The world is rapidly changing and developing, with technology playing an increasingly important role.
That is more evident than anywhere around the home, where life has evolved for the modern-day family in a short space of time. For instance, how many of us still use an alarm clock instead of the alarm on our phones? Very few, one would imagine.
The way we relax has changed, with TV and entertainment on demand. Working from home used to be restricted to a handful of people, but the recent situation around the world has seen many UK employees working from home. The ease with which this was possible has even prompted 9 out of 10 to say they would like to keep doing so, according to a BBC report.
This technological revolution is only going to gather more speed as the Internet of Things and smart tech find their way into our homes. With that in mind, we have brought together some essential items of smart technology that could further improve your family life.
Virtual Assistants
Devices such as Alexa are already commonplace, with many households turning to smart assistants for day-to-day tasks. Did you know, you could use your smart assistant to act as a nanny though, vastly improving your family life? The parenting website Parents describes how you can use your assistant to tell your children stories or to broadcast a message to the whole house when you need to.
Virtual assistants are surely this generations satellite dish or mobile phone; they seemed quite niche at first, but very soon you will be hard pushed to find a home without one.
Smart Heating and Cooling
We have a moral responsibility to look after the environment, something we already covered in our article 12 Easy Ways Families Can Help Look After The Environment. Smart tech can certainly help with that. You could add a smart thermostat to your existing boiler, enabling you to remotely control your heating from an app, amongst other things.
You may want to go even further and replace your existing boiler completely; this could certainly help with your energy efficiency and combined with technology could improve your quality of life too. The new boiler guide by HomeServe suggests there are several times when you might consider a new installation, including a mechanical breakdown, or the current system is failing to meet your family’s needs. This might be as your family expands and you require more warm water than before. If that applies to you, then it is certainly worth exploring the smart options around your heating system.
At the other end of the spectrum, a smart fan switch can help keep your fans working remotely to cool your home.
Connected Vacuum
Vacuuming, especially in a busy family home, can be a time-consuming chore, which makes this smart technology relevant for parents. Robot vacuums get on with the job on their own, making their way around the house whilst you are free to do other things. They are clever too, you program which rooms you want it to do, and which you might want it to avoid.
Smart Plug
Smart technology is all about exciting functionality and gleaming new devices, which makes a smart plug a seemingly dour choice. Far from it, a smart plug can transform your existing fixtures and fittings. The plain old lamp you have had for the last 10 years is suddenly transformed in conjunction with a smart plug. You can control devices you have had for years via an app, and some even measure things like electric usage too. Imagine, no more worrying if you have left your hair straighteners plugged in, or if one of the kids has left their TV on, not with a smart plug!
This is a collaborative post