Smart Home solutions have been around for a while. You could buy smart light bulbs that lit up when you walked into a room, or a thermostat that could manage a room’s temperature throughout the day. But systems were usually disconnected from each other, and managing them wasn’t seamless or simple. Fortunately, we’re seeing considerable improvements in what’s available on the market, and X-cite’s new Smart Home Automation area, now available in X-cite at the Avenues, Phase I, is the best place to start.
Besides the fun, futuristic element, and the novelty of clapping your hands to turn on the lights, smart homes are also efficient. They use less energy, cost less in the long term, and are much more convenient than traditional solutions. For example, lights and air conditioning can be automatically turned off when not in use.
Almost everything in your home can be fully automated and controlled using different tools. You can easily control the lights, TV, thermostat, and security system using voice commands or an app on your device of choice.
If you’re just getting started on your home automation journey, we have some great tips for you courtesy of the good folks at X-cite.
Lights on
Connected lights are probably the easiest and most exciting place to start. You are probably aware of lights that can be turned on and off but we want to take you one step further. Color changing bulbs and strips can really change the aesthetic of a room and create the vibes of your dreams with minimal effort. From the Phillips Hue Wireless Indirect Light Strips to Govee Flow Pro TV Light Bars, you have a wide selection to choose from at X-cite. Your friends will love spending time in your living room because of the chill ambience. And they’re not just pretty they’re also quite practical if you program the light to get progressively warmer in the afternoon to help you fall asleep easier.
Be Safe
We’re generally very lucky to be living in a safe country like Kuwait, but a doorbell camera makes it easier to see who’s at your front door even when you’re not home. They’re easy to set up and install and can alert you to visitors, abnormal sound or motion at your door. And most models include an option to also talk to your visitors, which is great for giving a delivery person instructions if you are not home. Consider the Xiaomi Mi Camera 2K that can be mounted magnetically and used as a baby monitor. Or alternatively, the Ring V3 Lite Video Doorbell that gives you real-time notifications and the ability to record snippets of everything that happens at your front door.
Perfect Weather, All Year Round
We all know the struggle. The room is too cold, so you turn up the thermostat, so it becomes too warm, and you have to turn it down again, rinse, repeat, ad infinitum. An automated system will learn from your preferences and automatically change the settings to make sure that the room is just perfect. Our favorite is the Google Nest. It is sleek and smart. Just set it and forget it.
Art is for everyone
We love hanging art on the walls, but we also love changing things up all the time. The Netgear Meural Canvas is the perfect addition to any wall. The 27” display is Wi-Fi connected and can be used to show anything from your personal photos to classic paintings. It has an anti glare matte display that works in all kinds of light.
Your personal assistant
You can easily control all of the above using apps on your phone and some even work with your smart watch, but what really brings the entire Smart Home system together is adding a voice command hub like the Apple Homepod, Alexa or Google Nest. They’re all great at what they do, and it might make more sense to purchase the one that matches your existing environment, so iPhone users can seamlessly integrate with the Homepod while Android users will appreciate the Google Nest. You can do everything from dimming the lights to starting your Spotify playlist by asking your hub device to do it for you. We told you, the future is here, and it’s brilliant.
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