Buying gifts is always a hassle. Whether for the holidays, a birthday, anniversary, or any other special occasion, finding that gift that’s perfect is always a hassle. How do you know that the person will love your gift? How do you know if they may already have what you’re thinking about? Nobody likes resorting to the impersonal gifts like ties or sweets, but likewise resorting to a gift card almost feels like a minimal-effort solution.
Fortunately, if you have a tech-savvy homeowner on your gift list, this blog has the information you need. Here are four great tech-related gifts that will help them improve their home and their quality of life with unmatched convenience and functionality.
Smart Home Voice Assistant
Voice assistants are the leading interface you have when it comes to controlling the various systems throughout your home. These small, attractive, and multi-functional devices are Wi-Fi connected and often have the ability to play music and run web searches for you with nothing more than the sound of your voice.
Two of the most popular models for smart home speakers are Amazon Alexa equipped units, such as the Alexa Dot, as well as Google Home speakers like Google Nest. Does the homeowner on your list already have one of these speakers? That’s totally fine—one is nice but they only work when the microphone in these systems can pick up enough of your voice to execute a command. For this reason, tech-savvy homeowners may want two or three of these speakers in order to maintain control of their home wherever they may be.
These speakers typically run around $80 to $100 each, but some may go for more while other low-budget models may go for less.
Smart Thermostat
Smart thermostats give increased control and flexibility when it comes to your heating and cooling systems. Not only do these devices connect to your smart home speakers and give you voice control over your heating and cooling system, but they actually have the ability to make decisions and adjustments for themselves as well. By receiving real-time weather data, these systems can turn on and off and adjust their temperature more precisely in order to keep your home comfortable while using less energy.
They also give you total control over your system’s operation from anywhere in the world through proprietary smartphone or tablet apps. Forget to turn your system off before leaving for the office? No longer an issue—just open the app, switch your system off, and you’re good to go. Some even turn themselves back on again before you get home so you always arrive to total comfort.
Smart thermostats generally start at around $80 to $100, but some of the most popular and feature-rich models tend to hover around $299 to $499 when purchased from a retailer.
Smart Leak Detection System
Plumbing leaks can cause an immense amount of damage in a small amount of time, and they’re particularly hard to locate if they happen somewhere out of sight. For most homeowners, finding a leak is nearly impossible until it’s too late and you’re dealing with repairing significant water damage to a potentially substantial part of your home. However, a smart leak detection system allows you to spot these issues early and take care of them right away.
These special systems attach directly to your main water input and carefully monitor your water usage day and night. When they detect a slow drip or tiny water flow, they sound an alarm and some even send an alert directly to your smartphone to let you know. Some even give you the ability to shut off your water remotely in order to prevent serious damage from spreading. On vacation halfway around the world? Not a problem—using the power of the internet, you’ll be able to shut off your water until you arrive back and can take care of the issue.
A smart leak detection system will generally cost you around $299, plus the cost of professional installation and configuration.
Wi-Fi Connected Light Fixtures
Have you ever watched a science-fiction show like Star Trek and been amazed that the characters can turn the lights on and off with nothing more than a voice command? This isn’t fiction anymore—it’s real and it’s possible thanks to Wi-Fi enabled lightbulbs and light fixtures. You can turn the lights on, dim them, and even change the color of lights around your home with proper configuration, all thanks to the power of the internet and smart home technology. The best part: these fixtures are generally easy to install and most smart lightbulbs will work with any standard light fixture.
Smart lightbulbs will generally cost around $15 to $30, but can sometimes climb to as much as $50 for some models. Multi-bulb packs will generally bring the cost per bulb down, but will, of course, cost more in total.
Get help with installing these or any other great smart home gift from the pros at All Pro Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical! Dial (909) 500-8193 now to request a quote.