“Smart home technology is cool, but is it actually worth it?” That question lingered for us for years as the trend grew. My current answer: it’s not a necessity — it’s a want, not a need. Still, a handful of smart devices have genuinely simplified life at home. Some improve energy efficiency and reduce costs by cutting back water use or heating and cooling bills.
We aren’t early adopters (Sherry likes to joke that we’re “consistently behind the trends”), but our slow dive into smart home gear accelerated last fall when I received an Amazon Echo for my birthday. Since then we’ve added several devices — many discussed on our podcast — and readers have asked for a single post explaining exactly what we own and how we actually use it. So buckle up, because here’s the real rundown.
The Smart Home Devices We Own
There’s a smart version of almost everything these days — vacuums, refrigerators, garage door openers — but most of our purchases focus on lighting and energy efficiency. Below is a quick overview of our setup; I’ll explain how we use each item in the sections that follow.
1. Echo / 2. Echo Dot / 3. Smart Plug / 4. Mini Plug / 5. Smart Light Switch / 6. Smart Light Bulb / 7. Smart Thermostat / 8. Smart Irrigation Controller
All of these devices work better when paired with a voice assistant or smart home hub. For us that hub is the Echo with Alexa. If you’re starting out, consider an Echo or Google Home to ensure compatibility with other devices. Both hubs work with most smart products, but not all. We picked Echo because it had better sound for music, which was our priority.
After the Echo, we added three Echo Dots so Alexa is available throughout the house: one in the home office and two on the second floor (bedroom and bonus room). The Dot is a smaller, cheaper version of the Echo and lets us control devices or use the intercom feature without extra wiring. The “Drop In” function is especially handy for quick room-to-room communication.
Smart plugs and smart lights are at the core of what we use daily. We favor smart plugs because they make non-lighting items (fans, lamps, seasonal items) voice controllable and are great for fixtures with multiple or non-standard bulbs. I also use smart bulbs in bedside lamps and other fixtures where single-bulb control makes sense.
Before buying gear, ask yourself what you want to improve at home. Identifying real pain points helps you buy smart products that solve problems rather than collecting unnecessary gadgets. Below are ten practical ways we use smart home devices to make daily life better.
#1: Resolving Annoying Switch Situations
We had a living room switch that controlled almost every outlet and was inconveniently located by the back door. Guests would accidentally kill the modem and TV by flipping it. To fix this, we put the three main lamps on smart plugs and grouped them in the Alexa app. Now a single command — “Alexa, turn on the living room” — powers them all without shutting down electronics. We can still control individual lamps when needed, but the group command eliminates the nightly lamp-lap around the room.
#2: Streamlining Bedtime
Routines in the Alexa app let you trigger multiple actions with a single phrase. Our favorite is “Alexa, Good Night.” That command turns off downstairs lights and turns on bedside lamps upstairs so we never stumble into a dark bedroom. It’s a small luxury — like a mini hotel turn-down service — that we use every night.
#3: Saving Us Laps Around The Office
In the office the overhead light switch sits across the room, which interrupted work flow. Instead of buying two bulbs for the fixture, we installed a smart light switch. It fits into the existing switch box, functions like a normal switch, and also responds to voice commands (“Alexa, turn on the office”). That convenience keeps us working without getting up every time daylight fades.
#4: Controlling Items With Inconvenient Controls
The first item we smart-plugged was our Christmas tree so we wouldn’t crouch behind it every morning and night. After the holidays we moved those plugs to salt lamps that used to be inconvenient to reach. Now those lamps turn on with voice commands and can be included in lighting groups. Smart plugs make quirky or awkwardly placed items far easier to use.
#5: Minimizing Yelling (Easiest Intercom System You Ever Installed)
Using Echo devices and the Drop In feature creates a simple, effective intercom without installing hardware in walls. We call kids to dinner, check on rooms, and communicate across floors without shouting. Drop In works with other Echo users who grant access, too, making it a convenient hands-free option for quick voice contact.
#6: Cutting Down Our Heating & Cooling Bill
We’ve used Nest thermostats for years. The auto-away feature senses when no one is home and adjusts temperature accordingly, trimming heating and cooling use without extra thought. Nest’s smart scheduling and learning behavior help reduce energy consumption; many users report meaningful savings. Integration with Alexa adds hands-free temperature control like “Alexa, turn downstairs down 1 degree.”
#7: Keeping Our Yard Happy (& Saving Water)
We installed a smart irrigation controller that ties into weather forecasts and adjusts watering schedules automatically. It skips watering when rain is expected and shortens runtimes when conditions are wetter, saving water and keeping the lawn healthy. The Rachio controller can also be voice-controlled for manual commands, though we mostly rely on automated schedules.
#8: Creating The Illusion We’re Not Away
Even though our alarm system doesn’t integrate with Alexa, our smart plugs and the KASA app provide an “Away” mode that randomly turns lights on and off on a schedule. That randomized timing feels more realistic than old-school timers and helps deter would-be intruders by making the house look occupied.
#9: Setting Timers & Getting Questions Answered
We use Alexa for basic tasks like timers, alarms, and quick questions. It’s great for cooking timers, homework timers for the kids, or quick facts like “What day is Father’s Day this year?” or simple math. It’s not perfect, but for everyday household use it’s extremely handy and saves steps compared to searching on a phone.
#10: Having Fun
A lot of our Alexa use is pure enjoyment. We play music through Echo devices linked to our streaming account, ask for jokes, and use interactive skills like trivia games. The kids love asking for silly commands and bedtime magic prompts, and I finish many evenings with a few rounds of Jeopardy on Alexa. It’s entertaining and helps the house feel livelier.
So, is smart home stuff worth it? That depends on your priorities and the problems you want to solve. For us, a few well-chosen devices have added convenience, saved energy, and made daily routines easier — and some have been genuinely fun. We continue to watch new products and may add more when they clearly solve a need.
Update: After moving, we documented which smart devices we kept and which we ditched, and recently added a wireless video doorbell that was very easy to install.
*This post contains affiliate links*