Home automation has become quite the buzzword lately. The industry has grown exponentially over the past couple years and continues to do so. There are some remarkably innovative, convenient, and even surprising home automation gadgetry on the market right now. Things like wall-mounted touchscreens, thermostats that actually learn your preferences, and deadbolts that can be unlocked using your smartphone are just a few of the options available. Here are five of the coolest, most advanced home automation devices that money can buy.
August Smart Lock
Combining functionality with an attractive design, the August Smart Lock is considered the best of its kind on the market, and for good reason. August’s offering can be easily installed, which makes it a favorite of the DIY crowd, and the fact that it retrofits over 100% of the most commonly used standard deadbolts has won it substantial praise and acclaim.
Using the accompanying app, users lock and unlock the deadbolt remotely using Bluetooth proximity sensing on smartphones and can assign either temporary or permanent electronic keys (eKeys) to family, friends, and guests who also own Bluetooth-capable smartphones. The price tag of $250 — plus an additional $50 for the August Connect hub, which you’ll need to be able to lock and unlock the Smart Lock remotely over WiFi instead of using Bluetooth — puts it at the higher end of the spectrum, but the August Smart Lock is arguably the best smart deadbolt you can buy.
Nest Learning Thermostat
The Nest Thermostat is the darling of the home automation community. The innovative functionality and gorgeous design of the Nest set new standards for home automation tech. What really sets the Nest apart from the competition is its ability to actually learn from you. The Nest learns each time you adjustment the temperature of your home as well as from your schedule, detecting when you leave as well as when you return home and adjusting accordingly to save energy in your absence.
Developed by former Apple employees, Nest’s design was based on the iPod, like a hockey puck both in shape and size, with a lovely color display. At $249 the Nest is one of the most expensive smart thermostats on the market, but its functionality as well as the convenient app and the useful stats that it shows you over time, such as the amount of money it’s saving you on your utility bills, more than makes up for the price. It’s also compatible with many other home automation gadgets and platforms like the Wink Relay and certain smart deadbolts.
Chamberlain MyQ Garage Opener
Widely considered the best smart garage-door opener, the Chamberlain MyQ Garage is compatible with a large list of home automation devices that continues to grow. For just $130, MyQ lets you open and close your garage door remotely via the app and also lets you set custom alerts telling you whether your garage door has been opened or left open. Additionally, Chamberlain’s MyQ is a cinch to install, requiring absolutely no complicated wiring to your existing garage hardware and taking roughly fifteen minutes. There are two components of the system: The base that attaches on the ceiling where your existing opener is located and a sensor that you attach to the garage door itself. While there aren’t a whole lot of bells and whistles, MyQ is a solid contender that performs better than expected at what it was designed to do.
Wink Relay Wall-Mounted Touchpad
When you think of a smart home, you probably imagine something like Quirky’s Wink Relay, a wall-mounted touchscreen that serves as the command central of your smart home tech by making it all accessible and controllable in a single location. It’s installed in the place of any standard light switch and gives you push-button control of things like connected LED lights, smart thermostats, smart outlet switches, appliances, security components like cameras, and more.
Wink Relay has a variety of built-in sensors such as to detect motion and air quality, which make it better able to detect the conditions of your home so it can control things automatically and learn your habits. Additionally, the Relay will soon be receiving an update that will give it two-way intercom functionality using the built-in microphone and the accompanying Wink app. It’s MSRP is $300, which is a bit pricey, but there are online retailers offering the Wink Relay for about $230. Given the convenience of streamlining your smart home tech as well as the Relay’s future potential, this is one of the best home automation platforms you can buy.
Dropcam Pro Networked Camera
Of all the network-connected, smart home-compatible security cameras on the market, the Dropcam Pro is considered the best for several reasons. The Dropcam Pro provides an HD live feed of your home via the accompanying app anywhere you can access the internet. Additionally, there’s a two-way talk feature that’s similar to a walkie-talkie, allowing you to communicate over the Dropcam feed. There’s no service fee for the standard device usage and Bluetooth makes setup quick and easy and means the Dropcam Pro will be compatible with additional home automation and security components in the future.
The high-definition video feed allows you to zoom and pan as well, giving you a significantly large field of view with just a single camera. However, Dropcam Pro is not weather-proof, which means that it cannot be used outdoors. Available for $199, the Dropcam Pro is one of the most full-featured, and highest-performing network-connected security cameras on the market.
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This guest post was written by Dane O’Leary. Dane O’Leary is a full-time freelance writer and design blogger for Modernize.com. He has degrees in psychology and anthropology with additional study in journalism, graphic design, and public relations. Dane is currently working on his debut novel.
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