Taking the plunge on smart home can be intimidating when the market is saturated with so many great products. Then when you add in the opinions of trusted friends, the thousands of reviews you read online, and start looking at costs associated, a smart home can start to feel like more of a hassle than a solution. Sound familiar?
Spoiler alert: Smart home is cost-effective, secure, and simple.
We're debunking 5 myths you may believe about smart home and teaching you how you can make your home smart.
Myth #1: You need to be tech-savvy.
Hub or no hub? How does it work with other smart home products like Ring? What if my wi-fi goes out? Do I need an electrician? These are all questions you've probably asked yourself.
The beauty of smart home is that the majority of smart home products these days are plug and play. This means that you plug it in and it's good to go! Sure you'll have to create an account and adjust settings, but that's the fun part and when your home starts to work for you!
Some smart thermostats and door locks may require a little extra time for installation, but their apps will typically walk you through set-up!
Your home is only as secure as you make it. Smart home products use your home's wi-fi to communicate, so it's important that the first thing in your home that is secure is your wi-fi. Next, when creating accounts, use a random password generator to ensure your password is not easy to guess. Also, make sure all of your accounts don't use the same password. This makes it more difficult for thefts to access your information.
But you don't want cameras and speakers inside your home? That's fine. Choose devices that don't have cameras OR choose devices that have manual privacy features built-in (like Brilliant!). Our controls offer the ability to manually turn Alexa on/off and even have a privacy shutter so that you can manually restrict video and audio in addition to disabling it within the settings.
Myth #3: Making your home smart is expensive.
We know smart bulbs like Phillips Hue and LIFX can be tempting, but you don't need to go all-in on smart lighting. You also don't need to put a smart lock on every access door. You don't even need to put cameras throughout your entire home.
To have a smart home, you need two things: 1) A central hub and 2) a way to control it. With two Brilliant Controls in your home, you gain smart lighting, 24/7 video monitoring inside your home via Live View, an intercom, and more. This means that Brilliant is the hub of your home that you can control from the wall and from the Brilliant mobile-app! (Cha-ching! That's money in your pocket you just saved from purchasing third-party products that work with Brilliant.)
Want some inspiration on other smart home devices you can put into your home? Check out this blog post.
Myth #4: Smart homes are a luxury.
Smart homes are no longer reserved for the ultra-rich. If you've got wi-fi, your home has the potential to be smart. By plugging in a smart speaker like Sonos with Alexa, you instantly gain a home assistant that can control your lights, locks, music, and more. Or by installing a doorbell and smart lock, you can see who's at the front door and let them in from anywhere.
Smart home is the standard expectation for anyone that wants to know their home is secure, safe, and that they're in control.
Myth #5: Smart home devices run up your electricity bill.
Smart home devices such as smart thermostats, blinds, and lighting, likely won't save you thousands of dollars. But as they adjust to your routines and to your climate, savings can add up. Where the financial boost of smart home comes in, is when you go to sell your home. Zillow found that by having smart products in your home, it could not only sell for more, but it could sell quicker (15 days quicker!).
If you make it this far, congrats! You've debunked the top myths about smart home. If you still have questions about smart home, the ecosystem of products we work with, or want guidance on making your home smart, reach out to us at support@brilliant.tech.