You don’t need to be a millionaire to enjoy the convenience of a smart home. Heck, you don’t even need to be a thousandaire. With any budget, you only need an afternoon to set up or install most of these items.
So let’s get into the time-saving tech wizardry, shall we?
Smart Roving Vacummer Cleaner
iRobot Roomba – $$
It’s probably safe to say that most of us avoid vacuuming until it’s unavoidable. In the recent past, robot vacuum cleaners like the Roomba were too expensive to consider for most of us. Well, those days are history. Roombas are more affordable and more feature-packed than ever.
The Roomba 694 can run up to 90 minutes on a single charge, handle carpet and hard floors, and is smart enough not to drive itself down a set of stairs. In fact, it will automatically navigate furniture and can find its way home to charge itself.
Best of all, you can control the Roomba through voice commands and a smartphone app. You can give it immediate orders or set cleaning schedules. Roomba is the most trusted smart vacuum, and you’ll love never worrying about vacuuming again.
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Smart Garage Door Opener
Chamberlain Smart Garage Door Opener Kit – $$$
While garage doors may not come to mind immediately when you think of smart home devices, it’s definitely one of those things that “click” for people when they hear about the benefits.
This Chamberlain model has many excellent and functional features that help. For instance, it can mount on a wall if you need ceiling space for light fixtures. It operates smoothly and quietly, not making that horrible garage door noise you’re used to hearing.
As for smart features, you can remotely monitor and control anywhere you can access the internet. The garage door will automatically deadbolt whenever you close it, adding more security to your home. Lastly, it features a battery backup in case of power outages.
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Smart Video Doorbell with Motion Sensor
Ring Video Doorbells are one of the easiest tech upgrades you can add to your home. The company (also called Ring) has nearly perfected the installation process with very easy-to-follow instructions that will allow you to replace your existing doorbell with a Ring Video Doorbell with no complicated wiring or tools needed.
You’ll get high-definition footage that you can access from your phone, tablet, or PC. You can communicate through your doorbell like a walkie-talkie if you want to send off a stranger or salesperson.
The best part is the motion detection features. You’ll be alerted when the camera picks up motion or identifies people. You have complete control over the sensitivity and the “zones” where it looks for movement. With a cheap subscription to Ring, you can keep access to your videos for up to 180 days and share them with anyone from law enforcement to friends.
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Smart Thermostat
Have you ever left the house and realized you forgot to adjust your temperature? It can be a harrowing realization if you’re heading out on a weeklong vacation. Enter the Nest Smart Thermostat. Changing your home’s temperature is as easy as opening an app.
Like the Ring doorbell, Google has done a superb job making installation as quick and easy as possible. However, there’s more voltage running to a device like this than a doorbell, so it may be worth hiring a professional if you are not used to working with electrical wires.
As for features, you can set different comfort levels and name them whatever you want. Different people, times of day, and seasons… doesn’t matter. Create a range of temperatures and your Nest will ensure you stay nice and cozy.
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Home Security Robot
Moorebot Scout – $$
I don’t know about you, but the idea of having a cute little robot sentry roaming through my home or office makes me feel much better when I’m not there myself.
Unlike a Roomba, you wouldn’t want this thing wandering around aimlessly. You probably want it to scout specific locations like entry points or common areas. Programming a route for your security bot to follow is simple.
It works with Alexa and Google Home and can begin its patrol because of a timer or because it detects motion. Overall, this is a cool little toy that brings peace of mind.
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A Seriously Futuristic House Robot
Amazon Astro – $$$$
If you thought that device was cool, then let’s take a look at its big brother: the Amazon Astro. This is a much pricier device with absolutely cutting-edge features… and an adorable design. Currently, the Astro is only available in the US.
Unlike the previous robot, the Astro will use navigation technology to move around your home. You can see a live view or ask it to check out specific rooms or people. This robot is capable of helping the elderly through fall detection and the ability to call for emergency assistance 24/7.
This robot comes with a year of Alexa Together, which brings all sorts of other benefits to your household, like activity alerts, managed Amazon shopping lists, reminders, and more.
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Smart Pet Feeder
WOPET Automatic Petfood Dispenser – $
My family all chips in to keep our beagle pup happy and fed. But sometimes, I assume my wife fed him, or she thinks I fed him, and it takes an hour or so to realize that neither of us did. Or sometimes our young daughter does it while we’re getting ready, and we end up feeding him breakfast twice! Rather than struggling to coordinate, we decided to bring in some smart tech.
Now we just set the schedule on this feeder through a smartphone app. You can program up to 15 meals daily (why so many, I wonder?), and each feeding can be accompanied by a pre-recorded voice message.
There is wall and battery power to ensure that your furry companions don’t miss out because of a power fluctuation. The only real drawback is that your pet has to be on dry food to work.
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Air Quality Monitor
Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor – $
Do you know what you are breathing in your home? Hopefully, you already have smoke detectors and a carbon monoxide detector installed to protect you from the worst. But what about volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and humidity.
When it comes down to it, you should know what you are putting in your lungs in your own home. This device is incredibly affordable and brings homeowners a massive piece of mind. And in the worst case, it will help you identify any air quality issues that must be addressed before someone’s health is risked.
All you need is the Alexa mobile app or an Echo to communicate with this fantastic device.
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Smart Speakers for Outdoor Parties
2-Pack Outdoor Bluetooth Lantern Speakers – $
There are a few things you need to throw a fun evening backyard or patio gathering. We can’t help you with the food, but we can provide the light and the music.
These outdoor waterproof lanterns won’t just throw atmospheric light on your shindig; they also perform speaker duty. Bluetooth 5.0 ensures a good, steady connection to your music player (smartphone, laptop, etc).
Powerful lithium batteries ensure these will outlast any party, no matter how much fun! Unless you think you can party longer than 30 hours… In that case, you have our admiration (and maybe concern).
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Mesh WiFi Networking Upgrade
Eero WiFi System – $$$
Do you struggle with weak WiFi connections in various rooms or corners of your home? If so, you need a mesh extender. It sounds complicated, but it’s really not. These Eero extenders can be placed around your home to create extra “bubbles” of WiFi for you to connect.
You’ll need to meet some requirements on your existing network for these specific models. You can look over lots of information here.
This is the perfect weekend project for your house that will improve connectivity to every nook and cranny in your home, no matter what floor.
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Toilet Lights
IllumiBowl Toilet Night Lights – $
Remember this on Shark Tank? We certainly do. This moody neon light-style toilet bowl lighting may seem like a joke at first, but it’s actually beneficial and pleasant.
The idea is that when you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, turning on the overhead lights at 2am can be a serious drag. So instead, you install this “nightlight” right into your toilet bowl, and it will provide some colored lighting that is MUCH easier on your eyes.
There are nine colors to choose from and brightness control to really dial in a comfortable nighttime experience.
But hey, if you are still laughing, we get it. The good news is these things are cheap enough to work as a great gag gift.
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Touch Activated Kitchen Faucet
Touch Kitchen Faucet with Pull-Down Sprayer – $$
Here’s a common kitchen scenario: You just cut up some raw poultry and now must wash your hands. Do you just put your hands all over the faucet handles and spray everything down later? What a hassle. Here’s a better solution – a touch faucet.
Featuring 3 spray settings and a pull-down faucet sprayer, this easy-to-install faucet will also turn on with just a touch. So in our scenario above, all you need to do is tap the faucet with your elbow, and you can clean up without the hassle.
The most remarkable feature is the 2-minute timer that will turn off your water to eliminate waste (or help manage forgetful family members).
Easy installation supports 1- or 3-hole counters; no plumber is necessary if you can turn off the supply water line.
