Smarthomes are becoming more common with each passing year, and smart devices are finally accessible enough for the average person. But creating your smarthome isn’t something you should go into without planning. Without forethought, you may make some common mistakes.
Poorly Named and Grouped Devices
Getting your first smart light bulb is exciting. The whole process seems so simple: just screw in the bulb and pair it with an app. For more convenience, you may even have a smart speaker to control your light by voice. Before long, you have several light bulbs because the first worked so well.
That’s where convenience goes out the window. If you find yourself frustrated because you can’t remember what to say to control a particular light in a particular room, you’re missing some crucial setup steps.
Unless you choose carefully, smarthome device names can be hard to remember. Whether you went with “Green bulb” or “Light 1” you’re making things difficult on yourself. You should choose names that describe where the bulb is such as “lamp” or “window light.” Stay away from numbering lights unless you plan on grouping them as one light—for example, if you have four bulbs in a floor lamp.
Speaking of grouping, you should group your smart lights by room. If you have a voice speaker in the same room and group, you don’t have to remember what to say. You can just say “turn off the lights.” But what about rooms without smart speakers?
Too Few Smart Speakers
You might be tempted to stick with one smart speaker for voice control. To start, that’s not a bad idea. But the best voice commands are simple and easy to remember.
With properly grouped lights and smart speakers, you can say “turn off the lights,” which is easy to remember. But, for that to work, you need a smart speaker in the same room as your smart lights. If you only have one smart speaker in the living room, that command isn’t going to work in the kitchen.
We recommend buying multiple Echo Dots or Google Home Minis and sprinkling them throughout your home, especially the rooms with smart lights and smart plugs. That makes voice control easy.
Too Many Kinds of Smart Speakers
While we recommend loading up on smart speakers, don’t make the mistake of having too many kinds of smart speakers. Google, Amazon, Apple, and even Microsoft all have smart speakers you can put in your home. Each has its strengths and weaknesses (Microsoft’s Invoke is mostly weaknesses), and you should carefully consider which to put in your home (if any).
