Article by Reecha Kumar
Smart homes are gaining popularity for the past few years. More and more people are deploying technology to upgrade their regular homes to smart homes. A smart home has many benefits for homeowners, like – smoother management, energy efficiency, better safety and security and remote care.

Building a smart home from scratch is not so difficult as most modern homes already have a couple of smart devices being used on a day-to-day basis. Smart TV, Smart speakers, and vigilance cameras are a few examples.
Let’s look at 7 hacks to build a smart home from scratch:
Build a Smart Hub
Installing a smart home hub, like SmartThings or Google Home platforms, automates day-to-day home tasks by connecting multiple smart devices to one hub. By adding your smart devices to this hub, you can automate simple tasks like playing music, heating the water heater, dimming lights and shutting the blinds at a particular time without needing to give commands.

Use Virtual Assistants
Virtual assistants like Alexa, Google Home, Siri or Cortana are easy-to-use devices that take voice commands and help you perform simple tasks as and when required. For example, setting alarms, playing music, making phone calls, scheduling appointments etc. Virtual assistants are by large the most popular smart home devices that add fun and technology to modern households.
Get Smart Lighting
Switch to a smart lighting system. The smart lighting system works on an intuitive system that can sense people’s movement and switch on and off as per the requirement. It’s also possible to operate smart lighting systems through mobile phones. It’s a great system to ensure optimal energy usage at home.

Invest in Smart Thermostats
Smart thermostats can save an average of 8% on electricity bills, reports consumerreports.org. Smart thermostats optimize the usage of energy by regulating the water heater and aircon according to the external temperature. Smart thermostats come in two forms – programmable thermostats to lock in temperature settings or those that run on wifi and can be regulated as per the requirement.
Install Smart Security Devices
Smart safety devices come in various forms – surveillance cameras, automated door locks or motion detectors. They all operate through the cloud and help in real-time tracking. This piece of technology will buy you the peace of mind you need while you are away for work or pleasure or even enjoying a deep slumber.
Buy Smart Home Appliances
Smart home appliances like smart TV, fridge, and washer, make life easy by managing tasks remotely or when we are busy with other things. They also record and display power consumption so you can optimize energy usage. Some devices are really smart, like a smart fridge that works as a menu planner to promote healthy living.

Robust Internet
All said and done, the foundation of a successful smart home is a reliable internet connection that ensures that all smart devices run smoothly. Go for quality Wi-Fi routers, like a mesh Wifi router, and 4G or 5G connections to establish a stable internet connection that keeps your smart home on the go.
These 7 hacks to build a smart home from scratch can turn your home-sweet-home into a cool and trendy place, and add a dash of quality to your life with better living practices.
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