This article was taken from the June 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
A networked router can control Wi-Fi smart home products. Other devices that use low-power Bluetooth or radio frequency (Z-Wave, ZigBee, Insteon) require a smart hub. Some hubs can operate across different protocols. Your unified system can be controlled remotely by connecting a smart hub to a router -- but don't use more than one type of hub.
Locate the router close to smart devices that use Wi-Fi. Low-power devices are mesh-based and can daisy-chain a signal. Connect the smart hub to your router using an Ethernet cable. If large distances or obstructions affect the signal, use Insteon power-line range extenders or wireless boosters. Now secure the network with complex passwords. Install the relevant apps to operate.
Connect a smart home lighting hub, such as a Philips Hue Bridge or Belkin WeMo, to your router. Replace overhead and lamp bulbs with smart dimmable LED bulbs.
Download and install the hub's smartphone/tablet app and set the timers so that different rooms come on at different times. Using the IFTTT portal, create sequences to turn lights on, say, in response to weather data from the internet.
By adding a Sonos speaker, you can set volume levels and streaming music or radio on a timer.
To give the impression of television being watched, install a Logitech Harmony Ultimate Home remote and hub. Using its app, set it to switch your TV on and off at various times. It can choose a TV channel, turn on a surround-sound system and adjust the volume so that passers-by can hear it.
Buy a smart home thermostat -- it's best to have a professional installer set it up. Smart thermostats include the Nest, Honeywell Lyric and Inspire Home Automation, the latter of which uses geolocation to automatically change the temperature according to where you live. Set the smartphone app that controls your thermostat to switch the heating off when you leave the house. Specify the minimum distance before action is required. The app can automatically turn on heating either at a set time, when you're within a specific distance of the house, or manually.
Still need more control? Hive's geolocation feature doesn't automatically change the temperature at home, but it does prompt you to do it. You set the distance and temperature you'd like to be notified at when leaving or returning to your house.
At night, wear a fitness tracker that can monitor sleep -- the Fitbit Charge, Withings Aura and Jawbone UP all contain an accelerometer that works with an algorithm to diagnose your sleep pattern. The Fitbit also suggests diet changes, and its dashboard reveals how long you slept and the number of times you woke up in the night. The SleepDebt app, used with the Fitbit, can help you catch up on lost sleep. Set the time you want to wake up and how many hours of sleep you are aiming for per night, and the site will calculate a bedtime schedule.
The Jawbone UP identifies the optimum moment in your sleep cycle to wake you, and silently vibrates up to 30 minutes before your alarm is scheduled to go off. Finally, get a WiFi-connected Smarter Coffee machine. It's compatible with IFTTT, so you can create a sequence instructing it as to how strong a cup to brew, depending on the monitored quality of your sleep.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
