My Smart Home For Less Than $200

Introduction

Smart home technology is all the rage. You can control your lights and thermostat from your phone, set up voice commands to turn on music and TV, and even unlock doors with a tap of your finger. But as fun as it is to play with the latest gadgets, they come at a cost: Lots of money! Smart plugs cost $50 each (or more), smart bulbs can run you $30 or more per bulb, and so on. All that adds up quickly. So if you’re looking for an affordable way to get into smart-home technology without breaking the bank—and without having to study electrical wiring or hire an electrician—check out my list of starter kits below.

A smart home can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Here’s how to get started on a DIY set-up that won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

If you’re interested in getting started with smart home technology, but not sure where to begin, this article is for you.

I’m going to show you how I set up my own DIY smart home for less than $200. It doesn’t require any special skills or advanced knowledge of electronics–just a little time and patience!

I’ll walk through the process of purchasing all the necessary components and then putting them together into a working system that can be expanded upon later if desired.

Smart bulbs

• Smart bulbs. You can buy a smart bulb for as little as $5, but they’re not all created equal. If you want to go the budget route, look for ones that work with your existing light fixtures or are dimmable and energy efficient (a good choice if you’re looking to save money on electricity).
• Outdoor lighting. If your outdoor lights aren’t already connected to an outlet, then this may be another place where it makes sense to invest in something more expensive than a regular LED light bulb–although there are plenty of good options at every price point!
• Security lights/accent lighting: If these are important features for your home (and they should be), make sure that whatever solution works best in each spot before buying anything!

Smart plugs

Smart plugs can be used in place of a regular plug, or they can be added to existing smart devices that don’t have a built-in switch. For example, if you have an Alexa speaker and want to put it on a lamp with its own switch (like this one), then all you need is an inexpensive smart plug like this one from TP-Link.

You can also use smart plugs with lamps and other devices that don’t come with any sort of app or voice control integration at all — just make sure that the manufacturer offers some kind of smartphone app so that you can set schedules for when power will come on/off during different times throughout the day!

Smart thermostat

A smart thermostat is a device that can be controlled remotely and programmed to work with your home’s heating and cooling system. It will automatically adjust itself based on the temperature settings you’ve set, allowing you to save money by reducing how often your furnace or air conditioner needs to run.

A lot of people think they need an expensive brand-name product for their smart home, but there are plenty of affordable options out there–and many systems don’t require any extra equipment at all! Here are some things to look for when shopping around:

• Compatibility with other devices in your system (if applicable)
• The number and type of sensors built into the unit

You don’t need to break the bank to get started with smart home technology.

Smart home technology is a great way to save money and make your life easier. If you’re not sure how it works or why it’s important, let’s take a look at the basics.

Smart home devices connect with one another over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, allowing them to communicate with each other and share information about what they’re doing in your home. For example: if you have an Alexa device (like an Echo), then when someone else in your house asks for music playing on their device–it’ll play through yours as well! Or if someone opens their door while using Apple HomeKit enabled apps such as August Smart Lock or Kwikset Kevo Touchscreen Deadbolt Lock – which both allow users control over their doors remotely through secure Bluetooth connections – then those doors will automatically lock behind them without having even touched them!

There are many different types of smart home products available today ranging from thermostats that learn how warm/cool we like our homes based on past behaviors so they can adjust automatically based on our needs; cameras that keep watch over everything happening inside/outside our homes 24 hours per day 365 days per year regardless whether we’re there or not; lights that turn themselves off after dark when no one needs them anymore saving energy costs while providing safety benefits too because nobody likes tripping over something when walking around during nighttime hours without adequate lighting nearby…

Conclusion

We hope this article has given you some ideas on how to get started with smart home technology. We know that it can be expensive and overwhelming, but there are lots of options out there that don’t require a big investment. The best part about these products is that they work with other systems so you can expand at your own pace without having to buy everything all at once!