Computer Shopper - UK (2020-04)

90 APRIL2020|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE386

T

echnically,any home with asingle
device thatcan be controlled via an
app,voice or web browser is asmart
one. We prefer to think of asmarthome as
one thathas multiple devices thatinteract and
can be controlled directly or automatically
based on aseries of rules thatyou create.
Building asmarthome doesn’t have to
startwith afull-on, rip out everything and start
again approach; rather,itshould evolve
naturally,with new kit being added to perform
auseful job,and the interactions between
devices programmed later for convenience.
In this guide, we’ll takeyou through the
essential smarthome building blocks, and
we’ll reveal our recommended kit.

OBSERVING PROTOCOL

Beforeweget into the details of whatkit you
should choose, it’s important to understand
how smarthome devices communicate with
the wider world, so thatyou can makethe
right choices about whattobuy.
In many cases, you’ll end up with asmart
home hub,which connects to your home
network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi, and provides
abridge to the language thatthe smart
home device talks. Thereare many
different types of language, with many
devices using aproprietary method of
communication, but Zigbee and Z-Wave
arethe two most common.
In our experience, most smartlight bulbs
use Zigbee, while sensors and switches tend
to be Z-Wave. To use devices thatspeak
either protocol, you need ahub that

understands them to plug into your network.

TheAmazon Echo Plus and Amazon Echo

Show smartspeakers, for example, areboth

smarthome hubs thatalso talk Zigbee, while

the Samsung SmartThings Hub talksboth

Z-Wave and Zigbee.

Thereare proprietary options, too,such as

the Philips Hue Bridge, which uses Zigbee but

only allows you to connect Hue light bulbs

and accessories, rather than any old accessory.

Themain advantage of using devices that

use aproper smarthome protocol is reliability

and power saving. Smarthome protocols are

designed to be extremely power-efficient,

working well over range with little chance of

interruption. In both cases, powered

devices (light bulbs, smartplugs and

so on) act as range extenders,

automatically boosting how faryour

network extends.

As these types of smarthome

devices use very little power,it’s

easy to have battery-powered

components, such as remote

controls and sensors thatrun offa

watch battery and give you ayear

or more’suse.

As these smartnetworksaren’t

reliant on your home wireless, they

can keep running when you have

router problems. Forexample, if

your Wi-Figoesdown, you can

still turn on your Hue lights using the Hue

Wireless Dimmer.

NO WIRES

Thenextmostcommonsmarthome

protocol is standardWi-Fi.The advantage

of these types of devices is thatthey don’t

need to connect to ahub in order to work.

This can save abit of money, as you’renot

paying for thatextrabit of hardwaretoget

you started.

Because of Wi-Fi’spower requirements,

these devices work best when there’s

permanent power,such as asmartplug, or

you can have avery large battery,such as

SMARTHOME

ESSENTIALS

Buildingasmarthome

means

buyingsmartequipmen

t.

Herewe’lltakeyouthr

ough

howitalltiestogether

ryyyyy

LEFT:Wi-Fiisneededforhigh-

bandwidthdevices,suchasvideo

camerasanddoorbells