Smart Home Gadgets on a Budget: Must-Have Features and Savings Tips

By Jill Layton

Smart home devices are a great way of adding convenience to everyday life. Whether you’re new to having a smart home or you’d like to add more gadgets, you want to pay attention to your budget to make sure costs are comfortable for you. The impressive technologies that smart home devices offer and affordability can go hand in hand, so you can add new capabilities without breaking the bank.

Get smart about shopping for smart home gear with this guide to features and devices you need and where you can go low cost.

What qualifies a home as a smart home?

A home is considered smart when it has several internet-connected devices that can be controlled remotely. It’s all about convenience, improving comfort, automating tasks and increasing security.

Can I transform my home into a smart home on a budget?

A budget smart home setup is absolutely possible to achieve, especially because it doesn’t have to happen all at once. You can slowly start to purchase affordable devices, get them set up and adapt to their use before committing to buying more.

How much does it cost to make my home a smart home?

The cost can range from $2,000 to $7,000, with $5,500 being around the average for a basic system. Of course, this varies based on the number and type of devices you choose, the brand you select and the complexity of the system. It also depends on whether you go with professional or DIY installation. And remember, you don’t have to buy everything all at once.

What are inexpensive options to convert my home into a smart home?

There are several ways of turning your home into a smart one. Here are the most popular options:

• Smart bulbs – Use the app or voice control to turn these on and off and control the brightness, color and timer.
• Smart plugs – These transform a regular appliance like a lamp, TV or coffee maker into a smart one.
• Smart locks – Remove your existing lock and replace it with a smart lock that uses a code or fingerprint to unlock it. You can also lock and unlock remotely.
• Smart thermostat – Control the temperature of your home from anywhere. A smart thermostat will automatically adjust the temperature based on learned preferences.
• Voice assistants – Using these devices, you can control your home appliances through an app. Amazon Alexa and Google Home are popular and affordable options.
• Security cameras – When motion is detected outside, these will send notifications, so you can watch live or recorded video on the app.

What are must-have features to look for in smart devices?

Features vary across smart devices, but for a basic smart home setup, there are certain ones to prioritize. A smartphone app with remote access is important, as is compatibility with other smart home systems. In addition, you should be able to set schedules and automations, use voice control and monitor energy and efficiency. Security capabilities are also necessary for devices like cameras.

Do I have to choose the largest, most prominent smart home manufacturers?

You can definitely choose a lower-cost company and still be happy with your smart home. Tip: Consider sticking with one platform if it works for your budget. You’ll get the most out of smart home devices when they work seamlessly together. Products across multiple brands can be integrated, but it’s simpler to use one standard like Matter to control most or all of your devices, rather than several.

Is budget tech worth the investment?

This fully depends on your needs. If you’re looking to purchase smart tech to perform basic tasks, then yes, inexpensive smart home devices are a great way to do it. If you require better performance or more specialized features, you might need to consider investing in higher-end products. Keep in mind, depending on your budget, one or two higher-end gadgets coupled with budget devices might still allow you to outfit a smart home for an affordable price.

Will smart home devices help me save money?

One of the biggest benefits of having a smart home is the money it can save you by making your home more energy efficient.

Switching out standard light bulbs for smart bulbs is the easiest way to start saving. All smart bulbs are LED, which uses at least 75 percent less energy. Also, they can be set to automatically turn off, so you don’t have to worry about lights left on by mistake.

The same goes for devices like smart thermostats. A smart thermostat learns your preferences, so the A/C or heat will shut off when your home is at the desired temp. Smart plugs can be set to turn off once a device has stopped charging, avoiding using “vampire energy,” a phenomenon that sucks out electricity even when a device isn’t being used.

Do smart devices use a lot of bandwidth?

Bandwidth is the measurement of the amount of data your home network can potentially send and receive at one time, both to and from the internet. On their own, smart devices don’t use a large amount of bandwidth. Multiple devices combined, however, can use a significant amount of bandwidth and affect your internet speed. It’s particularly an issue if you have gaming, streaming, uploading, downloading and video calls all going on at the same time.

Stay connected to home with Frontier Fiber

When you power your smart home with Frontier Fiber, you can rest assured you have reliable access to your smart devices. Learn about the benefits of Frontier Fiber. Frontier Fiber is available in select areas—check here to see when it’s available at your address. And check out Frontier’s SmartMarket for a great selection of quality smart home devices.

Product features and availability may have changed and are subject to change.