My House Is Getting Smarter Than Me

They call it a smart home. I’m not sure who that makes the dumb one in the house, but I have my suspicions. 🤦🏻‍♂️

I’ve been tinkering with this stuff a little at a time. I’m not one to rip everything out and start over. I add a piece, live with it a while, and see if it earns its keep. Here’s where things stand.

The one I’d buy again

If I could only keep one gadget, it’d be my smart thermostat, the Aqara Smart Thermostat W200. I love that thing.

It’s not flashy. It doesn’t talk back or play music. It just keeps the house comfortable, and I don’t have to get up out of my chair to fiddle with it. At my age, that’s what you call a quality-of-life improvement. 😂

That’s the whole test for me. The good gadgets just work. I set them up once and mostly forget about them. If I have to babysit a gadget, it’s not making my life easier. It’s giving me a new hobby, and I’ve got plenty of those already.

Next on the list

I’ve got two projects coming up: the Aqara Doorbell Camera G400 and the Aqara UWB Smart Lock U400. Yes, same outfit that made the thermostat. I guess I’m a brand-loyal kind of fella. They’re not installed yet, so I can’t tell you how they’ll do. I’ll report back once they’ve been on the job a while.

The doorbell appeals to the nosy neighbor in me. I like the idea of knowing who’s at the door before I get up. And the smart lock means one less thing to worry about when I’m halfway down the road wondering if I locked up. 🤔

Of course, anything that goes on the front door has to work every single time. A thermostat that hiccups is an annoyance. A lock that hiccups is a problem. So I’ll be watching those two closely.

The junk

Not everything makes the cut. You know the type. The gadget that needs its own app, its own account, and its own password, and still can’t remember what it was supposed to do.

I have several smart bulbs; however, I doubt I’ll buy another one. They’re quirky about when they work and when they don’t, and of course they sometimes fail. I’ll gradually replace all my smart bulbs with switches and plugs. Configure those once, and forget about them.

My 2 cents: be careful with anything cheap from a company you’ve never heard of. Sometimes you get a bargain. Sometimes you get a paperweight with Wi-Fi.

Keeping an eye on Apple

I’m also looking forward to the new Apple smart home devices. I don’t know much more than anybody else yet, so I won’t pretend to. But I’m curious to see what they come up with, and whether it makes all these gadgets play nicer together.

Is it worth it?

A smart home is not for everybody. If you don’t like fiddling with things, it’ll drive you up a wall. But if you’re half geek like me, it’s a lot of fun. Also, I see many smart devices as a great fit and help for the elderly and handicapped.

Is it just me, or is the house starting to look at me funny? 🤔

— Rick