What’s so great about a Smart Home?

There are so many ways that having a smart home can make your life easier and more convenient, and even safer in some ways. Smart home technology can free up time in your day so you can focus on more important, more lucrative, more productive, or more exciting things. Plus, who wouldn’t want to just tell Siri or their Amazon Echo to “turn on the lights in the kitchen” or “brew some coffee”? I think we all would benefit and get value from that. Every. Single. One of us. Let’s be honest, we’re all busy these days. So if we could tell our smart home to do certain tasks for us, so we don’t have to manually do them (start a load of laundry, turn lights/on off, turn temperature up a few degrees, etc), we’d be all for it right? Exactly. “But how much does it cost? Isn’t it too expensive?” Let’s break it down…

Now this is really what it comes down to for most of us. If it were super cheap, why wouldn’t we convert our homes to a smart home? It all comes down to cost. But how much does it really cost?

Converting your home to a smart home can actually be quite economical, if you’re “smart” about it (…see what I did there?) Reality is, you don’t have to convert everything over to smart all at once. If you’re on a budget then just prioritize what you want converted to smart, and do it a little bit at a time. Smart home technology as of today really comes down to Lighting, Climate Control, and Home Security. Of course in the very near future there will be more “smart” options when all our appliances are smart, and even your kitchen pantry will re-order your Wheaties (the Breakfast of Champions!) and english muffins for you when you run low. But for now, let’s start with what is already available to the masses.

Smart-Home-Theater-Interior-Design-21

Lighting:

Philips-Hue-Smart-LED-Light-Bulbs-1

Many people start with smart lighting because it’s the easiest, quickest, and least “risky” modification that you can make. Smart lighting really has two main functions: automated contextual lighting (e.g. by time of day) and energy efficiency (e.g. turning off unnecessary lights, even remotely turn lights on/off if you left the house in a hurry and left lights on). And for a bonus, they change color and are fully customizable by you. The Philips Hue starter pack ($200) is one of the most user-friendly yet feature-rich lighting setups available right now. The starter pack comes with a “bridge” (like a central Hub) and 3 smart bulbs that can replace those traditional 60-watt bulbs. Additional bulbs are $60 each (ouch!) A single system supports up to 50 different smart bulbs, each of which can be controlled from anywhere in the world using the Hue mobile app on iOS and Android.

Average Cost of Smart Lighting: $200 starter kit & 3 bulbs + 7 additional bulbs ($60 each) = $620

Climate Control:

nest1Did you know that the average home dedicates 40 to 60 percent of its energy consumption to temperature regulation? Your comfort is draining your wallet!

There are a few different options for smart thermostats, but the Big Dawg right now is the Nest Learning Thermostat ($250). This amazing device replaces your old “dumb” thermostat and automates your home temperature in a way that maximizes comfort while cutting down on energy costs. Over time, it even learnswhat temperature you like and when you like it that way. Nest will even turn itself off when you’re away… yeah, it knows when you are away. You can control it manually by touching it, or remotely by connecting it to your Wi-Fi. How cool is that? On a cold winter day, you can hop on your iPhone and start warming up your house before you head home for the day, so it’s nice and toasty when you walk in the door. Many local utility companies are offering rebates of $100. Plus you’ll be saving money on your energy bills once the device learns how to be more efficient based on your needs and your schedule.

Average Cost of Smart Climate Control: $250

Home Security:

August-Smart-LockNow here’s where you can not only increase the safety of your home and family, but you can also gain peace of mind and convenience. The August Smart Lock($250) is really next level stuff. It may not offer more protection than a regular lock, but it’s far more convenient to use and manage. Any smartphone can access the lock as long as you first grant them permission — which can be revoked, or granted for a specific period of time. So if you want to allow an electrician access to your home between 2pm-5pm, the August smart lock allows you to do that. They don’t have access once their time expires.

How does it work? It senses your approach (via smartphone GPS) and unlocks. When you leave its vicinity, it locks again. It’s freakin’ genius but deceptively simple. If you don’t like this particular one, there are several other smart home locks that you can explore like the Kwikset Kevo ($250)and a couple others.

How about keeping your family, home, and valuables safe if there’s a fire or a CO leak? Nest has you covered there too. The Nest Protect Smart Smoke + CO detector ($100) not only sounds an alarm, it also speaks to you with a human voice. It tells you if there’s smoke or carbon monoxide, which room it’s in, and if you’re in immediate danger. So you can quickly figure out the best way to exit your home and avoid running into fire on the way out. If connected to smart lights, it can even flash your lights red during an emergency. For more on what this smart home device can do, check out my review of it here.

Average Cost of Smart Door Locks: $250

Average Cost of Smart Smoke + CO detector: $100

What does it all cost?

$1,220

Bottom line: If you bought all of these smart home devices together at once, it would be around $1,220. That’s including 10 smart Hue light bulbs, One August Smart lock, One Nest Protect smart smoke + CO detector, and One Nest thermostat.

How to Buy these Smart Home Devices

You can buy all these devices on Amazon. I linked to them below. After all, wouldn’t it be a little odd to buy Smart Home devices the old fashioned way… in the store!? 🙂

Nest Learning Thermostat

Nest Protect smoke + CO detector

Philips Hue LED Smart Light bulbs Starter Pack

August Smart Door Locks

August Smart Door locks (Apple HomeKit-enabled)

Kwikset Kevo Smart door locks

 

More Smart Home Technology articles:

 


EAP Homes Realtor

EAP Homes, Realtor

About the Author: The above article on How Much Does a Smart Home Actually Cost? was written and provided by EAP Homes, a leader in the field of Real Estate sales, marketing, and smart home technology. Chris can be reached via email at [email protected] or by phone at 801-455-8753. Chris has helped many people buy and sell Salt Lake City area homes for years.

Thinking of selling your home? I have a real passion for buying and selling Real Estate, as well as marketing & smart home technology. I’d love to share my expertise!

I help people buy and sell real estate in the following Salt Lake area cities & neighborhoods: HolladayCottonwood Heights, Millcreek, Olympus Cove, Canyon Rim, SugarhouseMidvaleMurray, East Millcreek, Sandy, White City, Draper, Riverton, Daybreak, South Jordan, West Jordan, Herriman, Bluffdale, South Salt Lake, The Avenues, Federal Heights, and of course, Salt Lake City.

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