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One person's example of an automated home. This is a great place to start because you can build on it using other products. Here's what you need to know:
1) Most smart assistants can control most smart devices (or the hubs that they connect-to). Some great examples of smart assistants can be found here on our "Smart Assistants" page. In this example we will use Google Home.
2) Smart devices like light bulbs, cameras, plugs, thermostats, etc. can be controlled. Some devices have their own "hub" and others don't need one. Don't let this confuse you because they are all very easy to set up.
3) Normally each brand has their own app. For example, if you buy Philips Hue lights, they have a Philips Hue app, which can be used to control their products. A Nest camera will also have its own app, as will the various brands of smart plugs. It all seems like a lot to keep track of, EXCEPT.....
4) Using a Smart Assistant & app, like Google Home, means that you can control everything from just one place. This is why it's important to choose what Smart Assistant is right for you before you start setting-up your smart home. The most popular choices right now are Google Home and Alexa.
5) In our example, using Google home, all devices can link to the Google Home app. This means that we can easily control lights, cameras, thermostats, plugs, and other devices (even when they are from different brands) using one single app. What's great about this is that your Google Home device can also control these things, meaning that you could simply say out loud: "Hey Google, turn on my lights," and it will!
**Hover your mouse over the image at the top of the page to zoom-in on the text.
6) Once you've got your devices connected to your Google Home app, you can set routines. Routines can be set at certain times, with sunrise / sunset, or by voice command. This powerful tool allows you to group different actions in your home and trigger them automatically (or by voice). For example, set up a command for "night mode" to turn on certain lights, turn off other lights, dim lights where you need them, and set the temperature in your home. You can set up as many routines as you like using Assistant on the Google Home app.