The
best home automation systems provide an easy and secure way to control all of
your intelligent home systems. The best home automation systems are essential to any
growing smart home.
Home
automation has become a must for many families, and we're here to help you
choose the best system for your needs. We looked at dozens of smart home hubs
before narrowing down the list of contenders, considering such
factors as connectivity, ease of use, and security.
We've
included options that work with everything from voice control to artificial
intelligence, so you can tailor your experience to fit your needs. Our top pick
is [brand name].
Whether
you want a set-up that responds to your voice or a hub compatible with
all your favorite products, there's a system on this list that fits the bill.
First of all, what is a smart home?
A smart home is any house that has some sort of technology in it that's connected to the internet and allows you to control things remotely. So that could be something like a thermostat that you can manage your heating or something like a light bulb you can control with your phone.
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| Image credit: shutter stock |
There
are loads of ways to control your smart home – you can use voice assistants,
such as Alexa or Google Assistant, or use phone apps. You might have an intelligent hub that sends out commands to other devices on your behalf, or you
could have something more advanced such as an automation system for your whole
house.
In
this article, we'll look at the latter – the best systems for controlling all
the elements of your home at once with one hub.
The
best innovative home automation systems give you an easy way to control all of your
connected gadgets in one place.
Imagine
this: You wake up on a Saturday morning and are craving a hot cup of coffee—but
you're still snuggled in bed under the covers, feeling nice and cozy. If you
had an intelligent home automation system, you could simply use your voice to tell it
to turn on the coffee machine—and as long as your coffee maker was connected to
the hub, it would do precisely that!
That's
just one example of how home automation systems can save you time. These
devices also allow you to control lights, locks, and even the temperature in
your house from anywhere with an internet connection.
The best home automation systems, also known as 'hubs,' come in. They
are a singular device that connects to all of your smart devices, regardless of
brand, and gives you an easy, user-friendly way to control them all -
including via voice commands.
They
do this by utilizing connections like your home network, broadband, Bluetooth,
ZigBee, z-wave, and other protocols,
The
best home automation systems in this list are platform agnostic. This means
they can work with a wide variety of devices, which means the days when every
smart device refused to work with devices from other brands and told you
needed a whole army of apps to control everything are long gone.
The
range of intelligent products continues to grow. There are video doorbells, home
security systems, thermostats, bright lights, smart plugs, smoke and flood
detectors, and even locks for the front door of your home. There are also smart
TVs, home music systems, other audio-visual entertainment products, and robots for vacuuming floors or mowing the lawn, all now available to be
controlled by intelligent wireless technology.
The
modern home is becoming an automated one and quickly filling up
with new smart devices. The home automation systems on this list will help
ensure they all work smoothly and give you complete control over all your
smart gadgets.
We've
also highlighted the best home video surveillance.
Best home automation systems at a glance
1. Amazon Echo
2. Google Nest Hub
3. Wink Hub 2
4. Samsung SmartThings
5. Apple HomeKit
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| Image Credit: Amazon |
1. Amazon Echo
The
best smart home hub
TODAY'S
BEST DEALS CHECK AMAZON
REASONS TO BUY
+Easy
set-up
+Voice
commands
+Multiple
features
+Good
compatibility
The
Amazon Echo is a leading hub for home automation, using Amazon's proprietary
Alexa voice-powered technology. You can take advantage of your Echo's built-in
features to control your home's lighting, temperature, etc.
If
you have built a "skill" for the Amazon Echo (a program that gives
the Echo new functionality), you can add it to your Echo through the Alexa app.
You can also add "smart" devices to your Echo.
Once
you're all set up, you can do many things with your Echo. For example:
-
Ask your Echo to tell you a joke.
-
Play music on Spotify by asking what song you want to hear, who sings it, or
when it was released.
-
Get news updates from NPR or FOX News.
The
Echo can work as a standalone device, connecting to a cloud-based service to
provide music, make calls, set up alerts and times, ask questions, or even
request weather and traffic reports. The Echo has multiple omnidirectional
microphones to make it easy to take voice commands from across a room and
includes multiple speakers to make it easy to be heard.
Additionally,
Amazon now provides a range of product variations. The original Echo,
the smaller Echo Dot for the more budget-conscious, and the new kids'
edition.
There
is also now the Echo Spot intelligent alarm clock, Echo Show to act like a small
portable TV, and even an Echo Auto for your car, as well as the Echo Plus and
the Fire TV Cube media player, all of which come with Alexa built-in and use
the same innovative technology.
Whichever
Echo type you use, it should be compatible with most intelligent peripheral devices.
Connecting them is as easy as saying, "Alexa, find my
devices."
Overall,
Amazon has been pushing hard on its Alexa-powered devices to make
them as accessible as possible. Also, watch out for special rolling offers
throughout the year, seeing discounts applied to some or all of the Echo
range.
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| Image credit: google nest hub |
2. Google Nest Hub
Google
your smart home
TODAY'S BEST DEALS CHECK AMAZON
REASONS TO BUY
+Visual
interface
+Google
Services
+Voice
commands
Good
compatibility
REASONS TO AVOID
-Small
screen
-Privacy
concerns
Google
Nest Hub is a virtual assistant and home automation system that emphasizes an
easy-to-use, visual interface.
The
Google Nest Hub allows for hands-free control of smart appliances.
The device uses voice commands to control thermostats, lights, locks, etc.
It can also play music, manage your calendar, and provide weather reports.
The
Google Nest Hub connects to other Nest devices through a centralized app that
allows you to control all of your connected devices from one dashboard on your
smartphone or tablet. This gives you the ability to set up automatic schedules
and routines for tasks such as turning off the lights at night or setting the
thermostat at different temperatures throughout the day.
It
can display local weather information, events, notices, and daily schedules and play music and video from YouTube and other services. When not in use, it can display a clock across its screen or serve as a digital photo frame by
displaying images from your Google Photo account.
It
also, of course, works as a central home automation hub and easily connects
with many other intelligent devices. You can control lighting, heating, security, and
the typical range of smart homes through voice commands or the user interface by
swiping or tapping screen options.
The Google Nest Hub really excels through its integration with Google
Services, not least web search, which is still more developed than most
competitors, if somewhat overwhelmed by ads and Google self-promotion these
days.
However,
the Google Nest Hub isn't a whole media device, so you can't access digital
subscriptions the way you can with Chromecast. Additionally, while the display
is excellent for close-up interactions, the small 7" screen means it's not so
helpful when across a room.
Altogether,
the Google Nest Hub is a great little piece of kit that works fine with other
intelligent devices, and the addition of the visual element can be user-friendly at
times. However, Google continues to be plagued by privacy concerns, not least
the company's zeal to store as much user data as possible.
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| Image credit: Wink |
3. Wink Hub 2
Customize
settings with a Wink
REASONS TO BUY
+Versatile
+Mobile
app
+Automate
settings
REASONS TO AVOID
-Some
limited controls
The
Wink Hub 2 is one of the most versatile featured hubs for home
automation. The hub can be set up wirelessly or connected to your router
with an ethernet cable. If you have several smart-home products, you will still
only need a single hub to manage them all, which makes it a good choice if you
are looking for a seat that will be able to handle many different smart-home
products and brands.
In
terms of compatibility, the Wink Hub 2 works with products from brands such as
GE, Philips Hue, Lutron, Schlage, Yale, and Amazon's Alexa. The Wink Hub 2 also
comes with a one-year limited warranty.
The
Wink Hub 2 has received high ratings for its versatility and ease of use, but
some users have reported issues with connectivity. The Wink app is available
for iOS and Android devices to help you control your smart-home products
remotely. After that, you download the Wink app to your Android or iOS device and then control everything from inside the app. You can select
which other smart devices you want to connect with and manage their settings
accordingly.
This
means that commands are generally made via a visual interface, similar to the
Google Home Hub. However, as it's all run through a device you're likely to be
carrying, such as your smartphone or even a wearable smartwatch, you don't need
to worry about looking across a room for information. However, the Wink 2
doesn't use voice commands by default, but you can use any existing voice
assistant built into your devices, such as Google Assistant or Siri, or even use Alexa.
Where
the Wink Hub really excels is the ability to set up conditions for your other
smart devices by default, making it truly the center of your home automation
system. Using IFTTT protocols - IF, Then, That - you can set your smart
devices to activate and do specific things when certain conditions are met. For
example, you could automatically put your bright lights on at particular
times, the heating or air conditioning to come on at set temperatures, or
tell security cameras to record when a door sensor is activated. In this way,
your home can become not just connected but automatically controlled. The one
downside to this is that the Wink 2 app might not offer the same fine-tuning
that dedicated apps for the intelligent devices might also provide, such as commanding a
smart thermostat to be switched on-off across vacation dates.
Overall, though, Wink offers a decent system with more options than some other automation hubs provide. This is primarily by allowing your controls to be more personalized using IFTTT as a built-in default, something other hubs often need third-party software to enable.
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| Image credit: Samsung |
4. Samsung SmartThings
Samsung
tries to get smart
TODAY'S BEST DEALS CHECK AMAZON
REASONS TO BUY
+Mobile
app
+Automate
settings
+Battery
backup
REASONS TO AVOID
-Limited
user experience
Smart
living is a wise choice.
And
with SmartThings, you can do it all in an instant.
Our
home automation hub allows you to control and automate every aspect of your
home—from the lights in your living room to the lock on your door—right from
your mobile device. With SmartThings, your home is always under your watchful
eye.
Worried
about forgetting to turn off the oven before leaving for work? Worried about
forgetting to turn off the stove while you're at work? SmartThings has that
covered, too. Use our mobile app to program when appliances shut off or turn on
throughout the day and night. You can set up custom triggers that
automatically adjust temperatures or power appliances down if certain activity
thresholds are exceeded. By giving you control over everything from lighting to
doors to thermostats, SmartThings simplifies smart living—so you can focus on
what matters most.
Samsung
also produces many peripheral devices to work directly with it, including
motion sensors, multipurpose sensors, and bright buttons. The Samsung
SmartThings hub also plays well with most third-party smart devices,
though it doesn't have as many connectivity options as some, mainly
restricted to Z-Wave and Zigbee protocols. However, it offers simple IFTTT customizations to make a home truly smart.
A
notable feature of the Samsung SmartThings hub is that it comes with a built-in
battery power option so that in the event of a power failure, the system will
continue to run, unlike some standalone hubs. It's also relatively simple and
painless for other smart devices to connect with the corner, at least at first.
However, while Samsung is known to be good with hardware, they've yet to
establish their credentials with software, and this shows with the
SmartThings app in that it isn't so user-friendly as some other app-based home
automation systems.
If
you find the app restrictive, you can always set up voice commands by
connecting with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to work with it. Still, it's not
set up to provide the same multimedia experience that other voice-powered home
automation systems can deliver unless you plan to connect with existing smart
audio-visual devices.
The SmartThings hub can work well for people simply looking to set up an intelligent home automation system. Still, it's really set up to work with many different pieces of hardware rather than focused on delivering a direct experience that some rivals can.
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| Image credit: Applehomekit |
5. Apple Homekit
The big smart apple
REASONS TO BUY
+Good
customization
+Good
hardware support
REASONS TO AVOID
-Apple devices only
If
you have an Apple device, or two, or three… you know how it feels to use them: intuitive and easy. You also understand how it feels to get a new device—you're
stoked to be able to do even more with your devices than you could before.
Now,
imagine getting that same feeling in your home. When you turn on the lights, adjust
the temperature, and get music playing right when you walk in… that's HomeKit. It's
a system for controlling all the smart devices in your home from a single app
on your iOS device or Mac.
With
HomeKit, you can use Siri voice control to have your connected devices listen
and respond to you. You can also set up routines and scenes to control multiple
devices at once—like having the lights turn on, your favorite playlists start
playing as soon as you walk through the door.
HomeKit
is compatible with many third-party products like smart speakers, light
bulbs, smart plugs, thermostats, and more! Plus, HomeKit is secure and private,
so no one else can see what's happening in your house (because we all know
things are wilder when no one else is watching).
While
the HomeKit has been available for many years, stringent demands by
Apple for hardware security meant few third-parties initially developed
products for it - these rules have since been relaxed to allow for a software
security measure to replace them instead. The result is that the Apple
HomeKit now supports a wide range of different intelligent peripherals.
However,
the Home app used for controlling the HomeKit still suffers from minor
usability issues. Connecting new smart devices isn't as automated as other
home automation systems. They have to be manually added by scanning printed
codes, and this can only be carried out on an iPhone or iPad, not from a Mac. Additionally,
the Home app is sometimes unable to manage intelligent devices and the
dedicated apps for those intelligent devices.
There's now a good range of additional hardware available in terms of
audio/video, lighting, thermostats, sensors, and cameras similar to other hubs.
Additionally, Siri voice controls remain highly developed and are often more
nuanced than other voice assistants, allowing you to speak in a more
natural and less artificial voice. There are also some excellent configuration settings
for rooms and zones, so the whole innovative experience can feel more customized than
some others.
Overall,
while the HomeKit can seem a little more limited in some ways than other home
automation systems, it can still deliver a brilliant experience.
We've featured the best smart home devices.
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