SmartThings Starter Kit The Smarter Choice

Not long ago smarthomes were products of imagination portrayed by sci-fi movies, yet today we have a number of ready-to-go automation solutions at very affordable prices. Choosing the right solution however might be tricky because it all boils down to budget and computer savviness. After some research, we stumbled upon Samsung\’s SmartThings Starter Kit, a reasonably priced and very convenient home automation package so we decided to take a closer look.At the centre of every home automation kit is its hub. Home automation hubs are tasked with communicating between sensors and transmitting information to an outlet such as a smartphone. Samsung’s SmartThings was overhauled this year to solve some reliability issues experienced by previous models and to include a more powerful processor allowing certain tasks to be processed without an internet connection.

The new processor also has a video monitoring function, but it’s still in beta phase. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how wireless cameras integrate with Samsung’s excellent smartphone app.

SmartThings Starter Kit includes all the essentials for making your home a smarter and a safer place. We’ve already mentioned the hub, now let’s take a look at the other components. First on the list is a motion sensor bundled with a temperature sensor. In every home automation kit, motion sensors play a key role seeing that they are so versatile in every way.

Besides keeping intruders out and playing a vital role in home security, motion sensors can be programed to trigger certain actions such as turning on the lights, opening automated doors, activating other smart devices, and much more. SmartThings sensor passed all our sensitivity tests with flying colours as we were unable to sneak past it after numerous attempts.The second component in SmartThings kit is a smart power outlet that can turn on or off any “dumb” device connected to an outlet. Get a couple of these, connect them to a few lamps in the house, and program the hub to turn them on every time you come home after dark.

Or even better, place your toast inside the toaster before you go to bed and program it to wait for you in the morning. There are countless combinations that can be configured, it’s just a matter of how creative you can get. Moving on, we get to the Multi Sensor which detects whether any doors or windows have been left open.

The sensor has two elements; one that has to be placed on a static surface and the other which is placed on the movable object. Once those two are separated, the hub will notify you immediately. You might wonder if it is possible to program the system to detect who is in your home and differentiate family members from intruders. The good news is, it is! Using a presence sensor that can be attached to anything from your children to a family pet, it enables other sensors to know who is around. As such, it allows you to program events based on movement like turning on the lights every time you come home or notify you when the kids get back from school.

As a bonus, the presence sensor comes with a beeper function when lost thus you can strap it on to your keychain and not worry about losing the keys. Not to forget, Samsung’s SmartThings works using Wave and ZigBee wireless standards making it compatible with a huge list of smart devices on the market.

Making your home smarter doesn’t require much effort nor is it expensive as it used to be. Thanks to some huge developments, setup takes only minutes and gives you unprecedented convenience. Since Samsung’s SmartThings is so affordable and versatile, it’s a great place to start!