September brings a return to crazy routines and schedules with kids being back in school and all sorts of sports and clubs resuming too. Juggling Life requires more planning on the home front so this week on our blog, we’re looking into how your house can be managed and juggled remotely while you’re shuffling from the ice rink to the dance studio. Smart appliances are literally all the rage and it’s amazing how much of a switchboard your smartphone really is.
Maybe you’re already digitally wired up to everything in your house or perhaps this is something you’re just looking into getting started, but here are some appliances you can use to control things at home, from afar.
There are more and more appliances out there that are able to be adjusted and monitored from afar, letting you run your house efficiently while you run your Life. Many of them help save you money and allow you to keep up with your busy schedule, so they’re definitely something to look into. Let us know which smart appliances you value the most!
Mark
Maybe you’re already digitally wired up to everything in your house or perhaps this is something you’re just looking into getting started, but here are some appliances you can use to control things at home, from afar.
- Your air-conditioner: Though summer temperatures have waved farewell for the most part, you can adjust your air conditioner remotely if for example, you forgot to turn it on and your pet is left at home.
- Your washer and dryer: Not sure if your kiddos will remember to transfer items from the washer to the dryer while you’re out on a grocery run? There’s an app for that. Depending on which smart appliances you buy, you can monitor the progress of your laundry from afar, letting you send a text to remind them if they get distracted with other things.
- Sprinkler controls: You can control your sprinklers from afar by using the proper apps that tell you the temperature and let you control your watering based on analytics it picks up. This will help save water (ever see sprinklers that run on a timer, regardless of weather, so you’d have sprinklers going off in the pouring rain??), and help the environment, too.
- Home alarm: You can disarm or arm your system from afar, based on your needs. You’re able to view security cameras, adjust lights and thermostats, disarm the house to let people have access to your house when needed and just have that extra peace of mind of knowing what’s going on with the safety of your home while you’re not there.
- Oven: Your oven can be turned on and off remotely, adjust the temperature and cooking time too. If you prepped a meal and placed it in the oven, you can time it to turn on while you’ve stepped out of the house, making sure dinner is ready the second you walk through the door. Some ovens will even tell you the caloric intake of your food and how much it weighs!
- Thermostat: this is one of the most popular items to install simply because it is huge on being able to save you money and adapts to your lifestyle. It monitors and self-adjusts based on the schedule it picks up from your actions, you can control the temperature of your home from outside the house and even texts you a reminder to change the filter in your furnace.
- Fridge: Not sure if you have milk in the fridge? A camera inside your fridge can tell you if you do while you’re standing in the dairy aisle at your local grocery store. You can also scan bar codes of the items you throw into your fridge, thereby getting texts to alert you to expiring dates and more.
- Meter plug: this device monitors your electricity use, sending you alerts to your phone when needed. Plug it into any outlet and hook up any appliance you want to monitor. If you’re not using the appliance at any given time, the meter will cut off power to that plug, and redirect it elsewhere, helping you save money.
- Pet Feeder: This one is genius! Stuck on the roads or decided last minute to stay out for dinner, but don’t want your pet to go hungry? You can feed your pet remotely with an app if you’ve purchased a pet feeder that allows for digital feeding, thereby ensuring your furry family members are fed and content, too.
- Lock your doors: How many times have you doubted yourself about locking doors? There are certain apps and appliances that enable you to lock or unlock your doors from anywhere in the world. This allows you to give access to people to get stuff in your home without having to hand out keys and can also deliver peace of mind because it can let you know when your children get home after walking from school (and forget to text you to say so).
There are more and more appliances out there that are able to be adjusted and monitored from afar, letting you run your house efficiently while you run your Life. Many of them help save you money and allow you to keep up with your busy schedule, so they’re definitely something to look into. Let us know which smart appliances you value the most!
Mark