As you add compatible devices to your smart home system, you can control a variety of appliances—from your refrigerator and thermostat to televisions, smart light switches, and home security video doorbells—allowing centralized control of your home.
You can control these smart home gadgets anywhere there’s connectivity using your smartphone, tablet, or computer. For example, you can monitor your front door for an expected package while you are at work, or unlock the door for your children when they arrive home from school instead of having them keep track of a house key.
Before investing in a new smart home system, consider these important product features to be sure you purchase a system that meets your needs.
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Network Security
Any device connected to the internet, including something as basic as a smart light bulb, is potentially vulnerable to hacking. This is an inescapable risk of having access to a global network like the internet. However, smart home system manufacturers and service providers are aware of these vulnerabilities and have designed smart devices with built-in security to help protect your home from cyber attacks.
However, security isn’t really a feature you can find in a product description because smart home system manufacturers avoid giving specifications about their security so as not to aid a hacker in penetrating the system. Instead, you can base your decision on a few important factors:
- How frequently is the smart home system app updated? More frequent updates make it difficult for hackers to learn the security protocols.
- How popular is the smart home system? Larger, established companies likely have more money to spend on security features and security professionals.
- What do customers say about the security of the system? You can read customer reviews that reveal security vulnerabilities the manufacturer may have missed. Thankfully, testimonials also help security professionals detect the same issues, and manufacturers can frequently release fixes to address them.
Usability
If you’re new to the concept of a smart home system or you prefer a more basic interface that is easy to understand and practical for carrying out a few small tasks, then you’ll want a system that is simple and straightforward. Avoid overly flexible smart home systems with so many different configuration options that you may quickly become overwhelmed as a novice user.
However, if you’re an experienced user who wants to transition to full home automation, you need a complex smart home system equipped with IFTTT (If This Then That) script support so you can fully customize and control your smart home. Customer feedback is an ideal gauge for deciphering the complexity level of a smart home system because they give a full breadth of experience from novice to expert; you then know what to expect and how your own knowledge and abilities measure up.
Device Support/IFTTT
Any smart home system has a range of devices and computer protocols with which it is compatible, but it won’t be compatible with everything. Before you select a smart home system, decide which devices you want your system to communicate with and which ones to leave out.
Typically, a device will be compatible with the most popular smart home systems, like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, as well as other devices made by its own manufacturer. However, some devices offer a broader range of compatible services, giving you a wider variety of smart home systems from which to choose.
One very useful service is the IFTTT (If This Then That) scripting system. If a smart home system and the connected devices are compatible with IFTTT scripting, then you can automate many functions around your home using IFTTT programming protocols. For example, if the smart TV is on, then the living room lights will automatically dim.
Connectivity
How a smart home system connects to your wireless router can be an important factor in determining which smart home system is right for you.
- Corded smart home systems may give the impression that every smart device on the network needs to be plugged directly into the system, but that isn’t the case. Only the smart home system itself needs to be connected to the wireless router with an ethernet cable. This ensures constant communication between the system and the router, instead of relying on the stability of a wireless signal. The downside is that you may have to tether your smart home system to your router with the ethernet cable.
- Cordless smart home systems don’t need to be connected to the wireless router with an ethernet cable. They only need to be within range of the router to communicate with it, which means you can place the smart home system wherever you choose within that range, without worrying about cables. However, you may run into connectivity issues if the wireless signal becomes unstable.
Sensor Range
The sensors on the best smart home devices allow them to communicate with the smart home system and provide the necessary connectivity to make the most out of it. However, more expansive homes, like country bungalows, may be too large for a single smart home system to have the range to connect to all of the home’s smart devices.
Before choosing a smart home system, look at the product information to learn the range of the device and the network on which it operates. For instance, a device that is only compatible with the Bluetooth network will not benefit from a powerful WiFi network, while Z-Wave and Zigbee are both mesh networks that can use compatible smart home devices to boost the network signal. This means that each new device extends the signal strength and range of the smart home system.
However, keep in mind that Z-Wave and Zigbee devices are less popular, so the range of compatible smart devices is significantly less varied than WiFi- and Bluetooth-compatible devices.
Battery Backup
When the power goes out, you likely won’t be able to use the smart light bulbs connected to your smart home system. However other smart devices, like security sensors, should remain on at all times to help keep you and your family safe. To ensure that your smart home system remains active during a power outage, invest in a system and compatible devices that all have a built-in battery backup.
The battery backup most frequently used is a set of AA or AAA batteries to provide power when the electricity goes out. However, if you don’t want to worry about changing batteries on your smart home devices, you can find devices with rechargeable batteries that automatically charge when the electricity is on so they always remain powered during an outage.
Mobile App Usability
When you invest in a smart home system, you aren’t just choosing the system itself, you are also selecting the interface that you will use to control the system. Many mobile apps are very intuitive and simple to use, but some can be clunky, confusing, and so complex that it makes having a smart home system almost pointless.
Before choosing a smart home system, consider browsing its app so you can understand the controls and decide whether you like the interface. You can also gain a sense of how frequently the app is updated, which is an important factor for system security. If the app was updated over a year ago, it is more likely the program has several bugs and vulnerabilities in the coding that can expose the smart home system to hackers.
Professional Monitoring
Professional monitoring services give you the peace of mind that your smart home system is being monitored 24/7 by security professionals. This service is usually included as an additional feature in a smart home security system, but it doesn’t come free. To have 24/7 protection, you’ll need to pay an ongoing subscription fee that can range from as low as $10 per month to higher than $100 per month.
This feature is often a matter of preference. Some people do not like the idea of anyone watching over their home while they are away or sleeping, while others are able to relax more knowing they don’t have to be as vigilant to keep their home secure.
Cost
The cost of a smart home system should always be a consideration, especially if it offers monthly or yearly subscriptions for additional services. Weigh the benefits included with the plan against how often you will actually use the service.
For instance, a subscription that lets you keep up to 1 year of security footage on a smart home security network may be a very attractive option for some people, but others may prefer to view their security camera footage on a more frequent basis and would never need to keep a year’s worth of video files. In this case, the additional price for the subscription isn’t worth the cost for how little you’d use the service.