Smart home products have become the talk of the town as they provide highly modular and advanced controls for your devices. They make your life easier and are a great time saver. Looking for the perfect starter kit can take a lot of work, especially if you are looking for each device separately. Although you will get good discounts on separate products, it will add to a lot of work and you’ll have to make sure that the devices are compatible with each other. Whereas, if you purchase a starter kit, you will be saving a lot of time on the hunt for the compatible products, but you might not get as good discounts as you will get while purchasing the components separately.
Samsung F-MN US-2
The smart home kit includes
- SmartThings Hub,
- SmartThings Monitor Sensor,
- SmartThings Multi-Purpose Sensor,
- SmartThings Outlet,
- SmartThings Arrival Sensor, and
- SmartThings Water Leak Sensor.
All of these devices are connected wirelessly, and they help you to know when your doors and windows are open & closed or if there is any movement in your home or not. The Outlet will let you control lights, electronics, and other small appliances, while the Arrival Sensor lets you know when any person or vehicle arrives and leaves your home. The Water Leak Sensor informs you when there is any water leakage in your home. It works with a wide range of devices like the thermostat, speakers, locks, etc., and using the SmartThings app or Amazon Alexa App, you can control your smart home. It retails for $138.
Philips Hue White and Colour LED
This set comes with three A19 smart bulbs, one Hue hub that can connect up to 50 light points, and a smart button that can be customized up to 5 scenes for app-free control. These products can be placed anywhere that includes magnets, and you can choose the lighting from various scenes like energize, relax, concentrate, and more. You can control the lights directly from the app as well. This kit enable you to set timers and synchronize the lights with your mood and environment you want to create or personalize the lights from the app. This kit costs $180.
Ring Alarm 5 Piece Kit (1st Gen)
This kit will solve all your worries about the security of your property as it protects your home from inside-out, and gets mobile alerts every time it detects any motion. It doesn’t require any professional tool or installation, and it’s easy to maintain. Connect this kit with your smartphone to control the alarms, doorbells, and cameras from one central location. If you pay an additional amount of $10/month with the Ring Protect Plus, then it will provide you professional monitoring to reach emergency services, enable cellular backup, and 60 days of unlimited video recording and photo capture for your ring cameras and doorbells. You can sign in for 30-days of free trial and cancel it at any time without paying any cancellation fee. It works with Alexa as well, and the whole kit consists of a base station, keypad, contact sensor, motion detector, and range extender along with a year of limited warranty and services. This kit is available for $200.
Blink XT2 Smart security camera
It is a versatile indoor and outdoor wireless camera that has a 2 year-long battery life. The two-way audio allows conversation using your smartphone. Keep an eye on your home using the night vision and motion detector. It is very easy to install this kit. All you need to do is create an account on the Blink app, then plug-in to sync the module, and connect to Wi-Fi, insert batteries, sync your camera, and it will start its job to protect your property. The cameras don’t require any monthly contracts to work, and it also provides free cloud storage for up to a year. Connect it with Alexa to view live streams, motion clips, or disarm your system. This kit comes in various configurations that can range between $100, for one camera to $380, for five cameras.
Arlo Pro 3
It is a wireless security camera that will protect your home from any threats. Installing its camera is very easy, and the camera provides 2K HDR video quality and gives a 160° field of view. The color night vision captures all the activities in dim light and it is integrated with the spotlight that wards off unwelcome guests. From your smartphone, you can check everything that the camera is capturing. It provides a Cloud Activity Zone feature that lets you customize the focus of the camera on important areas such as the backyard when the kids are playing or driveway, and it also offers 30 days of cloud storage for all the audio and video recording. The solar panel battery charger that comes along with the package is compatible with other Arlo certified products. This kit ranges between $460 to $800, depending on the size you choose.
Finding a starter kit to meet your requirements will take a lot of research, but the result will be worth the hunt and money. And don’t get disappointed if the starter kit doesn’t checkmarks all your necessities. It will, certainly, help you create the foundation block for creating a better smart home.
