Smart Home Starter Kit and Gift Ideas
Smart Home Starter Kit and Gift Ideas
With the holiday season here, I thought it’d be the perfect time to put together a combo smart home starter kit and gift idea list. There’s going to be no shortage of sales and special deals springing up, so if you have a tech geek in your life (and that someone might be yourself), now’s the perfect time to jump into smart home tech.
For all of the gear mentioned in the video:
https://kit.co/undecidedmf/smart-home-starter-kit-and-gift-guide
Full script and citations: https://undecidedmf.com/episodes/smart-home-starter-kit-and-gift-ideas
Check out my podcast – Still To Be Determined: http://bit.ly/stilltbdfm
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▻ Great Tesla Accessories
From Abstract Ocean – 15% Discount – Code: “Undecided”
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▻ Jeda Wireless phone charger:
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▻ Get 1,000 miles of free supercharging with a new Tesla:
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Enter the Tesla giveaway and win a Tesla Model 3 long range AWD with $5,000 in the trunk. https://www.prizeo.com/tesla – enter promo code: “undecided” for extra entries. Eligible for US residents only.
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▻ Audio file(s) provided by Epidemic Sound
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Hey, Matt I really enjoyed this video. I was able to pick a Sonos beam sound bar from Amazon for about 25% off retail as well as a Google Hub Max for 30$ off. I am planning on getting a Nest door bell and flood Light with video camera to round out my smart home. Also, I did get the Ring flood light (with out the camera), I was not impressed with it thus far. I thought the set up and install was straight forward. However, this time I cannot share this device to someone else in my house which defeated the purpose of this purchase. I am hoping that changes with an update in the future. I also don’t like that you can not add ring into the google echo system. Maybe a better option will come out tin the future. At this point I would recommend buying a normal motion light and adding a smart exterior bulb to achieve the same functionality.
I’m also a Lutron/Hubitat user and agree that the combination is solid, fast, and extremely reliable. It should be pointed out, however, that while the dimmer doesn’t require a neutral wire and is great for older homes, the off/on switch does need a neutral.
Great video, already have Sonos and Hue and I’m looking to buy a smart thermostat because my old flat is prone to mold in the corners of the outside walls. Not sure if it would help but its worth a try! Ecobee is not available in Switzerland afaik. I need to check if Nest is. Do you know Tado° or Netatmo? Anything you would recommend? Thanks!
Matt,
I’m a new sub and am really digging the well researched and clearly communicated recs. I have a question about the Lutron smart switch you recommended. Will it work on a 3way switch and still allow the other dumb switch to have full control (on & off)? Also, I see it works with Alexa and Google…I have both. Can you configure it to work with both a Google Home and an Echo in the same home?
Thanks again, great stuff here!
Alex
Any recommendations around smart vents and related controllers?
Great video and recommendations Matt!
Matt, With your knowledge. What would you recommend as Smart things to add to a rental unit. Keeping tenant versus landlord responsibilities.
Thanks Matt.
I learned a lot from this video. Primarily that I am an undecided fan boy. I’ve already got damn near everything on the list because they’re all things you’ve mentioned before. I guess I better get on your site and make it official by buying a shirt or two. Great video as always.
About a month ago I started making a wish list from the Undecided channel. I used my Amazon account to make up a smart home list and most everything you have picked this episode made my list, too. I did stray from it a little. I tried the Smart wifi bulb from the Globe Electricity. It has performed marvelously and works with the Apple Home Kit. I pick up the 2 WEMO smart plug at Costo for half price the standard Amazon pricing. They work okay but their app conflicts with Apple Home Kit. I have to pick one or the other to use it effectively. My home internet wifi stability is low so I just order the Eero Mesh Router which just went on sale on Amazon. I am so excited to get this up and running. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Totally agree with the Lutron recommendation. I’ve switched most of my homes light switches to them using HomeKit and they are totally solid. Never a problem.
Thanks for the info. Just an FYI on ur Script and Citation page your h3 color conflits a bit with your site background color, very hard to see. Could be my dark mode settings but happens on chrome android and mac versions.
Picked up some extra Wemo 3 way switches on sale which I prefer, August Smart lock on a great sale for the garage and looking to get an extra Arlo Ultra camera.
I feel like you just cost me some money to save some money 🙂
Hi Matt. I just discovered your Home Automation series/playlist. The videos are great, individually, but I’m having trouble navigating the list overall. I’m hoping for a concise series that ‘flows’. Ideally, superseded information would be trimmed out. (I realize that this would take a lot of work on your part.) I found one video that recommended the August smart locks and another that recommended Yale. If I could just get YouTube to show me the videos in chronological order (with dates shown), that would be a step in the right direction. Any hints you might have would be appreciated. THANKS!
Time to review the Eufycam 2
I must be getting old as I chose the Apple Homepod over Sonos just for the fact the Apple could be setup by waving the iphone over it. I’ve spent so many years digging into granular details, firmwares, workarounds, etc., sticking within a specific ecosystem now is great for simplicity.
Matt, Solid Channel you’ve Built!
New to Smart Home. And I’m curious if you’ve had a chance to use the Inovelli Z-wave Dimmer. https://inovelli.com/shop/smart-light-switches/zwave-smart-switches-gen2/z-wave-dimmer-switch-no-neutral-required-scenes-notifications/#compatible-hubs
Seems like a better price point than the Lutron Caseta with more functionality.
I’m debating using the Inovelli with Hubitat. Opinion?