The Apple HomePod Mini is a great gateway to starting a smart home for those in the Apple ecosystem as it gives access to Siri and is a Thread border router.
Android users should consider Amazon Alexa and Google Home when starting their smart home. Each platform is compatible with over 50,000 smart home devices from thousands of brands, with Alexa boasting over 100,000.
These two platforms have similarities, but the differences between them are stark. As expected, Google neatly integrates with other Google-owned devices and services like YouTube, Calendar, Gmail and Photos. The same goes for devices where you’ll get the best experience with products in the Google Nest ecosystem. Like Apple, Google’s smart speakers, displays and more can be your hub to connect devices, too.
Smart devices come in many shapes and styles, but you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get them.
Picking a platform is essential but isn’t the most fun part of a smart home. That is when you get to start choosing fun devices. Knowing where to start can get overwhelming with so many devices. Aside from the smart speaker or display from the chosen platform, I recommend smart lights or smart plugs as their beginning devices.
These devices offer high impact for low effort and are also some of the most affordable. Smart lights are dimmable and can be set to over 16 million colors, depending on which bulb you choose — we recommend bulbs from Wiz. Of course, getting smart lights means you can control them from anywhere and set schedules to operate automatically.
Smart plugs are a quick and easy way to add not only remote control over appliances but also automations.
Once you’re comfortable adding and controlling smart home devices, you can start automating your burgeoning smart home. While there are plenty of complex and unique automations, including these four I love using in my home, it’s best to start simple.
Start by creating a routine for Alexa to turn on your living room lights at sunset or set an automation for your Google Home to start the coffee pot in the morning. These automations are ones I use daily and find impactful. I also connect devices to sensors like this Aqara Motion and Light Sensor P2 for detecting motion in a space or an Eve Door & Window Smart Contact Sensor to can tell you when a door or window has been opened or closed. These sensors, paired with other smart devices, add new layers to your smart home automations.
Google Home is gaining integration from Gemini to help out with Assistant.
A smart home gets more advanced as you begin linking multiple devices for automations. For example, if the temperature in the house reaches a specific temperature to turn on the AC, a fan, close the blinds and turn some lights on. Some third-party services, like IFTTT, provide more ways to automate devices than what’s available in your central platform app and can connect services Google, Amazon or Apple allow.
Once you have a handle on your smart home with a few devices and automations under your belt, you can begin tinkering with different settings and devices to fine-tune your setup. Then, you can start using your smart home for holiday fun, like setting a spooky scene for Halloween. We’ve also put a smart home cheat sheet together to help you along in your journey to find all the fun ways to use your smart home.
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