Technology to Make Your Home Smarter and Life Easier
I recently had the chance to try out some smart home products thanks to Verizon Wireless. I had a great time trying out these handy devices and loved how each one made life just a tad bit easier in its own way.
It is now time to send them back, but first I will give you a quick overview of these handy gadgets.
The Ring Doorbell This easy to install doorbell works with an app and can that notify you when there is motion at your door or when the doorbell buttons is pushed. With a built in camera and video recording service you are able to answer your door from your phone and talk to whomever my be visiting.
My favorite feature of this device was the ability to catch the video of what was happening when the doorbell was pushed. This allowed me to decide if I needed to answer the door or if it was just UPS ding dong ditching me a package.
The Nest Learning Thermostat This handy thermostat learns your habits. After adjusting the temperature consistently at certain times of the day, this thermostat learns what temperature you like and what time you want it. After a few days it will start doing it for you automatically. If you like to turn the temperature up or down before going to bed, this smart thermostat can do it for you. It also learns that when it is adjusted from heat to cool that the season has changed.
With the connected app it is easy for you to adjust the temperature from where ever you are. Energy saving features allow you to choose away options if you will be gone for sometime. When you are ready to return, just set the temperature desired from the app and the perfect temperature will welcome you home.
I travel quite a bit and will adjust the temperature before I leave to save some money. My favorite feature of this device is the ability to adjust the temperature via the app so my home is the perfect temperature the moment I walk in the door.
The Nest Protect This device detects both smoke and carbon monoxide. In addition to the different alarm signals, one for smoke and one for CO, this device also speaks and tells you what is wrong. If you have multiple Nest Protects installed throughout the house, the device can tell you which room the problem is in. This device connects to an app and will message your phone if something goes wrong. This Nest Protect uses a battery and instead of just beeping it will tell you when the battery is low or needs replaced.
Nest Protect continuously tests itself with the nightly promise feature. When you turn out the lights for the night, Nest Protect will glow green for a moment which means everything is working. If it glows yellow that can indicate the wifi is down, a battery is getting low or another issue. Just push the Nest Protect button or check the app to see what the issue is.
My favorite feature of the Nest Protect is that it tells you which alarm is having the issue or needs the battery replaced. I am ready to switch out our smoke alarms with these devices as the ones we have now are hardwired with a battery back up. When one alarm goes off they all do and it is always about 3 a.m. It gets very frustrating at times as it’s hard to tell which one is low. We had one alarm that would never stop beeping even though it had new batteries. My husband finally through it out in the street and ran over it with the truck! If only it could have told us what was wrong!
Verizon Wireless also sent me the Google Home to try out. I absolutely loved everything that handy device could do which you can read about here.
For more information on the Nest line of products or the Ring doorbell visit the Verizon Wireless website.
Disclosure: Although, I was compensated by Verizon Wireless to review these products, all opinions are my own.
