Smart home devices can be overwhelming. With so many sensors, cameras, speakers, and other devices, it’s difficult to know what you really need.

But the reality is, smart homes don’t have to be complicated. Just a few devices can help make your daily life a bit easier.

Here we’ll focus on the main device categories that will help you day-to-day with minimal effort.

Picking an Ecosystem – Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, or Google Home?

You might be worried about what ecosystem to pick, but most devices work with multiple platforms these days.

Here are the key benefits:

Amazon’s ecosystem offers wide compatibility with many devices. Most devices that work with Google Home also work with Alexa.

Apple HomeKit provides a sleek interface for Apple users, offering excellent integration with other devices – but devices that support it can be a little more expensive and there’s not as many options.

Google Home provides great integration with Android devices and provides easy grouping functions so you can see your devices at a glance room-by-room.

Smart Plugs and Lighting

A common first step into smart home automation is smart lighting like bulbs, light strips, and lamps.

It’s easy to see why – they have a low cost entry point, they replace existing inefficient bulbs, and you get immediate satisfaction when you turn them on for the first time. It’s fun to muck around with dimming or colour schemes for smart lights and setting automatic schedules on smart plugs.

They’re also great for tenants as you can keep them if you need to move house.

What can I use them for?

Smart bulbs are often dimmable or colour-switching. You can choose from different light temperatures from warm to cool – or even different colours if you have RGB models. There’s also the convenience factor of having a light switch accessible right from your phone.

Smart plugs provide a remote addressable or schedulable switch for appliances. Being able to remotely turn on the coffee machine or kettle is a luxury we should all experience.

Real-world time saving

If you set up scheduling, you can have conveniences like the coffee machine turning on as you wake up so that it’s ready and warmed up for your morning espresso.

Another option with scheduling is to automatically dim the lights in the evening.

If you set up geolocation your lights can turn on as you get home from your commute.

What to expect and what to look for

Setup time should only take around 10 minutes per device. You’ll need to have your Wi-Fi password handy and be ready to set up the devices with your phone.

It may seem obvious, but a common pitfall is people who don’t know you’ve added smart plugs or bulbs trying to turn the devices on at the wall and finding they don’t work as expected.

Some tips to watch out for include ensuring the bulbs work with your chosen ecosystem, skipping bulbs that need a separate hub (if you’re just stepping into smart home functions) and thinking about what sockets you’ll plug them into.

You can expect to pay from $15 to $30 per bulb at the entry point depending on the features you need and whether they’re RGB or white-only bulbs.

Smart plugs are also in the $15-30 range but a few models can cost more with features like energy monitoring.

Smart Speakers and Smart Displays

Another easy addition to your smart home is an easier way to control your devices. Smart speakers and smart displays can serve as dedicated devices to interact with your bulbs, plugs, and other devices.

They also provide hands-free control, making them super useful when your hands are full.

What can I use them for?

Smart speakers and displays are handy to help you interact with your smart home – but the functions go beyond just light and plug control.

These devices are an excellent companion in the kitchen, letting you set timers and reminders, reading recipes, and getting quick weight and volume conversions without interrupting your workflow.

They can also tell you the news, play music, and more. Smart screens are great for looking at your schedule for the week and helping you stay on top of things.

Your kitchen assistant

Smart speakers and screens are great to put at a central point in your home like the kitchen or living room – somewhere that gets a lot of traffic or a natural stop off on your way into or out of the house.

In the morning you can use it to get traffic and weather information with a simple voice command, and in the evening you can use it to kick off your wind-down time.

What to expect

Voice recognition might be a little awkward to use at first, but it often gets better over time as it learns your schedule, accent, and commands.

Privacy is a common concern with these devices – if you’re worried about it, look for models with a physical mute switch or a camera cover.

Smart speakers are great if you’re looking for an understated addition to your smart home ecosystem. You get most of the functionality without a screen that can look a bit intrusive. Pick one that’s an appropriate size for your room – in the bedroom you can get away with a smaller one than your main living area for example.

Smart displays give you the ability to see information at a glance like calendar reminders, weather, date and time – or even cherished photos. They are a little more expensive, but the added features may be worth it to you.

Smart speakers typically run around $100 or less for entry-level models, while smart displays are a little closer to the $200 mark at the entry point. For bigger sound and larger screens, expect to pay a little more.

Smart Sensors

Smart sensors are a broad category of device that give you monitoring over a range of home functions. From window sensors, motion detectors, temperature and air quality monitors, and even leakage sensors, there’s all kinds of devices you can add into your home.

What can I use them for?

You can use these sensors to simply check on the status of things or even use them to trigger other routines.

The most obvious and straightforward use case is to quickly answer questions like, “Did I leave that window open?” or, “What is the temperature in the kitchen?”

With routines, smart sensors can trigger other behaviours within your home. For example, you could use a door sensor on the front door to automatically toggle outdoor lighting if you open it after dark.

With temperature sensors you could automatically trigger a heater on a smart plug if the temperature in a room falls below a certain point – turning your simple plug-in heater into a thermostat-controlled appliance.

Routines are what makes smart sensors can take a house from “remote controlled” to actually smart.

Real-world usage

Day-to-day smart sensor usage gives you peace of mind and easily understood metrics at a glance. Door and window sensors can notify you when someone is home or remind you if you closed the garage door.

Motion sensors are great for automatic lighting and activity monitoring – even for home security.

Temperature and air quality sensors give you metrics to act on like average daily temperature and humidity, CO2 concentration, VOC monitoring and particulate concentration. You could trigger an air purifier at certain concentrations or activate HVAC units at particular temperatures.

Leak sensors could give you early warning if they detect water in the house, sending an alert to your devices and helping you act early – a great addition for bathrooms, laundries and kitchens.

What to expect

Sensors are usually simple to set up. Door and window sensors often simply stick onto the frame, and leak sensors are placed near the floor. Temperature sensors have similarly easy setup.

Air quality sensors are often standalone devices that can sit on a shelf or end table.

With the companion app it should only take a few minutes to connect each sensor into your network.

In terms of usage, you can interact with these sensors by asking questions like, “What’s the temperature in the bedroom?” or, “Is the garage door open?”

If you have a smart display it may show the status of sensors on the screen, depending on the models you’ve got.

Pricing can vary on smart sensors, but door/window, motion, temperature and leak sensors typically run $15 to $30 and up, while smart air quality sensors are a bit more expensive at $50 and up.

You can often get a small discount if you buy bundle packs.

Look for devices that support the Matter protocol or otherwise ensure they work with your smart home ecosystem.