ARTICLE

Recommendations Requested: Building a Smart Home

by | Thu 22 Dec 2016

Early next year Erica, the scamp, and I are likely to be moving house. As part of the move we would both love to turn this house into a smart home.

Now, when I say “smart home”, I don’t mean this:

Dogogram. It is the future.

We don’t need any holographic dogs. We are however interested in having cameras, lights, audio, screens, and other elements in the house connected and controlled in different ways. I really like the idea of the house being naturally responsive to us in different scenarios.

In other houses I have seen people with custom lighting patterns (e.g. work, party, romantic dinner), sensors on gates that trigger alarms/notifications, audio that follows you around the house, notifications on visible screens, and other features.

Obviously we will want all of this to be (a) secure, (b) reliable, and (c) simple to use. While we want a smart home, I don’t particularly want to have to learn a million details to set it up.

Can you help?

So, this is what we would like to explore.

Now, I would love to ask you folks two questions:

  1. What kind of smart-home functionality and features have you implemented in your house (in other words, what neat things can you do?)
  2. What hardware and software do you recommend for rigging a home up as a smarthome. I would ideally like to keep re-wiring to a minimum. Assume I have nothing already, so recommendations for cameras, light-switches, hubs, and anything else is much appreciated.

If you have something you would like to share, please plonk it into the comment box below. Thanks!

An invitation-only accelerator that develops industry-leading community engagement and growth via personalized training, coaching, and accountability...all tailored to your company's needs.

Want to read some more?

Decoding DevRel: Exploring Job Roles in Developer Relations

Decoding DevRel: Exploring Job Roles in Developer Relations

DevRel, short for Developer Relations, is a critical part of many tech companies. It refers to the strategic efforts aimed at engaging and nurturing relationships with the developer community. This involves creating a conducive environment for developers, facilitating...

What is Developer Relations (DevRel)? A Complete Guide.

What is Developer Relations (DevRel)? A Complete Guide.

Developer Relations, commonly known as DevRel, is a rapidly growing field within the tech industry that focuses on fostering relationships between companies and their developer communities. DevRel professionals bridge the gap between companies and developers by...

5 Things I Would Do To Fix Twitter

5 Things I Would Do To Fix Twitter

So, Elon Musk has purchased Twitter. I don't really want to get into the politics of whether this is a good or bad thing (other people are already debating this), but it got me thinking about what needs fixing in Twitter. There is little doubt that Twitter has a...

Should you use Facebook Groups for Your Community?

Should you use Facebook Groups for Your Community?

Yeah...yeah...I get it...Facebook... ...even people who use Facebook don't seem to be huge fans of Facebook as a company...but let's put that to one side for a moment. Thousands of companies, interest groups, support groups and more use Facebook Groups every single...