With the emergence of WiFi-enabled appliances and our increasing dependence on technology, most of us have our daily living simplified at exponential levels. Some can instruct their fridge’s freezer to defrost chicken from the office. Others have their home’s windows and doors automatically locked as they drive away from their homes.

This is all thanks to the “smart home” concept - the idea of automating every aspect of a house to the point where most appliances are interconnected and can be controlled via voice or through a smartphone. So how do you transform your house into a smart one? Let’s explore the tips below.

1. Choose your master platform

There are three leading platforms for a smart home in the market as of today. You have Amazon, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit. Each of these platforms has its own smart speaker units which are very useful.

2. Install smart home apps

Sometimes you would prefer to control and command all your home’s smart appliances and light switches through a touch screen instead of a voice command. You have Google Home or Apple Home for that.

3. Use smart assistants

Or if you really want to use voice control, then it is best that you get familiar with Alexa (Speaker), Siri (iPhone), and Google Assistant (Android). Start with registering your voice to your desired assistant.

4. Automate appliances

Some appliances may not be smart but they still have an internal clock that’s useful to perform tasks according to schedule. Two examples are automatic coffee machines and automatic dishwashers.

You can set the coffee machine to brew your coffee at 6:35 am, 5 minutes after your alarm rings. You can also set the dishwasher to do its job at 3 am where everyone is asleep and all the dirty dishes are in the washer.

5. Buy a smart speaker

Alexa isn’t the only smart speaker on the market and you don’t necessarily need to use one and carry a phone around. You can choose from Google (Nest Mini), Bose (Home Speaker 300), Amazon (Echo Series), Google (Home Series), Apple (HomePod), Sonos, and many more!

Some are affordable that you can put in multiple areas of your home and they can play music simultaneously.

6. Upgrade to smart appliances

Going for a full smart home experience? Replace all your old appliances with WiFi-enabled ones. Smart appliances can be remotely controlled from anywhere in the world as long as you have a data connection.

There is a wide variety of smart appliances to choose from. The commonly known is the smart TV. But you also can buy a smart fridge, microwave, coffee machine, dishwasher, washing machine, you name it!

7. Install mesh nodes to your wifi network

There will be wifi dead spots due to walls, interference, etc. This will cause you to lose connection and control over your smart appliances. To stay connected to your router, installing mesh nodes in these dead spots is the best idea.

8. Install smart switches

Imagine yourself in your bed ready to sleep. But you’re not sure if you’ve turned off the lights from the living room. So you get off again and turn off the switch. It’s such a hassle. With smart light switches, you can remotely turn on and off light bulbs in your home.

9. Use a geofence

A geofence is a sensor around your home’s perimeter. It will detect if you’re in your property or out. This is very useful especially for security if you set your doors and windows to automatically lock when you’re out.

10. Use a charging dock

Using your phone for a smart assistant would require you to leave it turned on and ready to accept commands. It will drain too much battery especially if you’re doing something. So use a charging dock on high activity areas to keep your phone fully charged.

Like green homes, a smart home also increases a house’s reselling value. But instead of selling energy cost-reduction, you’re selling a cyber utopia-like convenience. The only difference between green homes and smart homes in terms of investment is that smart homes cost less to create.

Read more of my real estate blogs below!

• Should You Invest In Commercial Or Residential Real Estate?
• The Different Types of Real Estate Investments You Can Make
• 8 Marketing Ideas for Real Estate Agents
• 10 Home Maintenance Tips for First Time Home Buyers
• 4 Tips for Long-Distance Real Estate Investing