Owners in larger homes or older properties with thick walls should begin by searching for any black spots in their Wi-Fi network coverage. This means your internet connection, home network and - as has increasingly become the case in recent years - a smart speaker or display from the Google Home (now called Nest) and Amazon Echo ecosystems. Just like the building itself, your smart home needs to be built on solid foundations. Owning the property gives you more freedom to make the perfect smart home iStock We'll also address issues with installing devices in shared buildings like apartment blocks, where issues like a security camera with a view of your neighbors' driveway, or a video doorbell looking into a shared hallway, come into play. This is by no means a complete list, but serves as an overview of what smart devices are available, and what can be installed to make your home smarter.

What follows is GearBrain's guide to the most popular smart home products available to homeowners. Here, with the freedom to change door locks, dig up gardens and even replace the entire plumbing and electric if you so wish, the limits for smartness go as far as your imagination, or your budget. Thermostats, smart switches, outlets and locks, for instance, are mostly off the table.īut with your own property, things are often quite different. But, as we have previously addressed at GearBrain, those who live in rented accommodation are restricted with just how smart they can make their homes. There is so much more to the smart home of 2022 than an Alexa smart speaker or display, a Wi-Fi door lock and some color-changing smart LED bulbs.

Remotely switched outlet