Types of smart home tech

Smart lighting lets you adjust the brightness and colour of your lighting to suit your mood or environment – dim the lights for a movie night, wake up to refreshing bright light, or create a party atmosphere - all from your smartphone or smart speaker.

Adding elegance, ambiance, and convenience, smart lights also offer home security and better energy efficiency.

Imagine walking through the door and the lights are already on as it’s past sunset, or sitting on the sofa asking your voice assistant to dim the lights so you can watch a movie – smart lighting lets you do this and much more.

You can automate lights to come on and off whenever you like – set a light to get gradually brighter to wake you in the morning, or dim slowly at night when you go to bed.

Home or away – you can check which lights are on or off from your smartphone for peace of mind.

Lighting

Things to consider when choosing smart lighting

Smart thermostats let you remotely monitor and set your home temperature and central heating schedule via your smartphone or tablet. They provide you with a more efficient heating system, with easily accessible controls and a user-friendly interface.

They should not be confused with smart meters, which digitally send your meter readings directly to your energy supplier for more accurate bills but cannot control your central heating.

Thermostats

How do smart thermostats work?

There are three components to a smart thermostat – the first plugs directly into your boiler, the second is the thermostat and main control which replaces your existing thermostat and connects to the first component via WiFi, and the third is your smart device with downloaded app. The app allows you to control your heating from wherever you are.

How do smart thermostats work?

What are the benefits of a smart thermostat?

Some people find traditional thermostats confusing and are reluctant to changes any settings in case it causes issues. With a smart thermostat you get complete control with a user-friendly interface – you can adjust settings within the app or on the thermostat itself.


Setting heating schedules via an app is easy to do and fits in with busy lives. If your plans change and you’re going to be late home, you can easily adjust your thermostat rather than heating an empty home, and if you’re going to be earlier than planned you can switch the heating on so you arrive home to the warmth.


Learning thermostats like Nest go a step further, learning your routine and preferences to customise your heating and hot water schedule.

What are the benefits of a smart thermostat?

How can thermostats save you energy and money?

Smart thermostats give you the power to switch the heating on and off at the tap of a smartphone screen, so you’re never heating an empty home – even if you’re late home from work or plans change.


Some thermostats learn your preferences and will automatically adjust the temperature to suit you throughout the day, or they can be programmed to come on when you’re on your way home from work. They learn how long it takes to heat your house, so you always walk into a warm home.


While a smart thermostat won’t immediately save you money like switching your energy supplier can do, it can provide you with reports and insights about your home so you can start to understand your energy usage and adjust your behaviour to heat it in a more efficient way. This should help save you money in the long run thanks to reduced energy bills.

How can thermostats save you energy and money?

Is my boiler compatible?

Smart thermostats will work in most homes with an existing thermostat and boiler, but we advise you check compatibility before purchase.

boiler

What about installation?

Some manufacturers may offer installation included in the price or as an optional extra when you purchase your new system. We offer professional installation for selected thermostats.

installation

Smart plugs offer a broad range of uses and are a simple way to make any appliance ‘smart’. Simply slot the plug into your socket, then plug in any appliance or gadget you want to control. The plug connects to your home WiFi network either directly or via a hub to provide wireless control via an app.

You can switch the plugs on and off at the touch of a button, or set up schedules to automate them. For example, you can plug in your existing lamps and easily switch them on and off for convenience or security. Ease worries when you’re away from home by checking you’ve switched off your iron or hair straighteners.

Some plugs offer energy monitoring so you can track how much energy you’re using and make changes to reduce it.

Plugs

Control your smart home products using only your voice with a hands-free smart speaker like Google Home. They allow you to use smart products with a single voice command and provide helpful assistant features. Ask what the weather’s like, check your diary, set a timer, and even play fun family games.

Each smart voice control speaker has a “wake word” so that when you speak to the device it will listen and respond to your request. Google Home, for example, responds to “Ok Google” or “Hey Google”.

It only takes a few minutes to set up a smart speaker. Simply plug the power cable in and open the companion app – you’ll be guided the rest of the way on there.

Speakers

What are the benefits?

Voice control speakers let you use your smart devices without the need for a remote, and because you can link multiple devices, you can turn on groups of lights or speakers with just one command.


Connect to your music on streaming platforms like Spotify or play the radio with web-based services like TuneIn without needing to connect a thing. Simply say “Alexa, on Spotify play the Acoustic playlist” or “Ok Google, turn on BBC Radio One”.


Using the Voice control assistant functionality you can set an alarm for the morning, check your calendar, check the traffic, and much more, all without having to touch your phone.

Lights

How easy are they to set up?

It only takes a few minutes to set up a smart speaker. Simply plug the power cable in and open the companion app – you’ll be guided the rest of the way on there.

Speaker

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are an essential in every home, and a smart smoke alarm offers increased safety features. You not only get an alarm in the home, but also an alert on your smartphone if there’s a problem or the batteries are running low.

With remote access you will know if the alarm has been triggered even when you’re away. If you’re at home and have simply burnt your toast, you can silence the alarm at the touch of a button in the app. Nest Protect smoke and carbon dioxide alarms speak to you in a human voice and tell you what the problem is. You can also connect the alarms to other smart home products for safety.

For example, by connecting your Nest Protect Alarm to your Nest Camera, if your alarm sounds it can switch on your camera to start recording. If you aren’t at home you can quickly check if there is visible smoke.

Nest also links with Philips Hue, so your lights can change colour when the alarm sounds, either to warn you, or to light the way through smoke for a quick exit.

Speakers

A smart doorbell uses WiFi to notify you via your smart device when there’s somebody at the door. You can see, hear, and speak to anyone at your door so you never miss a visitor again.

Speak to your delivery driver and let them know where to leave your package so it’s secure, or simply catch friends and family visiting when you’re out. They also save recordings and footage from your front door to help keep your home secure.

They are available in a range of options, including hardwired to your existing doorbell connection or battery powered to work on any home with or without an existing doorbell. Check individual product pages for further installation, or see our installation packages offered by Currys.

Speakers

Smart security cameras are the smart evolution of traditional CCTV cameras. You get an instant view of inside or outside your home from your smartphone, tablet, or PC.

They’re ideal for increasing home security, keeping an eye on a sleeping baby, monitoring your pets, and making sure your family is home safely while you’re at work. Along with recording the activities around your property, you can receive alerts if loud noises or excessive movement is registered so you can check and deal with any issues as soon as they happen.

They work with other smart home devices too, so you can receive an alert and a live stream from the camera if a motion sensor is triggered, a door or window is opened when everyone’s out, your baby cries, and more.

Different cameras use different methods of storing footage – some have memory card slots for downloading straight to your PC, whilst others use Cloud storage, so even if your camera is damaged or stolen the footage is still safe. Check individual product pages to find out what type of Cloud subscription each product includes.

Security cameras

Smart baby monitors let you use an app to check in on your baby, and some also include a standard monitoring device. You can see and hear your baby so you don’t need to get up to check on them when they make a noise.

Some include two-way communication, so if all they need is a little reassurance you can comfort them without completely disturbing you and your baby’s rest. Some can also play lullabies to soothe your baby to sleep.

Baby monitoring