Get started with your smart home in 5 easy steps

How to get started

To make your smart home successful, we've put together a guide below that walks you through everything step by step. There is so much to choose from on the market, so it is much easier to start from yourself and your home. What do you and/or your family need?

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1. Walk through your home

To know what you need, it's good to know what you already have. Consider what products are already in your home. Today, chances are quite high that you already have some products that you could connect to your smart home. What operating system do you use on your computer and mobile? Do you use any voice assistant like Google Assistant, Alexa or Siri perhaps?

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2. Needs analysis

It is very important to do a needs analysis to know what you will need. What do you want your smart home to help you with? Maybe you're morning tired and want to set up a good morning routine where music turns on, lights dim up and the coffee maker runs? Or maybe you want help with lighting and locks when you get home and are tired after a day at work? The possibilities are endless and the needs you have are absolutely decisive for the selection of products. Sit down and think about what problems you have in your home that automation could help you with. Review the features of your existing devices and if they can be automated.

3. Set a budget and start small

The smart home market is still relatively young and the components to manufacture the products are still quite expensive. A smart home can go down in price pretty quickly.

Once you start hooking up your home, it's easy to get a little addicted and not be able to stop. What was once just an ordinary lamp is now an extra annoying moment when you have to light it in the usual way. Therefore, set a reasonable budget so that you can choose products more easily. Expect that it can cost from a few thousand dollars up to 10,000-20,000 kronor. Keep in mind that some services may also consist of a subscription with ongoing costs.

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4. Decide on a primary controller

‍If you're only going to use devices that are connected to the cloud, chances are you won't need a physical controller in your home. Ways to control your home then can e.g. be Google Assistant, HomeKit, Homey, IFTTT etc.

Or if you need to control devices that are not connected to the cloud then you may need a controller such as Homey, Fibaro Home Center, Home Assistant, SmartThings, Animus Home etc.

Examine what your controller has for limitations and possibilities. Think about what you might want to use for functions in the future so you don't paint yourself into a corner.

In October 2022, the new Matter standard for smart homes was launched. Matter makes it easier to connect devices to your smart home. You need a so-called border router for your Matter-compatible devices to work. At the time of writing, some of these are:

• Nest Hub Max smart display
• Nest Hub smart display (2nd gen)
• Nest Wifi mesh router
• Apple TV 4K (2nd gen)
• Apple HomePod mini
• Echo smart speaker (4th gen)
• Nanoleaf Shapes, Elements, and Lines LED Light Panels
• Alle Wi-Fi 6 Eero mesh routers

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What is Matter? : Read our guide here to learn more about Matter

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Choice of voice assistant

Many users today want to be able to control their home with a voice assistant. If you are an iOS (iPhone) user or Android user may have a bearing on the choice of products, please check if what you buy supports your voice assistant. Keep in mind that, for example, a lamp can be connected to a controller that in turn supports your voice assistant. So just because the lamp itself doesn't support your voice assistant doesn't mean it won't work.

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5. Review which devices you need to buy

‍Select the different devices you need to meet your budget and needs. There are so many devices to choose from. Try to stick to the same brand as far as possible to reduce jobs of installing and debugging.

Once you're done with these five steps, just get started and start experimenting. Be creative and try to see the possibilities. Take inspiration from others, but remember, keep it simple. It's very easy to take in too much and make it more complicated than it needs to be.

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Read more: Best white smart lamp

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Internet connection and networking

Today, most households have a stable connection, but make sure that this works properly as it is a prerequisite for your smart home to function properly. Router selection and location can be crucial for a stable network.

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Security

Remember that a smart home can be quite vulnerable. A good solution might be to separate your smart home from your normal network that you use for your computer and phone. In this way, hackers will have a harder time accessing your sensitive data.

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FAQ

Do I have to have a hub?

Although the market is moving towards a hub-free future, there are advantages to some hubs. Review your needs to evaluate whether your solution requires a hub or if you can do without. Do you use devices controlled by e.g. ZigBee and Z-wave so chances are you need some type of hub with antennas that can send these signals.

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How much does a smart home cost?

This of course depends on how big your home is and how much of your gadgets you need to connect. It is very difficult to answer because it is individual. But what you should keep in mind is that e.g. Z-wave devices generally cost a bit more as all manufacturers have to pay a license fee to use the protocol. And remember, set a clear budget before you start. Home automation can easily become a little bit addictive.

Glossary

Flow/Scene — Pre-programmed events triggered by a command. For example, the coffee maker starts and the light dims up when the alarm clock rings.

Trigger — English for triggers. The event that in turn causes a flow to start.

Geofencing — A virtual fence that can be used to, for example, trigger a flow when you get home. The fence senses when you step in and out of it.

The Hub A hub connects different devices that may be compatible with different protocols and then gives you control over these via an app, voice assistant or touchscreen.

Internet of Things (IoT) — This refers to the concept of connecting things to the internet. Not only In a smart home, but also the corporate world and cities.

Sensors “A senson is something that can sense differences in its environment. This can be movement, temperature humidity, sound, etc. A perfect trigger to start a flow.

Matters “A new interoperability protocol as it is so beautifully called. In short, a protocol that will try to make our smart products talk to each other a little better. Many of the tech world's big companies such as e.g. Google and Apple are behind this initiative.

Thread — The protocol that Matter uses to communicate between devices.

‍ZigBee & Z-Wave — Two popular protocols designed specifically for smart homes. ZigBee is known for high speeds and low energy consumption. Z-wave is known to cope with long distances and a good mesh network.

IFTTT (If this then that) — A cloud-based service that can start flows based on a trigger. “If this” = trigger, “then that"=flow.

Mesh network — The concept of sending signals between all connected devices instead of using just one. This way you get wider coverage. This is used today by many network routers but also by ZigBee and Z-wave. The advantage of this when it comes to smart homes is that you can cover a larger area as the signal is passed from device to device until it arrives. Ideal if you have a large plot/house with long distances.

Router — The device that sends out your wifi signal in the home. Most routers today also have a built-in modem that is connected to the internet.

Wi-fi — Wireless internet. In fact, the letters do not stand for anything special, but just sounded good according to the founder.