Home automation can make your life a lot easier. We can shop using voice commands, control lights using smartphones and even unlock doors using smart locks. Most of us have seen or experienced home automation, but we stay away from it. This could be largely due to the idea that home automation is expensive. However, things are changing quickly.
Smart home devices are popular these days and thanks to increasing demand, these devices are not as expensive as they used to be. Today’s smart devices are easy to setup, so you can install them on your own. If you were considering an automated home setup but thought it was financially out-of-reach, it’s time to re-think. Here is how you can get started, without having too many concerns about the cost.
Having a voice assistant can be a great start towards your home automation setup. Getting things done using voice commands is easily accessible. Devices such as Amazon Echo Dot and Google Home Mini are priced well below Rs. 4,000. These devices offer voice-assisted solutions that can do unimaginable tasks. You can ask the voice assistant to turn on your smart TV without touching the remote and even ask it to stream your favorite movie from Netflix or Amazon Prime. These devices can learn your music preferences and compile custom playlists, deliver the news in different languages and can even entertain your children for hours.
Amazon Echo and Google Home are like central hubs for smart home devices. They let you control smart ACs, refrigerators and even air purifiers. In fact, the list of compatible devices keeps getting better day-by-day. Even if you don’t plan to buy expensive smart home appliances today, an Amazon Echo or a Google Home speaker will prove to be a good investment, for your future smart home.
If you are planning to buy your first smart home accessory, consider smart lights. You can have smart bulbs, smart LED batons and even smart LED strips to light up home interiors. These lights aren’t expensive and are also easy to install. You can connect them to your home network and can control them using a smartphone or smart voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri. Most smart lights use LEDs, so you can control their brightness and even change their colours. You can set on/off schedules, set lightning to suit your mood and can even sync them to the music you’re playing. Some premium models such as Philips Hue can be linked to an app called IFTTT so that they turn on automatically as you arrive home.
The other inexpensive accessory that should be part of your home automation are smart plugs. Smart plugs let you control home appliances using your smartphone and voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Manufactures such as Syska make smart plugs specially for large home appliances. You can use them to control appliances such as air conditioners remotely, so you can walk into a cool room when you arrive from work. You can also create an on/off schedule to prevent overcharging your mobile phone or re-chargeable batteries. Some smart plugs have now added energy usage feature, which analyze real-time power consumption. You can use this data to analyze the power consumption, which might even help to reduce electricity bills. Some models also detect voltage fluctuations and cut-off power supply to protect devices. 
A smart camera is a small device, that can add a layer of security to your smart home. These cameras stream photos and videos over the internet and you can control them using smartphones and voice assistants. If you have an Amazon Echo Show, you can also stream video on its in-built display. Some smart cameras come with 360-degrees mechanisms that let you adjust the view from your smartphone. Smart cameras also come with face detection. These cameras can detect motion and they also come with infrared sensors, that offer better visibility in the dark. Some models also have talk-back features, that let you talk to your family using the camera. You can get started with affordable smart cameras such as the D-Link Mini-HD which are priced well below Rs. 3,000. 
There are a bunch of other smart accessories that can make your home smarter in the truest sense. Brands as Qubo offer Smart Door sensors, which can instantly alert you whenever someone opens or closes the door. The device is powered by batteries which can last a year. This mean, you don’t even have to worry about charging them. Qubo also sells Smart Gas Sensors that can instantly alert you of gas leaks at home. Qubo also has a smart indoor camera and speaker, which comes with the Alexa voice assistant built in.
Home automation is getting popular, and this has brought down the prices of smart devices significantly. When you are on a budget and are putting together smart devices, make sure you invest in essential devices for the automation setup. We have mentioned some of them through our article. We hope you’ll try them out. Stay tuned to RelianceDigital.in for more interesting smart home solutions and more.
