A smart home hub is a centralized network that controls the smart gadgets and features in a home. The Smart home hub is a small device, about the size of a small router. It acts as an interface between your smartphone apps for gadgets and other smart devices in your home. The smart home hub simplifies the process of remotely controlling multiple features in your smart home.
What is a Smart Home Hub?
Is it necessary to have a smart home hub?
I will say, yes it is very important to have this device installed and running your smart home. I agree, for every smart device you install in your home, there is probably an app to control it by using your smartphone. But think about it, you will need to download so many apps and open them one after the other whenever you need to use the smart features in your home.
The smart home hub synchronizes and coordinates all the apps you need in your smart home as one general application that controls everything. Many owners of smart homes have made comments such as, “it is such a chore to keep up with the apps and features,” some others avoid installing newer smart technology because they are already overwhelmed with the existing smart installations in their homes.
With a smart home hub, you won’t feel burdened adding new smart features because controlling everything is easy.
The smart home hub concept
In the market you will find different types of smart home hubs, you should choose brands that indicate the hub is compatible with other brands. For example, you may choose a hub made by Samsung which is compatible with Apple smart devices, Panasonic products, and other top brands.
With this approach, you are not restricted to the brand of smart products you can buy and install in your home. The hub is connected to the internet via Wi-Fi or other connectivity options as stated on the product manual. When it is connected, the smart home hub can synchronize with all the compatible smart devices in your home, bringing about a universal control through only one smart app instead of many.
With your smart hub, you can also coordinate the functions of each smart device in your home to function with each other. For example, you can establish settings that make your lights go dim at a particular time in the evening, or set your sound system to play a particular playlist in the morning while the coffee maker starts working at the same time. It makes your life easy with smart technology.
How dependable are smart home hubs?
Considering the fact that you will be controlling so many smart devices and features in your home with this device, it needs to be dependable. In the market, you can find smart home hubs that are powered by batteries, and there are models you can connect directly to a source of power. It is important you check the battery ratings and read reviews before buying brands that use the batteries. Strong batteries will help you avoid situations such as the inability to control your smart home features because the hub is not functional.
Some of the smart devices your smart home hub will be able to manage include smart security cameras, lights, smart thermostats, and locks, as well as smart plugs. This is just a short list to give you an idea of how you can extensively use smart hubs in homes.
The best part is that there is no compromise in the functionality of the smart devices in your home when you use the smart home hubs. You will also have the same level of control. For example, you can control your smart locks remotely, or turn on the lights in your home while you are still away at work in the evenings.
Bundled offers with smart home hubs
Some businesses have made it easy for you to enjoy the benefits of the smart home hubs. You can find bundled offers which feature a list of smart devices and features for your smart home with one smart home hub attached to the package.
The idea is to offer you a standard and high-quality smart home hub that has been tested with the smart devices you will get from the offer. With this approach, you will not have to worry about compatibility issues between a smart home hub and other brands of smart devices.
How to get more from smart hubs for homes
There has been a creative wave of new designs for smart hubs that can be used in homes. In a bid to offer the users more, manufacturers of smart hubs such as Amazon have added features such as speakers to their smart hubs. This means you can do more than controlling your smart home devices.
The addition of speakers in smart home hubs makes it possible to perform actions using virtual assistants such as Alexa or Siri. You can find information online, perform research, listen to the headlines or weather report. These gadgets can also be used to set reminders and organize your day.
These added features can be used without compromising the standard functions of a smart home hub; however, they cost more than your regular hubs.
Here are some tips you should consider when shopping for a smart home hub;
Choose a brand that can be updated with newer software. This means you won’t need to buy a new smart home hub when a new software version is released; all you need to do is perform an update.
You may also want to consider the additional features of smart home hubs with speakers offer. If it suits your lifestyle, go for it. You must also ensure the smart home hub you are buying is compatible with different brands to avoid unnecessary restriction during its use.
Smart home hubs are easy to use. Don’t be worried about learning how they function, after all, they have been developed to give you more control over your smart home.