How to turn your house into a high tech home

We have all seen the old movies where the home is so high tech that it does everything you could want it to do. Where are those homes? Well, the dream has fallen far short of those movies, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make the dream a reality. With the advent of computers and internet controlled devices, you can make your home as good, if not better than those homes in the movies. Here are some of the essentials.

Amazon Echo or Google Home Assistant

These 2 devices are control centers for a lot of things. They are quite amazing. Each has its own strengths and weakness but both are just getting better and better over time. You can have them play soft music, dim the lights, or wake you up in the morning. You can tell them to call mom and they will dial and put her on speakerphone. They will talk back to you and even tell you jokes if you ask. If you use them as the central hub to the house, controlling other items, you are already halfway to the future.

Amazon dash buttons

This is such a simple thing, but so very cool. If there are certain products that you use all the time, such as washing detergent, it’s great. When you run out, instead of having to go order, or even asking Alexa to order, you can just press a button. You get that button from amazon and you stuck next to the washer and it will automatically make the order, bill it and set up delivery. How cool is that?

Smart TV

A smart TV connects to the internet and various services. You can use various things to control it, but the easiest is again either Alexa or Google home. You can change channels, pick a movie, turn it on or off, and pretty much do anything that you would normally do, but do it with your voice. It only works on some models, but more are coming all the time.

Smart mirror

This one actually started as a do it yourself project and then exploded all across the internet. Basically, your mirror lights up with information. Such as you can have your bathroom mirror show your calendar for the day as well as the weather. Any information you want, all while having a shave and still using it as a mirror. There are a few companies that have jumped on board as there is a great demand, but if you are a DIY kind of guy, there are a ton of instructions online.

Smart entry doors

There are smart locks that you can lock and unlock from somewhere else through your smartphone or pc. You can make a one-time code for someone to enter your house just the one time only (instead of giving that mother in law a key). Some of them have cameras built in as well as intercoms. If someone rings the doorbell, you can answer as if you were home, see them on the camera, and unlock the door if you want, and do it all from miles away.

Networking and Wi-Fi

A must these days is wiring the house for networking and Wi-Fi. There are just so many things you can connect to make your house smarter, and with almost everyone having computers these days, the better you prepare your house, the easier it will be to make it magic.

IP cameras

These are cameras where you can see parts of your house from anywhere. You can check the dog, watch the backyard, or check to make sure the kids are behaving. It’s a bit like big brother, but the nice part is, YOU are the one that is playing big brother.

Internet of things

Many manufacturers are making devices that connect to the internet. From refrigerators to fish tanks. This is one of the reasons you need to make sure your house is wired for it. You can keep putting items on the system and pretty much control everything from one location.

Whether you are keeping your home, or getting ready to sell it, making it high tech will drop everyones jaws if it is done right. Instead of waiting for the Jetsons to get here, its time you just do it yourself. There are gadgets for almost everything; it’s just a matter of imagination.

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