Computer Shopper - UK (2020-04)

92 APRIL2020|COMPUTERSHOPPER|IS^6

A

smarthome shouldn’t just be easy to
control, it should genuinely make life
easier.Withthe smarthome constantly
evolving, there’sawider range of products
available, covering far morecategories.
Wherepossible,we’ve listed devices thatmake
it easy to communicate with other devices.

SMARTTHERMOSTATS

Smartthermostats areone of the most
popular choices for homes.They use clever
techniques to shut down your heatingearlier,
saving money.According to statistics from
Tado,customers save around 19% on energy
bills, which could work out to around £110 a
year.Nest quotes between 8.4% and 16.5%
savings. If you buy asystem thatconnects
using OpenTherm, you can save even
moremoney,asthis system lets the smart
thermostatmodulate the boiler’s heat output
to the most efficient level to heat your home,
often pumping water at lower temperatures
through your radiators for longer periods.
Thereare two main types of smartheating
systems. Smartthermostats control your
entirehome and replace your old dumb
thermostat, while zoned heatinglets you
control rooms individually,typically through
smartradiator thermostats.
Forasmartthermostat, the Nest Learning
Thermostat3rd Gen (£219) is the best you can
get. It has an excellent app,the thermostat
looksfantastic and it worksbrilliantly.The Tado
V3+ (£119, although you may also need the
Extension Kit for £60) is agreat single
thermostat, and if you pay the subscription
fee you get some additional money-saving
features, including geolocation and open
window detection (so your heatingturns offif
awindow is open).Youcan also expand the
system with smartradiator valves (£70) to
control each room individually.
Genius Hub is the smartest overall system
we’ve seen.This has individual room control,
and can even use motion sensors to detect
when aroom is occupied and, therefore,
needs heat.It’sexpensive (a home with
eight radiators costs from £830) and it works
better in large homes, but it’s exceptionally
powerful and will save you the greatest
amount of money.

WATER LEAKSENSORS

Water leak sensors aredesigned to warn you
when there’swater in your home.They’re
designed to sit flatonthe floor and tell you
when there’sstanding water,soyou should

place them in areasyou’remost likely to get a

problem: under aboiler,the kitchen sink,

washing machine or other plumbed-in

appliance. Most also have temperature

sensors to warn you if your pipes areatriskof

freezing. Samsung SmartThings has aWater

Leak Sensor (£24) and the Honeywell Lyric W1

(£60) is agood standalone alternative.

These products only detect leaks, but the

Geo WaterLock can also trigger your main

water valve to shut down automatically,

preventing damage.Thesystem costs £350

with professional installation (required),

complete with three water sensors.Youcan

buy additional water sensors for £25 each if

you have moreareas to cover.

FIRE ALARMS

Smartfire alarms not only tell you when there’s

aproblem by sounding aloud siren, but they

also send you an alert, so you’rewarned if

you’reout and about.Thedownside with most

of these products is thatyou can’t installthem

in kitchens unless you place themmorethan

3m from cooking appliances. All smoke

detectors have to be replaced every 10 years.

TheNest Protect (£90)isapowerful smart

smokeand CO alarm. It’s intelligent, talking to

you to say whatthe problem is, and an alert

can trigger an emergency recording on any

Nest cameras thatyou have.

Agood alternative is the Netatmo Smart

SmokeAlarm (£90).This modelgives you

similar features to the Nest product, but it’s

also compatible with Apple HomeKit, so you

can also use it to startautomations, such as

turning on lights in an emergency.

ALARMS

Therange and quality of smartalarms has

improved massively.Theseproducts work like

traditional alarms, but they also send you a

smartalert,so you know ifsomeone has

broken into your house while you’reaway.

If you also have security cameras and can

verify thatsomeone is in your home, you can

call the police to deal with the situation.

Smartalarms can be monitored or

unmonitored. Monitored alarms have acall

centrethatwillring you if your alarm goes

off, and they can dispatch the police if they

can view acamerafeed, but they can dispatch

private security teams for acharge otherwise.

Typically,monitored alarms arebetter when

your home is unoccupied for long stretches or

you have valuables for which you want the

highest protection levels.

When choosing an alarm, makesureit

has the right options for protection.Abare

minimum should be entry sensors, for

monitoring doors, and motion sensors for

monitoring larger areas. Moreadvanced

systems will also have additional options,

such as glass-breaksensors, tuned to ‘hear’

when glass is smashed.

TheRingAlarm (from £250) is agreat DIY

smartalarm system, which can integratewith

your Ring cameras: the mode you have the

alarm in defines which cameras areset to

record. If you pay for the highest Ring Protect

Plus plan you get cloud storage for all your

cameras, SIM backup (it keeps working if your

internet goes down) and assisted monitoring.

In the event thatyour home alarm goes off,

you get automated phone calls until you

respond, giving you achance to check your

footageand call the police if needed.

THEBESTSMART

HOME KIT

Wetakeacloserlook

at

thebestsmarthomek

it

youcan buyandthe

reasonsyou’llwantit

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ABOVE:TheWaterLock system can turn offyour

water when aleakisdetected

RIGHT:Asmartsmokealarm does morethan a

regular one but maynot be suitable forall homes