8 Ways to Outsmart the Weather In A Smart Home

You can’t control the weather (yet!) but these smart home devices make sure you’re never caught off guard.

1) Track the Weather Like Never Before

Don’t get left out in the rain with another meteorologist predicting “scattered showers” again. The Ambient Weather WS-1400-IP Observer gives you precise forecasts about the weather brewing in your exact location, so you don’t have to guess. Its solar-powered wireless sensor reads the temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed and direction, and UV and solar radiation–giving you all the information you need to track weather patterns like a pro.

2) Get Sprinklers That Know When It Is Sprinkling

Conserve water with smart sprinkler controllers like Rachio. These systems monitor local weather patterns and adjust your watering schedule to suit the conditions. They’ll switch off automatically when rain is in the forecast, and for those of us who live in drier areas, these systems turn up the water when you can’t count on the rain. Headed out of town? Make changes and control your sprinklers from a web browser or a smartphone app while you’re away.

3) Keep a Better Eye on Your Pipes

Winter brings every homeowner the fear of frozen pipes. But you’ll sleep better knowing the Lyric Wi-Fi Leak & Freeze Detector is monitoring things. Its detector connects to WiFi and sends an alert to your phone when frozen pipes, leaks or excessive levels of humidity are threatening you with a lot of hassle–and expense.

4) Monitor Your Home’s Air From Anywhere

With winter comes dry air and the flu bug. The Holmes^® Smart Humidifier with WeMo^® keeps your home’s air clean and breathable effortlessly. It’s WeMo enabled, so you can check and adjust the humidity levels from a smartphone app before you even get home. Set a schedule, and when the humidifier is out of water or needs a new filter, the app sends you an alert and makes it easy to reorder the right accessory online.

5) Sleep in a Bed That’s Just Right, No Matter the Season

Designed to personalize and improve sleep, the Eight smart mattress cover warms your bed when it’s cold and can adjust the thermostat to keep you cool when it’s hot. Set your prefered temperature in the smartphone app, connect Eight to your favorite activity tracker and thermostat, and watch your sleep improve. With more than a dozen sensors, it monitors your sleep for things such as humidity, temperature, ambient light, and noise to determine what will improve your sleep. Wake up well rested, with a detailed report to prove it.

6) Stay Cool with Fans That Know How You Feel

You might not notice how smart the Haiku L Series Fan is at first. You’ll probably just think, “Wow, that’s a good looking fan.” But it has brains, too! It knows when you enter the room and adjusts to your preferred temperature by syncing with your Nest Learning Thermostat. Feeling warmer than usual? This fan also integrates with the Amazon Echo smart speaker so you can give it commands until you’re feeling just right.

7) Turn Over Lawn Chores to Your Smart Mower 

When it starts heating up, don’t break a sweat mowing the lawn. Like a Roomba for your backyard, the Robomow Robotic Lawn Mower is controlled by a smartphone app. Drive it via remote or let it work independently while you recline in the shade with a lemonade. Its heavy-duty steel blades, wide cutting widths, unique edging mode, built-in safety features, and remote diagnostics make a much better mower than you ever were.

8. Come Home to Ice Cream on A Hot Day

The Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker serves up dessert in less than an hour. While most ice-cream makers require you to freeze a mixing container overnight, this bad boy’s built-in compressor cools things off quickly instead of keeping you waiting. The Smart Scoop is easy to use, and has a dozen automatic hardness settings for everything from super soft to extra-firm ice cream. Watch the deliciousness in action through the clear lid on the top of the tank. The Smart Scoop will even keep the ice cream ready for up to three hours, assuming it lasts that long.

Source: Coldwell Banker Blue Matter / Lindsay Listanski