All modern homes contain a combination of smart devices in some capacity. They enable us to control appliances and devices with our voice, ensure the lighting and heating are at the ideal level throughout our homes, and aid us in monitoring the safety of our households, even from afar.

Switching to a smart home setup can quickly become a costly endeavour. Locks, thermostats, lightbulbs, speakers, and home entertainment centres led by 40-inch TVs all come together to be operated through one central control panel. However, for those who have made the switch, the ease, flexibility, and control this setup provides significantly improves their quality of life, making it a worthwhile investment.

Best All-In-One

The Amazon Echo Dot 5th Generation is arguably the best overall smart home device on the market. The latest Amazon offering has a clever and somewhat unexpected addition: a built-in temperature sensor. This simple but effective capability turns this fantastic media device into an even better home companion.

It can tell you the exact temperature of the room it is in, automatically kicking off Alexa routines that control the climate of your home. This can be particularly useful for areas of your home, like the kitchen and garage, that require more controlled temperatures throughout the year.

Lights

Philips Hue is easily the biggest name in smart lightbulb technology, and their impressive range and high-quality products make it easy to see why. Not only are they incredibly easy to control, but they are compatible with most major smart home platforms and offer fantastic colour reproduction. It is important to note that a WiFi hub is needed to operate them, and they often come with a fairly costly price tag.

If Hue is outside your budget, Govee’s colour-shifting lightbulbs will be the alternative you are after. Although the colours are not as bright as Hue bulbs, they connect directly to a WiFi connection without the need for a separate hub and are compatible with Alexa and Google Home.

Video Doorbell

With a high-quality video doorbell, you can easily see who is at your front or back door, whether you are at home or away. Not only will this mean you never miss another package delivery, but the added security provides another layer of safety and protection from possible intruders.

Should you already have the necessary wiring in place, the Arlo Video Doorbell is a fantastic, reasonably priced option. It possesses a range of important features like high-res video footage, the ability to set custom motion detection zones, and support for Google Home and Alexa. For wireless doorbell options, it is hard to beat the Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus. This fully wireless offering has a broader and taller field of view, ensuring you can get a full view of anyone who decides to visit your porch, wanted or not.

Control Panel

It should come as no surprise that Amazon is leading the pack in many aspects of smart home technology. Their always-on 8-inch display control panel is the perfect wall-mounted or stand-based home dashboard. Each smart device connected to the system is assigned its own widget, keeping its status and controls visible and easy to access.

The sleek and modern interface is entirely customizable. It allows you to remove or add widgets as you please, free of unwanted adverts and offers users the ability to completely rearrange the layout as needed. The Echo Hub can also be used to play music throughout your audio setup, watch series or movies, and pin reminders as required.

Security Cameras

The high-quality and well-designed Nest Cam, which operates on battery power, has a simple but effective shape and is one of the easiest home security cameras to install, largely thanks to a convenient magnetic base. Its 1080p camera can capture sharp and clear images day and night, with a built-in microphone and speaker to make conversations a breeze.

The standard Nest Cam offers three hours of rolling video storage for free, alongside person, animal, and vehicle detection. If you sign up for a Nest Aware subscription, which starts at a very affordable $6 p/m, you can also access face detection and store up to a month of video footage.

Locks

Installing smart locks around your home keeps your household secure without the need for keys, allows guests temporary access, and locks your door with a single touch. The Google Nest X Yale Smart Lock is considered by many to be the best option on the market. It has a stylish, modern design and is unlocked using a PIN code. Since its release, Google has worked hard to improve remote operability through Nest Connect.

Thermostat

With a stylish zinc case and larger touchscreen, the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium is a fantastic upgrade from previous versions. The clever inclusion of a built-in air quality sensor lets the device tell you whether to open a window or turn on a fan. The larger display will allow you to view upcoming forecasts in detail.

Remote sensors are a common component across all Ecobee devices, helping you monitor and manage the temperature throughout your home. The Ecobee also has Alexa built-in, and while the included speaker is not ideal for listening to music, it is a convenient way to install a smart speaker in a room.