September 23, 2020
10 Ways to Utilize Your Smartphone to Control Your Home
This is a Rented Blog guest post from Bella Robinson
Your smartphone is no longer the gadget that lets you make calls, text your friends, listen to music, take pictures or browse the internet among other functionalities. If the smart home technology bug has already bitten you, your smartphone is your friend in controlling your smart devices whether at home or away.
Smart devices allow so much convenience and efficiency, helping you save money and time. Being able to control them from your smartphone only adds spice to this.
Here are 10 ways that your smartphone can help you control your home:
1. Make the most of your showers
When you step into your shower, you want to have a relaxing experience while still keeping your water bill at a reasonable figure. With just a tap on your smartphone, you can set your shower to run for a short duration, at a lower pressure to save water. Moreover, you can tune the shower to your desired spray. So, if you want to create a mini-spa in your bathroom and enjoy that pulsing massage-style spray, consider a shower replacement to a smart shower-head that you can control through your smartphone.
2. Be on top of your grocery shopping
There is nothing more frustrating than getting home from a grocery store, only to find that you didn’t purchase some necessities. However, this experience is about to be extinct with the invention of smart fridges. Through an app in your smartphone, you can look through the camera installed in the fridge to see what groceries need topping up. Some models are also able to sync the shopping list to your phone.
3. Clean without lifting a finger
Vacuuming the house is not everyone’s cup of tea. Thanks to robot cleaners, now you don’t have to deal with this task. You can comfortably control it to clean the house while following your favorite TV show or reading a book. Better still, you don’t have to worry about last minute visitors with your busy schedule, you can schedule the robot to clean the house even in your absence.
4. Feed your pet
If you are a pet lover, your most frustrating moment is probably when you are not home during their feeding time. That could mean the poor creature dealing with the hunger pangs much longer until you get home. But, not anymore. With a smart pet feeder device, you can now schedule meals for your furry friend with an app on your smartphone.
5. Control the temperature
The best feeling in the world is being able to heat and cool the house without worrying about escalating energy bills. Your smartphone can help you control the temperature of your home at different times of the day, and according to the current temperature. That means that you can keep it low when you are away, and heat it up when at home.
6. Check on your laundry
Multitasking is always a savior with modern busy schedules. With a smartphone, you can be able to monitor how your laundry is doing while taking care of other chores. You don’t have to keep checking the cycle status or the detergent tank level. You can see all that through an app in your smartphone.
7. Water the lawn
We all love a well-maintained lawn, and now with a smart watering controller, you can enjoy this without worrying about the watering needs. All you need is an app to schedule watering times, or change the schedule according to the weather.
8. Peek who is at the door
Now, you don’t have to be at home to see who visited your home. With a smart doorbell, you can see anyone who is at your door, and even be able to talk to him or her through an app in your smartphone. That lets you control who you let in, especially when you don’t want distractions.
9. Brew some coffee
Who wouldn’t love waking up to a steaming hot cup of coffee? You no longer need to leave your bed to make your favorite espresso or java. Control your smart coffee machine from under your duvet on your smartphone. Set the number of the cups that you want, the flavor, and tell it to wake you up when the coffee is ready.
10. Track your sleep
It would be good if sleep swept you away as soon as your head hits the pillow for that much-needed good night sleep. While this is not always the case, you can now fast-track your falling asleep with smart pillows controlled through your smartphone.
Conclusion
Clearly, there is so much that you can control in your home with your smartphone. The problem would arise if you have so many confusing apps in your smartphone, which can also limit functionality. Consider syncing compatible devices in one place for easier control.
AuthorBella Robinson
Interior Designer and Design Columnist
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