From lights that turn on when you come home and doors that lock themselves at night, to automatic pet food dispensers and tools that tell you whether you left the hair straighteners on, connected and smart home technology is set to revolutionise the way we live in 2015.
A smörgåsbord of Internet Of Things gadgets are already available for those who want to start living in the future, but which offer the best experience? Let’s take a look at the best products for staying in sync with your four walls and how you can develop a clear strategy to avoid disappointment.
Trackr Bravo
Remember whistle-to-find keyrings? Well, the Internet Of Things brings a big upgrade. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)-enabled objects can communicate with Bluetooth-compatible smartphones over much wider distances and with far less battery drain than typical Bluetooth.
That makes modern locator tags irresistible, and Trackr Bravo is the best of the bunch. The thinnest such device available, the Bravo alerts users’ smartphones whenever the two are separated, whilst its app can lead owners straight to that missing set of keys, lost dog or stolen wallet.
Nest
Whether you want to turn on your central heating from your bed or from the bar, the future is now. Google’s acquisition of Nest has already garnered plenty of headlines for allowing householders to turn their boiler on and off with a mobile phone, as has British Gas’ Hive.
Here’s the rub. Whilst this new convenience is nifty, it doesn’t offer more nuanced control for dwellers with more than a few rooms. Turning an entire home heating system on and off is less efficient than controlling individual radiators, which would ensure unoccupied rooms are not heated, thereby saving money.
Alternatives such as Honeywell’s Evohome thermostats wirelessly enable individual radiators, but the danger there lies in investing in a product which might become obsolete. In the absence of a standard, device vendors will integrate with the one with largest market share and the best compatibility, and that will be Nest.
Whistle
Many people are now embracing wearable fitness gadgets to learn about and improve their activity, heart rate, posture and sleep. So why should pets miss out?
Whistle, a collar-mounted wearable for dogs, times and tracks Fido’s exercise and rest rates, helping man’s best friend achieve goals and giving graph-based insights to concerned owners. A quantified, internet-connected dog may seem like a Californian folly to some owners, but makers say Whistle’s reports, over time, can provide valuable insights into canine health and help vets diagnose problems before they become serious.
August
Designed to be incredibly easy to install yourself in around 10 minutes, the August smart lock for your door unlocks as you approach it, and locks behind you once you leave. This is another example of a device that isn’t internet-connected merely for the sake of it, it also allows users to let packages or visitors in.
You can control who can enter and when, so for example if your neighbour is feeding your cat while you’re on holiday, you can issue a key so that they can only enter during certain windows of time. For the more serious control freaks, it is also possible to see a log of who entered and exited, and at exactly what time.
If you have the August installed, you won’t need your usual keys to get in, so you could take your Trackr Bravo off your keys and repurpose it for anything else you misplace frequently.
Top-Notch Connectivity
All the technology in the world won’t make your home smart if your underlying connectivity is under-par. The dirty secret of many ISPs is that old routers, like unwashed bed linen, can harbour bugs. Yet many customers never change their routers.
Not only should they demand their ISP give them the latest model to overcome any old problems – latest routers also come equipped with the newest WiFi antennae, meaning your home hub is more likely to support the latest smart home gadgets and more likely to be future proof for the next wave of Internet Of Things.