Anyone who has been here before will know I love smart home tech, but there is a snag with that, it can be crazy expensive, like £10k to set up an integrated hard wired system is about the norm! But so you know how to set up a smart home on a budget?
Can it be done? You bet it can!! Full-designed systems are for people who can throw £10k at a system that will just close your blinds and dim your lights which is nuts!
Im gonna show you how to set up a smart home on a budget that can have the same functionality as a high end Schneider system which costs around £1500 for the control screen alone!
Smart home isnt going away, check these stats on usage increase
I need to know How to set up a smart home on a budget!
I’m going to assume you understand what you mean by smart home systems and devices, if not check my post here which explains more you might just want to be able to control your heating from your phone or be able to dim your living room lights without having to get yourself off your couch!! Or you might want to control everything possible via phone or by a smart hub like an Echo dot or view.
What could I make Smart in my house ?
Lights
CCTV
Central Heating
Each Radiator
Door bell
Any plug socket
and of course, you need a ‘hub’ that can control all the above with either an app or even better by using your voice.
I’m going to list a few of the devices that i think will transform your house without breaking the bank.
Hubs/Control Units
These are the main connective control units of your smart home, (let’s call them hubs for simplicity) to be honest, you don’t need one to start out with, if you just want a smart thermostat, you don’t really need a hub for example, but once your smart home starts growing in connected devices, its better to have one device to control them all or you will end up with as many different apps to control then as devices themselves!!
For A more detailed reviews of smart hubs, check this post here
Hub choice is down to your preference and what the hub will control ( you have to check with each device if it can be controlled by the hub you have bought) Also all these hubs are at the end of the day smart speakers so they can play various media from your phone or connect to streaming services or internet radio.
Echo Show by Amazon,
£150
You’ve probably heard of “Alexa” right? well this is Amazon’s flagship echo model, this is literally 100’s of smart devices with either the app or your voice. It’s the one I use even though most of my tech is Apple!!
Apple Home Pod.
£299
High-quality hub that connects seamlessly with Apple’s growing army of compatible devices.
Google Nest hub Max.
£219
Like the Echo Show has a screen so if you connect your smart door bell to it you can see who’s at your door without relying on your phone.
Ok, so we now have the main ‘engine room’ of our smart infrastructure up and running so whats next in our how to set up a smart home on a budget guide?
Smart Thermostats
This is usually most people’s first step into the world of smart, smart thermostats are the go-to in heating controls when people change the boiler or when builders are building new houses, They have many features that will defo change your life for the better!! You can control your heating from your phone no matter where you are, they can also ‘learn’ your schedule, so your heating will be off whilst you’re at work and be nice and warm when you get home! The Nest one will also use geo-fencing to know when you’re coming home to have the heating ready for you!! Again for a more detail review of smart thermostats read this
Nest
£219
Feature-packed smart themo that ‘knows’ when you’re coming home!!
Hive
£90
The Hive is a cheaper option than the Nest, it also can learn your comings and going with Geolocation, Mini knows if you’ve gone out and left the heating on – and sends you an instant reminder to turn it off. Or better yet, connect it to a Hive Door Sensor and it’ll automatically switch off when your front door closes. Handy
Tado Smart Heating Kit
£99 for the thermostat £210 for the radiator starter pack
The benefit of the Tado system is it has small thermostatic controllers for you attach to your radiator valves so you can literally control the temp of each room with either your phone or your hub.
Lighting Control
Smart lighting is one of the next systems you buy as you build your smart home and is a logical step in our how to set up a smart home on a budget list.
Smart lighting has a couple of benefits as well as it being super cool to control your lights with your voice (I have mine set up as Wesley Snipes did in Demolition Man, to switch on I say ‘illuminate!) You can set a schedule for them to come on or go off which is good for security and saving money. Again these systems operate with their own apps or check to see what works with your choice of hub
Phillips Smart Led Strip
I personally use this system in my kitchen above my units and I love it, you can change the colour, the time it comes on and goes off, you could put it behind your telly and you can cut it to size.
Tapo Smart Bulbs
If you want to be really budget-friendly, this 4 pack of smart bulbs will save you a nice chunk of change.
easily controlled by the tapo app or your choice of home hub.
Phillips Light Bar
Need something more directional? check these cool light bars from Phillips, which works with all the above hubs and their own smart App. This is perfect for creating a certain ambiance behind your telly.
Smart CCTV and Doorbells
Finally, to show you how to set up a smart home on a budget we come to CCTV and doorbells. The main benefit of smart CCTV over the regular camera and dvr system is, that you can access the footage wherever you have a decent internet connection plus they will notify you whenever they get triggered, thus prompting you to check your phone to see what’s happening or talk to whoever’s at your door.
Blink Outdoor
I use this camera to monitor my garden, and its quality and performance has been second to none. Hi-def pictures even in the rain, reliable alerts and a battery that has upto lasted 2 years! Also connects with amazon alexa so you can get voice notifications when theres a alarm event.
Arlo Cctv
Arlo is the main competitor of the Blink system and for most of the features there’s not much to choose from between the 2 ( they would probably disagree with me!) Again Good battery life, hi-def images and real-time notifications
Smart video doorbells
These have revolutionised front door security and convenience, now you’ll never miss another parcel, all the doorbells on offer door mainly the same thing although they do now charge to store your footage..boo! for a more detailed review check my post here
Smart Plugs
For the ultimate how to set up a smart home on a budget device, check out a smart plug, this way you can control any device ( that dosn’t need extra input to switch on) such as a heater, a lamp or a radio to boost your home security, again the tapo is as good as any
For this option, you don’t need a hub, just the app that controls it. From this app you control switch the plug on and off, set up a schedule or set holiday mode so the plug will switch on a telly, radio or lamp randomly to make it look like your house is occupied
Conclusion
So that’s the end of our how to set up a smart home on a budget, as you can see it is possible to do the smart home thing on a shoestring but still retain full functionality. Take my advice when you can and buy a hub, as you can literally control any device or full room or floor with just one tap. Believe me, once you start buying smart home gear you will keep going and before you know it you’ll have 8 different apps to control it all!. Trust me once you go smart you’ll never flick a light switch again!!
