The Smart Home Gadgets For Renters Guide!
The Smart Home Gadgets For Renters Guide!
If you’re looking to build a smart home within an apartment or any rental that you’re in, well you need to take a bit of a different approach to the types of smart products you buy and the smart home ideas you undertake. You can’t necessarily do everything you would if you owned the place you live in, so as a renter, these are the best #smart #home #products for #renting.
The following are all affiliate links:
Nest WiFi – https://geni.us/qIvjN (Amazon) or store.google.com
Hubitat – https://geni.us/Hubitat (Amazon)
Philips Hue Hub and 3 White Bulbs – https://geni.us/HueStarter3WhiteBulbs (Amazon)
Philips Hue Color Bulb – https://geni.us/HueStarterKit (Amazon)
Philips Hue Go – https://geni.us/PhilipsHueGo (Amazon)
Lutron Aurora “dial” for – https://geni.us/LutronAurora (Amazon)
Sylvania ZigBee Bulbs – https://geni.us/4dcJ (Amazon)
Yeelight Wifi Bulbs – https://geni.us/YeelightSingleColor (Amazon)
Sengled ZigBee Bulbs – https://geni.us/i5S9p6 (Amazon)
Double-Sided clear tape – https://geni.us/DoubleSidedTape (Amazon)
SmartThings Vision – https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Samsung-SmartThings-Vision-AI-Wi-Fi-Wireless-Camera-Home-Monitoring-Detection/280975563466?epid=2254417327&hash=item416b72daca:g:HiMAAOSwmMVdkLFH
Blink Indoor Camera – https://geni.us/NewBlinkOutdoorCamera (Amazon)
Blink Outdoor Camera – https://geni.us/NewBlinkOutdoorCamera (Amazon)
Wyze Cam Outdoor – https://geni.us/WyzeCamOutdoorAYL (Amazon)
Ring Doorview Cam (peephole camera) – https://geni.us/RingDoorViewCam (Amazon)
SwitchBot Hub Plus – https://geni.us/SwitchBotHubPlus (Amazon)
SwitchBot Hub Mini – https://geni.us/SwitchBotHubMini (Amazon)
SwitchBot Button – https://geni.us/SwitchBotBot (Amazon)
SwitchBot Meter – https://geni.us/N0Ss (Amazon)
SwitchBot Humidifier – https://geni.us/JAHV0 (Amazon)
Amazon Echo – https://geni.us/Echo4thGen (Amazon)
Amazon Echo Dot – https://geni.us/EchoDot4thGen (Amazon)
Amazon Echo Show 8 – https://geni.us/EchoShow8AYL (Amazon)
Google Nest Audio – store.google.com
Google Nest Mini – store.google.com
Google Nest Hub Max – store.google.com
Wyze Door Lock (with Keypad) – https://geni.us/WyzeDoorLockKeypad (Amazon)
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Our recommended smart home products for every situation (Amazon affiliate link): https://geni.us/3KzREP
Are you unsure about putting a smart speaker or smart display in your home? Read our short e-book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XKRM6XS
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Thanks for watching, and Don’t Hate, Automate.
Brian
I live in a rented house. The smart wall switches have gotten so cheap, I have replaced most of mine. The TP Link KASA wall switches are very affordable and come in 3 packs. I like those because they come with wiring so all you need to do is wrap them with the existing wires using the provided caps and you are done.
I can switch one out in like five-ten minutes. The KASA app is easy to use and once you set it up, any time you add an extra device, the Google home app automatically picks it up. No rescanning required.
You should put links to your metroid shirts in the description š¤š„°š
Hello, your videos never include Smart Life / Tuya products. I followed my neighbor. I completely switched from Smart Things to Smart Life. There have so many products on Amazon and Aliexpress and they are way less than zwave smartlife products. I am very satisfied about those products and I would like to see more reviews on those products.
Danalock is another good option for lock, without changing the outside key lock. Mine has been working perfectly, integrated to Zwaveš
I’d love to know more about how to use the switchbot button with a garage remote. I don’t have usable electricity in my garage so triggering the garage door by switchbot would be great
Is there a way I can get echo dot to control my emerson tv without buying expensive Logitech hub? It’s not a smart tv but do have a 4k firestick connected to it??š
You share a wall. Oh man can your neighbor hear you when you start the loving with your lady? Does he bang on the wall and scream at you to stop making babies? You should buy him some noise cancelling headphones.
Hey Brian. Mark from Cape Town. Great content as usual. Thank you.
Total side note but shout out to the blacklist! Amazing show
You might consider the 3M Command brand of adhesives and velcro attachments. They really hang in there and can hold a lot of weight and are easily removable without damaging the paint/wall.
hey I have a unique use case I think, I have multiple rooms that each has its own alexa that can control the lights and other devices specific to that room, but how do I completely isolate the alexa per room?
Currently, as long as the smart devices are within the same network, alexa can discover devices in the other rooms and add them thus one room can mess with the other room’s devices. I tried different amazon accounts per room but that still does not work, any other suggestion to completely isolate alexa per room?
Another really useful video Brian, with many people in the UK living in privately rented accommodation this sort of information is especially useful. Just a shame those Wyze products aren’t available over here. Think that’s the first time I’ve mentioned that isn’t it?!
i’m a renter in the UK and this was so informative. great video!!!
I also use the thirdreality switch for over my switches. I find it looks a little bulky but it works great with smartthings also.
Have u had any further discussion with samsung. Can hardly find any of their devices now.
Great video most YouTubers don’t cover this situation and those smart companies are the same we need more options for renters, btw is there any cheaper solution than the Amazon peephole doorbell I saw the upcoming wyze doorbell but it’s hardwired
I expected this video coming
Thanks for another cool video!
I am sending this to my son who rents since he’s away at college. He has some Wyze bulbs and plugs and a couple G home minis but he is often looking for more ways to automate, especially after visits my silly, automated home.š
Whoever hit the thumbs down button? *Dont Hate, Automate.*
Switchbot is great for pressing an intercom button in an apartment, so you can buzz yourself in with your phone or ask Google/Alexa to buzz a guest in.
šAnother great video! But you in civilization… That is scary!This will bring wonderful things to civilization.Thanks for all the hard work and keep up the great job.
Thanks! This was the video for me.
Another thing, Iām moving into a new room, and thinking of painting a wall sky blue. My only concert is that I wanted to put my tv there and put some nice light strips behind it. Would the light blue on the wall make the ambient and bias lightning unoticable? When Iām to watch the my room is dark and Iād probualy only have that as my lighting for movies, but I didnāt want to ruin the effect. Itās a 40inch tv if that has anything to do with it
I am here because a wonderful human named Paul Hibbert mentioned you in his latest vid. Subbed and sticking around.
Hey Brian, whatās the double tape you use? Gorilla tape ?
Also, you should do a fully smart home tour at 100k subs. Donāt worry that will come very soon so start cleaning up haha
I thought you had a house?
If you are renting a house with a chamberlain garage door opener, their inexpensive adapter turns it into a smart garage door opener.
Very easy to set up and it’s so light you don’t need to mount it with screws. Using the double sided tape you introduced me to, I was able to secure it to the chamberlain itself.
I realized why your name is Brian. I just flip around the letters a bit then it spells Brain. You my sir are naturally smart. If anyone tells you anything rude or calls you a nerd, remember thatās the 4 letter way of saying cool.
Anyone else having issues with the Alexa app
I know what you mean about WiFi networks. There are about 50 around me. That said, I tend to manually choose the channels and I set ZigBee to be 15 or above which is outside the WiFi range. I have found Philips Hue tends to set 15 by default here in Australia, but DeConz tried to use channel 11 so I moved that one pretty quick.
I’ve seen similar double sided tape to that clear tape. I found it really good and surprisingly easy to clean off the wall when moving or removing a device.
With the AirCon in the unit, I initially used a Zwave to IR controller, but I ended up going with a Broadlink RM Pro to control it. I found Broadlink was really easy to setup and configure.
Good info Brian, thanks.
I highly recommend those suggestions you made. Iām a renter and Iām using almost everything that you stated in your video especially that double sided tape. Smart plugs/bulbs, wyze/blink cams, myQ with amazon cloud cam for my garage Echo Dots, wyze sensors, smartthings hub/sensors and switchbot button press and their humidifier/thermostat combination along with their small hub
The only exception/addition that you might wanna talk about in you future video is that I used āThird Realityā switches over my existing wall switches that works with smartthings hub and can be installed and removed easily as well as the ecobee smart thermostat with room occupancy sensors and some smart vents from Airtap in some rooms where I needed them to regulate the air flow pressure.
Thanks Brian for truly being a good consultant throughout this journey!
I love a smart home. I’m all in on Merkury Innovations that are sold at Walmart. It’s 1/3 the price of the more expensive ones and they work flawlessly.
can I use that lutron dial with other smart bulbs other than Hue?
YES!!! Thanks for keeping us renting automators in mind in your videos! So hard to find other relevant videos from others, but you nailed it! Keep ’em coming!
I live in an apartment. When inside my apartment, cellphones get little to know connectivity whereas when outside, they have full bars. I have other things that require wireless connections but those things are not connecting to my wifi even though my router is in the next room. Any idea why this is happening?
Really interesting video Brian! š
Good luck on being able to find any empty Wi-Fi channels if you live in a apartment style building. Smile
Have a link for the tape? ā¤ļø
#ShareTheLove
Coming back to post on this video which defined the beginnings of my smart home journey – So few content creators recognise the struggle that people in rented accommodation face when building a smart home. Thanks Brian ā¤ļø
I got permission from my apartments manager to swap out my thermostat for a smart thermostat. I originally bought the echo bee but come to find out there was no C wire, could have added an adapter to the existing HVAC wiring, but I am not risking messing up my AC in the middle of an Arizona summer, so I ended up returning it and getting the simple Nest thermostat which works well. Only gripe with the nest is that itās very simple in terms of the physical device itself and changing the temp on the physical thermostat is not pleasant, but I just adjust the temps on my phone anyways.
Lots of interesting ideas. I thought i had a good grasp of products out there but no. By the way, looking over the black Friday sales ads I see a lot of smart home devices available for the first time to a wide audience.
As a multiunits owner I will never authorize most of IOT things here in quebec because 99.9% of tenants do not put the appartement back in order when they leave! It’s sad because it is in their leases but no one inforces it. So, well screw them.
Wait !4:20 is smart things pulling out of the hardware market ???