Home Tech you need for your property in Swindon

Swindon is a rapidly modernising city that’s become a hotbed for exciting young talent across many industries. Achieving ‘Fast Growth’ status, the average income for a Swindon household is well above the national mean due in part to its fantastic connections to nearby population hubs.

The proximity of the M4 makes it straightforward to reach Bristol, Bath and Reading, the A420 puts Oxford in touching distance to the north-east and commuters can reach West London in an hour. All of these factors have made Swindon a highly desirable place to live and one that first time buyers and people moving up the property ladder should add to their list of considerations.

But with an increase in disposable income and an eye on the future, what kind of tech should Swindon homeowners be looking at to make their properties cutting edge?

Smart Tech and Smart Devices

Using the internet to automate certain parts of our daily lives is no passing fad and once you’ve experienced smart living, you’ll ask yourself how you ever managed to get by without it. Light bulbs, heating and cooling systems, personal assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, doorbell cameras, integrated music systems and security networks are all available at a online tech site consumer level requiring very minimal technical know-how to operate and integrate into your lives.

Before, you might have used your iPad as an eReader or a gaming device, to access your favourite online poker site, but now with your home fully connected and automated, your tablet or even your smartphone becomes your own personal control hub.

Zigbee

Zigbee is an emerging protocol that enables all your smart devices to talk to one another using a common language. An online news site that offers guides state Zigbee is a much more efficient method than using an existing network – like WiFi or Bluetooth for instance.

Zigbee is a low power solution that is effective up to a range of approximately 100 metres indoors and has since been adopted by tech giants Amazon, and integrated into some of their 4th gen products.

Amazon Studio Echo

The main problem we’ve had with previous iterations of the Echo, the Dot, Apple’s HomePod and Google’s Nest is the quality of the sound never quite measured up, especially if you wanted to use it to play music. Thankfully, the Amazon Studio Echo gets two thumbs up for sound quality, containing five frequency tuned speakers to create a 3D sound.

Believe us when we say that this brings music and movies to life plus it does everything that Alexa can do including controlling all aspects of your automated home.

Smart Lighting

Maybe the easiest upgrade to install in your home is replacing your existing bulbs with smart ones. Being able to control your lighting from your tablet or phone allows you to turn off lights you’ve accidentally left on, set security lights for when you’re away and create a lighting schedule that coincides with your routine – like an additional alarm clock.

As your phone connects to your home WiFi network when returning from work, it’s possible automatically to set a ‘scene’ with certain bulbs turning on to welcome you home. We like the Hue bulbs from Philips which let you set brightness, colour and tone and will last as good as forever. They are expensive, however, so we recommend replacing only the most used bulbs first.

Being able to control your lighting from your tablet or phone.

Heating System

Smart heating is just one of many online business trends, it’s a tech which allows you to control the temperature of your home remotely. This means you can turn your heating on as your family journey’s home so it’s already comfortable when you arrive.

The system requires a master thermostat that controls smart radiator thermostats which can even be retrofitted onto older systems. Having such a fine level of control allows many homeowners to save significantly on their heating bills by not unnecessarily warming empty rooms.

The tado range of products is worth considering – it has everything you need to upgrade your home heating system, today.

Doorbell Cameras

A doorbell camera is fast becoming an essential bit of home security tech. Review footage automatically uploaded to the cloud of door visitors whether you’re at home or away.

For sheer simplicity, we rate the Eufy Video Doorbell 2K which offers great quality, wide aspect recording, battery operation – so you can install it in a jiffy – and no need for a subscription due to its internal storage device.

Smart Lock

A smart lock allows homeowners to do away with the need for a traditional key. Access can be granted or revoked to guests or family members who can use their smartphone or a fob to enter the property.

Smart locks are also useful if you rent your property out, eliminating the need to leave the keys in a safe place or with a neighbour or even meet tenants to have replacement keys cut. The Ultraloq Smart Lock features tamper updates sent to your email, fingerprint entry and control from Alexa or Google Assistant.

Plugs

Of course there may be other miscellaneous electrical devices that you want connected to your system. It might be your favourite lamp, a radio (to musically accompany your morning routine) or to automatically switch off chargers when not in use – some continue drawing power even when not charging.

Smart plugs sit between the plug of your existing device and the power socket and many feature a usage monitor which is great news for the energy conscious. The TP-Link Kasa Mini Smart Plug is a solid first option for households beginning their smart home journey.

Although Swindon has been voted one of the safest places to live in the UK, it’s always wise to invest in some peace and mind with technology that can help keep you and your family safe. And, safety aside, a smart home wastes less energy and takes care of many monotonous tasks for you.