10 smart home gadgets and gift ideas you can buy for all occasions
A smart home is a great way to simplify life. By using nifty tech and time saving gadgets, you can easily control various aspects of your home remotely either via your mobile or with Alexa or other voice-controlled virtual assistant.
Alexa and Hive – the dream team
We’ve been working on ways to make managing your home even easier by integrating Hive and Alexa. Now, you can connect your Hive products to your Amazon Echo or Echo Dot so Alexa can control everything for you seamlessly.
Once you’ve dipped a toe in the smart home waters, there’s loads to discover, and it can make a great gift too. It might play havoc with the element of surprise in gift-giving, but if you’re planning on giving smart home gadgets then it’s worth a conversation with the intended recipient first to make sure they’re comfortable with what could be quite a substantial change to their home. Chances are though, if they’re already an Alexa adopter, they’ll be well up for discovering lots of cool new things they can control in their home with it.
Check out these smart home devices to automate your home or give as smart gifts.
1. Smart home heating system for the family
Be more energy efficient and lower your bills by installing a smart heating system. With a Hive Thermostat and Hive Radiator Valves, you can create a family of smart heating products that will give you complete control of the heating in every room of your home individually, so you can always have each room as warm as you want it, without ever having to heat an empty house.
These devices would help out the busy family where everyone is in and out of the house at different times, so Mum and Dad can stay cosy in the living room while turning off the heating in the teens’ rooms when they’re out, and scheduling it to switch back on just before they get home.
2. Smart home security to keep your loved ones safe
There’s so much you can do to keep your home and those you love in it safe and secure, whether you’re there or away. At Hive, we offer a range of motion sensors that you can customise to the specific needs of your household.
3. Smart home lighting to help your friends set the scene
A great idea when you’re home, and even better when you’re away. You can set the scene from your sofa by dimming the lights for movie night from your mobile with smart lights, and set them to switch on and off automatically while you’re away so that it’s not obviously an empty house.
If you’re a frequent traveller who is often away from home, or you have a movie-mad mate who loves a full-on popcorn-packed home cinema experience, then smart lighting is perfect
4. Multi-purpose smart home sensors and plugs
Hive Window or Door Sensors detect if they are open or closed, and our smart motion sensors pick up movements in your home, and you’ll get an alert if anything is out of the ordinary.
You can even link them to other Alexa gadgets for an even smarter home, for example to switch on a light when someone walks past or to turn the heating off when a window is opened.
If you have scatty friends who worry about leaving the iron or racking up the electricity bill, then smart plugs could be their saviour.
5. Smart home water monitors for the energy-saving conscious
In the same way a smart meter can help monitor and reduce your energy usage, a smart leak sensor tracks your water usage to give you advance warning of potential hidden leaks. Or just lets you know if the kids leave a bathroom tap running upstairs - before there is a flood downstairs to alert you!
6. In-home spa experience with smart diffusers
The future of home fragrance is here! You can set scent schedules in advance, and change settings with your voice or an app to create the perfect atmosphere for your home. Some diffusers even double up as humidifiers or multi-task as night lights, allowing you to set your spa scene just as you like it.
If you know anyone who loves a little pampering and indulging in spa days, they will appreciate one of these as a gift.
7. Home doorway upgrade with smart doorbells
No more leaping out of bed to answer the door! Install a smart doorbell, and you can tell the postie where to leave your package from under the duvet. They’re potentially great for the community too, by enhancing neighbourhood security with doorstep video and early alerts.
Not just for the lie-in lover in your life, a smart doorbell could be really useful for anyone who’s recovering from an injury or is a bit slower than they used to be and can’t always answer the door in time.
8. Smart interactive pet cameras
Keep an eye on your furry friends when you’re out and about or on holiday. Not only do these allow you to see what your cat or dog is up to and check that they’re safe, some are interactive so your pet can hear your voice or even remotely give them treats!
These smart pet cameras make the perfect gadget gift for pet lovers.
9. Smart garden gadgets that do gardening work for you
From robotic lawnmowers to smart sprinkler systems, these Alexa gadgets make short work of garden chores. You can set schedules to water the garden and mow the lawn while you get on with something you actually want to do. And if it starts raining, you can switch them off remotely so there’s no need to get soaked yourself.
Reluctant gardeners would appreciate these doing the hard work for them, while more green-fingered types might also welcome their help with the basics, while they get on with other more interesting jobs.
10. Smart kettles to elevate your hot-drink game
These Alexa gadgets allow you to schedule when they boil, as well as being able to switch them off and off remotely. Want boiling water exactly 20 minutes after you wake up and 10 minutes after your shower? You got it!
Any tea lover of caffeine addict is sure to appreciate the smarter way to make a brew.
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