Ways to Add Smart Home Features to Your Home

Gloria, Georges, and doggie George are ready to get settled into their new home. Gloria is sharing how they utilize smart home features to make life easier. I’ve been finding ways to add smart home features to my home for a few years.  Being able to be connected to my home while I’m not there is important. I’m not at home as much as I’d like to be, so it helps to control lights, thermostats, and locks while I’m away from home. Also the ease and convenience of doing things straight from my phone or smart watch makes my life easier.  

I wanted a smart lock so I could control the lock while I wasn’t home. Having separate codes for others to have access to the house also meant I wouldn’t have to make copies of keys. Now I can give a dedicated code to my mom or give a temporary code to a neighbor if needed. This can be a time saver, rather than having to provide them with a key. 

This is a sponsored post, but as always, we’re giving our own opinions of the product(s). 

As we began researching smart locks, we found a wide variety of them. We searched for other reviews of them and that led us here. After reading reviews and through continuing our search to make sure we did a thorough comparison, we chose the Schlage Connect Touchscreen Deadbolt.  Schlage has been a leader in door locks for a long time and I trusted their technology and I trusted them to make a secure lock. It was important that the lock not need its own separate hub to work so that it would be compatible with any z-wave hub for when I add that to my smart home. 

We were excited to open the box and check out the new lock.

It took about an hour and a half to install the lock and it had its challenges. The Schlage YouTube videos definitely helped. For detailed installation instructions, Schlage provides an on line resource as well. 

Our door frame was not set for same size as the lock. We needed to cut the door frame to fit the new metal piece that sits inside the door frame. Most of the hour and a half was spent carefully carving out the frame. Once that piece was fixed, we added a few screws and it was ready to be programmed. 

Basic steps for preparing door for smart lock installation

• Remove plate and deadbolt from door
• Measure slot in door frame
• Make adjustments to slot if necessary
• Use a wood chisel to carve the slot to correct measurement
• Install lock
• Attach metal plate with screws

Basic Steps for Installing a Smart Lock on Door

• Install support plate
• Connect the cable to the alarm assembly & install the alarm assembly 
• Install batteries and battery cover
• Set up the code for the lock

The daily use of the lock is very simple. Since each person can have their own code, I didn’t have to memorize anything new. I’m lucky to have a car that has a key-less start. The downside of this though is that my keys are always at the bottom of my purse or way down deep in a book bag because I haven’t needed them since I left the house in the morning, making them hard to find. Before having this lock I’d spend several minutes in the driveway trying to find my keys. Now I’m able to get out of the car and walk up to the door and simply enter my code and then I’m in the house. It’s also much easier to push the code on the lock than it is to use a key to unlock a door when you’ve got your hands full. 

Programming was very easy and we set up codes in less than two minutes.

I have quite a few Google Minis and other Google Assistant devices that make my day run smoother. From my wake up routine when Google knows to automatically give me a list of my tasks and meetings from my calendars, and telling me the weather so I’ll know what to wear, to turning my lights on, then giving me news headlines including a traffic report to tell me how long it will take me to get to work all while I stumble out of bed (not a morning person!) helps me start my day! 

I enjoy our Sony Speakers with Google Assistant built in.

My smart home started with a collection of Philips Hue Bulbs. I finally got my little apartment set up with all hue bulbs and now with the move into a house I have to be selective on where my existing hue bulbs go. I’m excited to try their new outdoor collection once we set up our patio! These bulbs are fun to use for the holidays, too. 

Wemo outlets have been a lifesaver.  As soon as I’m about 5 minutes away from house I inevitably ask myself “did I turn my curling iron off?” After doing that a million a times I decided to use a Wemo plug so that I could check it after I drove away from the house. I’ve used Wemo outlets for holiday decorations as a way to turn lights on easily. Its so much fun to say “Ok Google, turn on the Christmas tree!” 

I had a Nest thermostat at my apartment that I loved. It was nice to control it away from home and turn down the temperature on my way home. Its hard to set up a schedule for a thermostat for me when I’m home at unpredictable times so that functionality was helpful. The next smart home piece I plan to get is a smart hub so that all of the smart devices can be controlled through one app. We haven’t decided on which one yet. 

I would encourage you to look into the smart home devises that are best for you. They really can make life easier and some are helpful in keeping things organized, too. Are you using smart devises in your home? We’d love to hear about them in the comments.

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Ways to Add Smart Home Features to Your Home

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