We’ve heard all about smart homes, but what is it that makes it ‘smart’? It’s the smart technology in these smart home devices that makes them so different than traditional devices. There are many ways to build a smart home, and one of the most common is to purchase many components individually, such as smart bulbs, sensors, speakers, security cameras, and more.

Once you have purchased your smart home devices, you’ll need to connect them to a hub that allows them to communicate with one another and with you as well, through your smartphone. However, let’s be honest. This particular way of building a smart home will probably be expensive, and you’ll have to invest much of your time. For some people, this is just overkill.

In other words, if your wants and needs are simple, just a couple of inexpensive smart home devices should provide you with the same type of convenience you would get from a high-end smart home.

Therefore, if you’re able to make sure these specific smart home devices are compatible with each other, you will have built a solid foundation for your smart home that is expandable in the future. The key is to identify which smart home devices don’t rely on a hub to function.

Keep in mind that you will need a good wireless router that provides internet coverage in every corner of the house.

Here are some ways in which you can build a hub-free smart home foundation.

Smart Lighting

Smart lighting is a typical starting point for making a smart home. Many smart lighting systems work just fine without a central hub and can interact with other smart home systems. The latest generation of Philips Hue smart bulbs can now be controlled through Bluetooth, eliminating the need for a Phillips Hue Bridge.

Many smart bulbs rely on ZigBee technology. These bulbs rely on a ZigBee-to-Wi-Fi bridge that’s connected to the internet router. This way, you can manage these smart bulbs through their app on smartphones. You can further use the app to preset light scenes and create a schedule.

Moreover, if your household generally uses lamps as a means of lighting, smart plugs are also a great option. All in all, you can easily find smart lighting systems that don’t require a control hub.

Smart Speakers

Have you ever wondered how you can control your smart devices without having to pull out your smartphone? Well, if your smart home devices are linked to your smart speaker, you can use voice commands.

The Google Home and Amazon Echo series of voice assistants are currently the market leader for smart speakers. For years, Amazon was the leader in smart speakers; due to its large customer base, but Google has been a tough competitor recently.

Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa usually pop up as third-party products. However, many smart home product manufacturers have embraced these smart speakers that they have become hubs themselves. Therefore, these smart speakers are useful as a hub and a voice assistant at the same time.

Don’t forget to count Apple’s voice assistant smart speaker. They began getting serious about their HomeKit ecosystems back in 2020 and managed to launch a low-cost version of the HomePod smart speaker power by Siri.

Smart Thermostats

There are only a couple of smart home devices that can match a smart thermostat’s capabilities to deliver both cost/energy savings and comfort. These devices can do more than just heat or cool your house based on when you’re going to get home.

They sense when you’re home and when you’re not so that the HVAC system only operates when needed. The latest smart thermostat trend is to place sensors in rooms that are most often occupied.

Sensors allow the thermostat to operate based on when you’re actually in the house, instead of having the heating and cooling cycles triggered by the thermostat’s location, usually in a hallway.

The Ecobee smart thermostat, for instance, comes with a built-in Amazon Echo speaker that responds to voice commands and also includes remote room sensors.

Conclusion

It’s always fun to build a smart home, as there are so many options available. With the above-mentioned smart devices, you no longer have to worry about purchasing a central hub for all these smart devices to work together.

We hope this sheds some light on those interested in building a smart home!