We have Nest thermostats. Really good since we travel often and can monitor what is happening at home. They turn the temp down to an eco setting when we are away.
I had thought to put in Nest smoke detectors but this was harder – you have to switch all smoke detectors over and probably connect to a network in the cloud.
We completely renovated a country house this past year and last month bought a house in our hometown (we are doing significant renovation). Nest thermostats and likely camera doorbells on both houses.
We just installed the first few smart things in our home during a remodel about 18 months ago. I love everything we’ve added including our nest thermostat so controlling the temperature from afar is easy. We used to come home in the summer and the house was so hot but leaving the AC on all day while empty was so wasteful. Now we can turn it on a couple hours before we get home…or turn the system off while on vacation and turn it back on remotely the morning we come home. Our new garage door came with a smart opener. We don’t need it often but I’m so appreciative for it when we do. And I like our ring doorbell too.
We haven’t had the need to add any smart lights yet but wouldn’t hesitate if the need arises. Last night I came home from a trip to an empty home. It was 10 pm and, once on our block, I opened my garage door from the uber and, as I stepped into my house, the motion-detected light came on and I remembered how much I love all these newer features.
We also put nest smoke alarms in. I believe they last for years but let you know when it’s time to replace (?)…realizing I now can’t remember so I better refresh my memory. But, if I never have to hear that beeping when the battery is dying (and never being able to figure out which specific smoke alarm was beeping), I will be a happy camper.
We will likely change our side gate soon and I will add what I believe is a smart lock, one that you can provide a different code to people (i.e. gardener, one time handyman, etc.) so each has access only as long as you want them to.
Omg, the illusive annoying dying battery beeper! We haven’t integrated smoke or Carbon monoxide detectors yet, but they’re on the short list.
@collage1 can you see battery level in the Nest app?
Under the category of “smartish” I just put up a couple of solar motion detector lights in our trash area. Works great if we pull out the cans after dark, but aren’t trigged by the wildlife that tends to wander there (we have fruit trees and live on a canyon so we get critters big and small).
We just had a smoke alarm start beeping. Replaced the battery. Couldn’t figure out what was causing the problem. Asked the electrician to look at it when he was fixing other stuff. he said, “It is programmed to die after 7 years whether it has a problem or not.”
@shawbridge - Its not programmed to die”. If its not hard wired the battery will need to be replaced after 7 years. It should send you a notification to your app.
Just asked dh about the nest smoke alarms and he said they were electric so no battery to ever beep or run out. Nest does offer a battery option for those who want or need that.
We have nest thermostats, smoke detectors, temperature sensors, indoor and outdoor cameras, google hub and google nest hub and the “my Q” remote garage door opener that we can use or Amazon can use to deliver packages. It notifies us when the garage is opened/closed and we can use the app to open/close it.
DS#1 has all this plus the nest security system, nest/yale door lock, nest hello doorbell and devices that not only control the lights but also can change the color of the lights in the room. GD loves that.
Nest or not, battery or not, you need to replace your smoke detectors after 8-10 years. The sensor itself degrades and becomes much less sensitive and can put your life at risk.
I would not invest in any “smart” device that is supposed last 10 years and is a PITA to get to to replace. In 2 years, the tech driving it (apps etc.) could be obsolete.
Here is my anecdotal piece. We were given a smart doorbell (by a major brand) as a gift. Because we were remodeling this place and doing substantial work on the outside, the doorbell sat in a box for about 9 months. Well… it can’t be easily installed with the current version of the app. We gave up and threw it out. Our time is more valuable than spending it on the phone with tech support.
In 2 years, the tech driving it (apps etc.) could be obsolete.