The best smart home devices are dramatically bringing your dumb household into the future, letting you control everything from the front door lock to the bedroom lights with a phone, tablet or even a smart speaker. Below are the best rated Smart Home devices of 2017! Nebula Consulting was one of the first Smart Home installers in New England. If you would like a free consultation with one of our engineers, contact us today!
Smart Energy Monitoring: Curb Energy
CURB is the most powerful and intelligent integrated hardware/software system for visualizing and managing energy in residential and commercial settings. 18 dedicated sensors give you real-time information about your home’s power consumption, electrical vehicle charging and solar production. Integration with Samsung’s SmartThings platform enables you to directly control appliances on the go.
Smart Light Bulbs: Philips Hue
One thing that you might want to do as soon as you decide to make your home a smart home is switch out the light bulbs – something easier said than done considering how many different options out there. Of them all, however, we think the best smart light bulbs are Philips Hue range of smart bulbs.
Smart Thermostat: Nest Learning Thermostat 3rd Gen
A thinner, sleeker design. A bigger, sharper display. The 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat is more beautiful than ever. With Farsight, it lights up when it sees you coming and shows you the time or temperature from across the room. And the Nest Thermostat is proven to save energy. That’s the most beautiful part.
Smart Security Camera: NetGear Arlo Q
Home security is an important thing to consider, and there are a ton of connected security cameras out there. One of the best is the NetGear Arlo Q, because of the fact that it has a nice design and reliable motion-detection that starts recording when it detects an object moving about. If you buy the camera, you’ll also get a free basic 7-day cloud recording service, and you can access that recorded footage through the accompanying app – which is excellently designed.
Smart Power Switch: iHome ISP5 Control Smart Plug
While there are great smart replacements for many devices, a much simpler option is simply using connected plugs in your power outlets. Doing so will give any device that plugs into a power outlet basic smart features like the ability to turn the device on and off, or the ability to monitor the device's power usage. It's Wi-Fi enabled, and works with HomeKit, Nest and Wink – so it should play nice with your other smart home devices.
Smart Lock: August Smart Lock 3rd Gen
Make your front door smarter with the most advanced and complete solution on the market. Go keyless to lock and unlock your door from anywhere with your phone. Give keyless entry to family, friends or even the dog walker. Lock and unlock your door, control keyless access, and keep track of who comes and goes, all from your phone. The 24/7 activity log means you’re always in the know. The lock easily attaches to your existing deadbolt so you can still use your regular keys.
Smart Doorbell: SkyBell HD Silver WiFi Video Doorbell
SkyBell HD is a High-Definition, video doorbell connected to your home Wi-Fi that lets you see, hear, and speak to visitors at your door simply by using your smartphone or tablet - even if you're not at home. With a 1080p camera, full-color night vision, motion sensor and live alerts - SkyBell HD will conveniently give you peace of mind when answering the door without compromising your safety. And even when you don't answer, SkyBell HD will record video to your cloud account as soon as the button is pressed or motion is detected. So, you'll always know who's at your door.
Smart Smoke Detector: Nest Protect
Nest doesn’t just make great smart thermostats: it also offers smoke alarms, which can connect to the rest of your smart home. That said, the Nest Protect looks great, and it offers great connectivity through Wi-Fi and IFTTT. Nest Protect has been redesigned from the inside out. It has an industrial-grade smoke sensor, can be hushed from your phone, tests itself automatically, and lasts up to 10 years. And just like the original Nest Protect, it also tells you what’s wrong and can even alert your phone.
Smart Flood Sensor: D-Link Wi-Fi Water Sensor
This smart wireless water sensor that helps keep your home safe. It will help you detect water damage before serious problems occur. Get alerted when water is detected in basements, sinks, near a water heater, dishwashers, in a bathroom or anywhere there might be moisture.