Ultimate Smart Apartment – On A Budget
If you’re looking into how to automate and set up a smart home/apartment, these are my recommendations based on what I’ve bought and what I think would work great in any smart apartment setup.
For software, I’m currently using the Smart Life App in tandem with Alexa to control switches, devices, and lights in my apartment. The reviews of this app recently aren’t the best, still comes with a 4.7 rating overall and I’ve only had minor issues with the app, nothing detrimental, fortunately.
The first smart outlet I got was this Tantan Mini Smart Plug that works with Alexa and Google Home on amazon (no longer Tantan but Wisebot) It works well, and the upside is the button status light is off when off (unlike the next sensor) The main issue with this one is that you aren’t applying to plug in 2 at the same time which is a real bummer – it’s also lacking a few minor features
Now the next sensor I picked was this BN Link wifi Smart Plug. It comes in a heavy-duty 4 pack. Works with Google Assistant and Alexa of course. The good about this switch is that you can fit 2 or more stacked vertically (but not horizontally unless the outlet is wide enough). It also supports electric usage tracking directly in the app. The bad about this switch is that the status light is ALWAYS on.. You could probably tweak this but out of the box it’s a bit clunky
For the Garage, we got a triple plug that is a single switch for all three plugs. Works great for turning on battery tenders, and power tools in the garage.
And the one for the patio is a dual plug with the ability to control each individual plug. Made for outdoor use which is great for outside patio lights that I have plugged into this switch.
I have an older Alexa dot in the living room and a newer dot in the office both of which provide enough coverage to be heard from almost everywhere in our 1000sqft apartment.
For lighting, I have a lamp with a Sengled Smart bulb in the living room which works great for evening lighting.
For the kitchen, I have a non-smart LED kit under the cabinets which is on one of the Tantan switches mentioned above. I have it set to 50% brightness on the manual controller for the kit which works great for nighttime lighting. Swap the kit to 100% and it’s fantastic for lighting whilst cooking.
For bathrooms and hallways at night, I have these nifty little nightlights that have auto on/off. I’m unable to stack them vertically or with other large device plugs next to them, but they work great for a less harsh green light for those nightly bathroom trips.
Now this, makes the list ULTIMATE. The Coffee warmer 9000, just kidding, but seriously this coffee warming plate I found is amazing when paired with a smart switch for telling, “Alexa, turn on the coffee heating plate”, and voila, your coffee is being heated to either 131F/149F/167F which can keep coffee hot for hours at the 131/149 settings. 167 is steamy or is great for heating up lukewarm coffee in under 5 minutes!
