Benefits of smart home technology

A reminder of what smart home technology is

Smart home technology uses your home Wi-Fi and internet to control compatible devices in the home. It can also use a smart speaker and its voice assistant to help make controlling these devices easy.

TV in a smart home

With a compatible smart TV you can simply ask the TV’s in-built voice assistant to switch to a channel, or play a movie you want. It means that you can control your TV without having to fiddle with the small buttons on the remote control.

Music in a smart home

Certain kinds of speakers can connect to your home Wi-Fi to be part of a smart home. You can have speakers in multiple rooms, and ask the smart home to play music in just one room, or across the whole house, using your preferred music streaming service. It can be much easier than using an app on a mobile device.

Lights in a smart home

Compatible light bulbs can connect to your home Wi-Fi and be part of a smart home. Once the bulbs are connected to your smart home, you can ask for the lights to come on at a certain time each day, control lights in particular rooms, change the colour of the light, or adjust from bright to soft to make it more comfortable to read and relax.

Smart switches in a smart home

To work with a smart home, devices need to be specially made to do so. But if you have a favourite old lamp, or an electric heater, you can make these work with a smart home using a smart switch. A smart switch simply plugs into the wall socket. You then plug your old lamp into the smart switch, meaning it can be turned on or off via voice command, or according to a schedule you set up.

The heart of the smart home: the smart speaker

The smart speaker is the heart of your smart home because it is where you give voice commands, and hear replies. For example, the smart speaker’s voice assistant can:

• control all the smart devices in your smart home
• search the web for you
• make appointments
• check your calendar
• tell you about the weather

Smart speakers are easy to set up, and not too expensive

Smart speakers come in a few different sizes and can be quite inexpensive. It’s easy to set up a smart speaker and start your smart home quickly. All you need is a:

• smart speaker
• a mobile device such as a smart phone or tablet with a special app installed
• a home Wi-Fi network with internet.

Well done!

This is the end of the Benefits of smart home technology activity. You’ve learned that compatible devices can be controlled using a smart speaker, and each kind of device makes life a little bit easier, in its own way. You also learned that a smart speaker is the heart of a smart home, and that it’s easy to set up and not too expensive!

Next up, you’ll find out how to get started with your own smart home in the What you need for a smart home activity.