I have lived in my little house on Auburn for a little over 5 years now, and I have slowly transformed as many parts of it into a smart home as I possibly can. For a house that was built in the 1950s, that’s quite the accomplishment and challenge all at the same time. Wiring is usually an issue. Door jams and locks aren’t usually ready for automated features to be added. Don’t even get me started on the thinness of my windows and what keeping heat in this house has been like this winter. But, for those looking to add a few of these smart features to your house, here are the ones that I’m using to help keep my home secure and download as many apps possible to my iPhone, too.

Nest Learning Thermostat

This one is fun for me. I recently upgraded my security system so that I could include one of these bad boys in my house and run it through my Vivint app. Now, I did download the Nest app, too, because I can study the schedules of my Nest Thermostat and help keep it at the temperature I want it to be. The best part about this is that if I leave the house in a rush and forget to turn the air up and kick the heat back down, I can easily get into the app and make that change. But this thing is so smart that it tracks my whereabouts through my iPhone’s GPS and can register when I’m not at home (or even in town) and go into energy-saving mode. When I start getting closer to my house, it will start to heat or cool my house so it’s ready when I get in the door. Also, if I wake up super cold at night (which rarely happens. I have two space-heating Beagles.) I can reach over and adjust the temperature from my comfy bed. Geniuses these days.

Keyless Locks

Now this one really helps in a pinch. I’ve had the keypad locks on my doors at home for several years now. Not only can I unlock my house without fishing for my keys but also can unlock my house from my phone. The ones I have on my doors are connected to my security system and work perfectly for when I’m out of town and need to let the parents in or if someone is visiting from out of town and needs to get in and out while I’m not home. Recently, we’ve had a bit of a crime spree around town, and we thought it might be a good idea to add one to my carport door where my laundry room is. I didn’t necessarily want to order another one through Vivint (They can get pricey that way.), and I recently have gotten onto the Amazon Prime bandwagon. (I know. I know. What took me so long?) So, I found a knob version of the keyless/keypad entry. It was here in two day and fairly (Thanks, Aimee, for the power tools.) to install. Once again, those geniuses.

Ring Security Light and Camera

This one is also new to the Guido smart home. I really needed another way to watch the house other than the security system with keyless/keypad locks, a smart thermostat, and (OH) wall-socket plugins that I can turn on and off from my phone. So, we ordered this security camera/motion light/Big Brother. Right now, I’m mainly catching birds that are ready for their close ups or neighborhood dogs and cats making themselves at home. Hopefully, the alerts I get saying, “A person was detected” never actually ends up being anyone besides Mom or Dad; but at least I can listen in on their conversations, take their pictures, or use the two-way speaker to tell them to “get off my lawn”.