How to set up a smart home in under Rs 75,000

Chaitanya Gudipatymoneycontrol.comConnected devices which function as they’re supposed to are a reality. The market is inundated with smart gadgets across different categories from the likes of Sony, LG and Philips, among others. However, products from most players are expensive. Here we take a look at a few options which will help you give your home that right element of innovation and without drilling a big hole in your pocket.

Television, a WiFi connection and electrical appliances such as an air-conditioner or a geyser now have become must-haves in modern-day residences. Typically, a home will have 5-7 bulbs, 1-2 air-conditioners, 1-2 geysers and a television.

For setting up a smart home you would require a good WiFi connection and a smartphone. A backup smartphone, which is used when your primary phone conks off, can turn into a remote to use the smart appliances.

Here’s how you can build a smart home from the scratch for just under Rs 75,000.

LeEco Super 3 X55 4K UHD TVPrice: Rs 59,790

LeEco’s Super 3 X55 4K UHD TV certainly represents the coming of age of the idiot box. Straight out of the box, this TV can potentially replace your existing television and set-top box.This 55-inch TV’s USP is the content ecosystem it offers. It has a ‘Live’ section which airs popular channels from YuppTV which you may already be viewing through your local cable provider. LeEco’s tie-up with Eros gives you access to a large database of films in Hindi and regional languages. The Achilles Heel for the TV is the lack of English titles.

While the TV comes with pre-loaded app store which doesn’t offer the variety like Google Play Store, you can download YouTube to access HD and 4K content.

The display quality is good with wide viewing angles and great colour reproduction. Audio quality, however, is a bit flat. You may feel the need to connect the external speaker set to have a enjoy an immersive experience.

The TV boxes a Cortex A17 quad-core processor with a quad-core Mali-T760 MP4 GPU coupled with 8GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM. It has two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0, three HDMI 2.0 ports, an SD Card slot. It has Bluetooth connectivity and WiFi 2.4GHz and 5GHz support. 

Reos Lite Bulb Price: Rs 1,699 (Cost of five: 5 x 1,699 = Rs 8,495)

Reos Lite Bulb, manufactured by Cube26, is one of the most affordable electrical appliances on the Internet of Things (IoT) platform available in India.

You can communicate with 13W bulb through Bluetooth and Reos Lite app. Installation and connecting with Bluetooth is a child’s play, thanks to the app’s interface.  The app is so user-friendly that even people who’re not tech-savvy can control the lights at their whim.

The app lets you change colours of the bulb through a palette. While preset light settings on the app such as Christmas, reading light and moon can be used, you can personalise the light, including brightness and hue, further with the help of the colour palette. A companion app Reos Music can make the lights dance according to your music playlist — a great way to set the mood for a party at home, this Diwali.

Definitely, Reos Lite bulb should be on your must-haves if you want to be early adopters of IoT. 

Oakter Smart Home KitRs 4,990

The Oakter Smart Home Kit is a starter’s key to control large home appliances such as air-conditioner and geyser, or smaller ones like mobile chargers and table lamps.

A basic Oakter Smart Home Kit comes with a WiFi hub and two smart plugs — one 6 amp and one 16 amp. You need to download the Oakter app from Apple Store or Google Play to get the setup running.

The app lets you connect and control the smart plugs with the hub and link it to your home’s WiFi connection. Once the smart plugs are placed into power sockets, you can plug in your home appliances and turn on or off any device connected to these plugs.

The best feature and a power saving one is regulating heavy appliances such as AC or water heater. You can time the plugs to switch on or off after a specific time interval. This means that even if you forget to turn off your air conditioner while leaving home, Oakter will switch it off for you. You can even time the plugs to switch on a few minutes before your arrival so that the room temperature is pleasant.

You can further add more smart plugs by purchasing them individually. So, if you’re looking for an IoT device with remote capabilities, Oakter Smart Home Kit makes a good choice.