Home upgrades that are really SMART


 

Home upgrades that are really SMART

Home itself is a pretty big investment, so when purchasing furniture or gadgets for your home, it is worth considering is it really worth it in the long run. For example, is buying a smart TV for the living room worth it? Or you'd pretty much watch in your bedroom? 

In this article, we give you a rundown on seven gadgets that we found to be worth your hard-earned money. Take note, that these gadgets are not necessarily cheap, but they sure to payoff in the long run. 

7 Smart Home Upgrades That are worth your $$$

1) Smart Thermostat

With the heat waves and winter storms attacking us in the middle of the seasons, it is no wonder that our electric bills also spike. Not only it manages the energy used around the house, it also make our lives easier and more convenient. 

Nest is usually the go-to for a thermostat. But let's step a bit more out of our comfort zone and consider ecobee WiFi Smart Thermostat, it is certainly stylish and easier to control. 

 

2) Smart Video Doorbell

You can leave full-bore smart home security up to your prospective buyers. After all, they’ll likely have specific requirements you won’t be able to second-guess.

What you can do is throw in a video doorbell. This will add a valuable extra layer of security. You don’t need to go OTT with the pricy Ring Video Doorbell Elite, since there are so many pocket-friendly options glutting the market. Sticking with security specialist Ring, you could opt for the Video Doorbell 2 at a much more reasonable price-point. Even the classic Video Doorbell is well worthwhile and currently up for grabs at an aggressive discount.

Video doorbells make for a great smart home upgrade since they’re so easy to install and use. This is a precious safety feature in its own right while the night vision camera makes things even more secure.

We’d suggest rolling with the battery-powered variant for the ultimate user-friendly experience.

3) Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Continuing to mine the safety angle, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors might be the last smart home upgrade you’re thinking of adding to your own home. Let’s be honest, this type of smart home hardly has the glamor or enjoyment factor of Google Home Max or a smart TV. This, though, is exactly why they make a smart home upgrade that will pay off later. You’ll be delivering something to prospective buyers they can gleefully do without buying themselves.

Fires can be ruinously damaging to homes, at best involving a costly and time-consuming insurance claim. This is why it’s necessary to invest in a smoke and carbon monoxide detector.

The First Alert Smoke Alarm is hardwired for maximum dependability and offers wireless integration with other alarms in the home. For a fraction more, you could consider the Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Alarm packing a piercing 85-decibel alarm and the same wireless interoperability. You can tie these and other alarms together with the Insteon Smoke Bridge resulting in streamlined push notifications.

4) Smart Lock

Another smart home upgrade that undoubtedly goes down a treat with would-be buyers is a classic smart lock.

You can make a striking impression with the tech-laden Ultraloq, one of our favorite smart lock of recent years.

Housed in a weatherproofed zinc alloy chassis, this lock will offer your buyers maximum choice with minimum fanfare. Fingerprint recognition with storage capacity for 95 sets of prints should satisfy the tech-freaks.

Beyond this, the lock can also be opened with a smartphone (how cool is that?). 

A solid, 1-year battery life and an attractive price tag completes a winning package.

5) Smart Toilet

You can use the bathroom to make a statement beyond some simple LED shower lights or a smart mirror.

As with smoke detectors, this is likely not the kind of purchase buyers would be too keen on making, but something that would certainly appeal for that very reason.

While the Toto Washlet is not exactly cheap, this type of upgrade has the very real potential to add to the value of your house, so it’s not money flushed away.

And the flush on this toilet boasts 3D Tornado Technology so your buyers will be wowed by the power while only using 1.28 gallons per flush. This translates to savings of over 16,000 gallons of water a year for the average family. 

Glazing and pre-misting keeps this toilet clean without any real user input. The lid opens and closes automatically in the true spirit of smart home technology. To ice the cake, there’s a cleaning function onboard with 5 settings and adjustable water temperature along with a heated seat and deodorizer.

The Toto proves you don’t need to spend $10,000 on a wall-hanging smart toilet to get ample intelligence. We defy any prospective buyers not to leave the house talking about the Toto. This is another upgrade that can yield massive dividends and possibly even swing the balance on a house sale.

6) Smart Shades

Automated shades also allow homeowners to lower and raise them remotely, giving the house the appearance of being occupied even when nobody’s home.

Smart shades are a practical and functional smart home upgrade that will cost little, but could make a significant impact on your listing.

The MySmartBlinds Automation Kit comes with an integrated solar panel as a wonderful eco-friendly touch. This kit enables you to take charge of existing blinds using either Alexa or Google Assistant although you will need the bridge to enjoy this hands-free control.

You can also schedule the blinds daily and weekly in-app on your smart phone.

7) Smart Projector

Our last tip for smart home upgrades that will pay off later is a targeted attack at smart entertainment. We often have multiple TVs in our house, and although it looks cool, it takes energy and money on the outset. 

According to MFE’s Concept Community Survey, next-generation appliances command the highest return on investment. You can expect an ROI of 11% more than with standard appliances.

A smart projector can really make a difference if you are a home-entertainment buddy. If you already have a TV in your living room, a smart projector in your room certainly won't hurt the back. Plus, you can get all lazy with watching movies from your ceiling

As a final sweetener, if you sign up for our email newsletter, we’ll throw in a 15% discount off your first Prima Projector order.