15 smart home devices that are actually worth the money, according to a tech expert

One morning this past winter, I awoke to a house that was 10° colder than I had set it and a notification on my phone that my furnace was on the fritz. I was able to troubleshoot the problem and get a technician out, all within a 12-hour window, before our home’s inside temp dipped below 55°F.

These devices learn schedules, optimize heating and cooling throughout your house and reduce energy bills automatically. They can be controlled through apps, which is nice if you don’t want to get out of bed in the middle of winter to turn up the heat. You can also place nodes throughout the house for a more accurate reading of overall temperature, not just the temperature at the thermostat.

Almost every light bulb in my house has been converted to a smart bulb. I love the ability to turn on and off lights through an app (I use Google Home, but Alexa and Apple Home are also great options) or by telling my smart speaker to turn off all the lights at the end of the day. What used to be a costly upgrade can now be done for much less, and the options are endless, from bulbs to recessed lighting that can all be controlled in one Home app, regardless of the number of brands you use.

Don’t want to deal with replacing a bunch of working recessed lights and fixtures? I don’t blame you. Replacing the switch they’re on is the easier, smarter option — this one upgrade gives you scheduling, dimming and voice control for the entire room without touching a single bulb. It’s lower cost and less hassle than swapping out a dozen individual smart bulbs.

Have you ever left the house and wondered whether you unplugged the curling iron or turned off the coffee maker? That’s why I first bought smart plugs, so I could turn off outlets with the tap of an app. Now I use them for Christmas lights around the holidays, the few lamps I own that don’t have smart bulb capabilities and, most importantly, to automatically brew my coffee every morning so I can pour myself a cup as soon as I wake up.

Almost every TV I own has one of these plugged in. Fire Sticks turn a regular old dumb screen into a streaming powerhouse and keep all my apps in one place — no fumbling with multiple remotes or inputs. They’re also the easiest way to bring an old TV back to life (looking at you, garage Toshiba).

Pro tip: Bring one with you when you travel, and all of your apps and shows will come too.

Related: The best streaming device to make the most of your TV viewing experience

I don’t need a robot butler (I’ve seen I, Robot too many times for that), just something that can play music, turn on the lights, tell me the weather and set a timer while my hands are covered in pancake batter. The Echo Dot does it all without complaint.

I’m one of those people who actually likes vacuuming. It’s mindless and I can easily do it with my AirPods in, blasting music or listening to a podcast. Mopping, on the other hand, is awful. That’s why, if I’m looking for a robot cleaner, I’m going to ask it to do more than just vacuum. I want my floors to be spotless in the mornings, and when I take out the trash, I want my unused mop and bucket to be in it.

Related: The best robot vacuum to keep your house clean

The Ring Cam has turned “Was that a raccoon or the wind?” into the simple check of an app. It’s my always-on security system, package spotter and neighborhood wildlife documentary crew all in one. The motion alerts are instant, the footage is clear, and the peace of mind of knowing what’s happening outside, whether I’m home or halfway across the country, is worth every penny.

For additional security, I installed a Ring Floodlight Cam above my garage, which connects to the same account and is wired in, so I don’t have to worry about climbing a ladder and replacing the battery every month. 

Related: Ring Battery Doorbell Pro review: An expensive but effective porch security camera

The first thing I did when I got the keys to my house was change the locks. As someone with four exterior doors, I didn’t want to bother with a key every time I went outside, so I opted for these keyless entry handles instead. They’ve come in handy, especially when neighbors and family needed to get in and we weren’t around. We decided to keep our deadbolts analog, but if you so choose, there are smart options for deadbolts as well.

The MyQ is one of those smart home gadgets that I wish I had bought years ago. I can open or close the garage from anywhere, get notifications if the garage door is left open and even schedule a time in the evening for it to automatically close. It’s simple, reliable and genuinely helpful, no subscription necessary.

Traditional smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are great, and I can’t imagine sleeping through one (I’ve set off the smoke alarm in my kitchen more times than I can remember), but having an alert on your phone that can tell you something is wrong even when you’re not home adds another layer of protection. 

“This is one of those ounce-of-prevention-worth-a-pound-of-cure products,” says Senior Tech Writer Rick Broida, “because if just one of these sensors detects just one leak, it could literally save you thousands of dollars. That’s why I’ve had them deployed around my house for the past several years. And you know what? In that time, they caught two leaks.”

He continues: “The system consists of a little gateway module that plugs into an AC outlet and three Wi-Fi sensors you can place in key areas: under sinks, near the hot-water heater, behind the washing machine, etc. — anywhere a leak is likely. (There’s also a bundle available that includes five sensors.) Each one can detect water dropping onto it from above and water touching it from below. If that happens, it triggers a loud siren and notifies you via email and app alert.”

This three-node bundle is nearly identical to the Eero system I installed years ago, and the reason I love is it that you set it and forget it. Or, at least, that’s been my experience; my home is blanketed in strong Wi-Fi signals, to the point where I rarely even open the Eero app. There’s just no need.

While the wireless standard on this kit isn’t the latest and greatest Wi-Fi 7 version, its Wi-Fi 6 speeds will be plenty fast for most real-world applications, including 4K video streaming. It’s a bit pricey, but it offers double the bandwidth of the Eero 6 (non-plus) system.

This morning, I got an email from my power company letting me know it’s increasing rates by nearly 10%, as if there’s anything I can do about it. Well, technically, there is. I’ve always liked tracking data — from the albums I’ve listened to this year to how much energy I’m burning at home — and a smart home energy monitor is an easy way to actually see where you can cut back and save some cash as those power bills keep creeping up.

I grew up in Michigan, where water is plentiful, so it wasn’t until I moved to Colorado’s high desert that I ever needed to deal with a sprinkler system. The old-school dial controller isn’t exactly intuitive — and remembering to shut it off when it’s pouring out? That’s something I never manage to do. This one will do that work for you and is compatible with 99% of the sprinkler systems out there as well.