You don’t have to wait until you own a home to start a “smart home”.” After all, a smart home can be an apartment, too. Simply because you don’t live in a house, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the same “home” benefits; all with a quick and simple, wire-free setup.
Thanks to Ezlo and the Vera app, setting up a smart apartment is as easy as downloading the app on your smartphone. With the VeraMobile app installed, you can follow the step-by-step pairing wizard to help you make your apartment smarter by adding hubs, smart plugs, door sensors, thermostats, locks, voice assistants, and more.
1. Light up your front entryway and add a virtual chime
Say your entryway is not particularly well lit. You can change that easily, simply by using a motion sensor that is set to trigger your lights. Whenever you open the door or walk-in, triggering the sensor, the lights you’ve paired with the sensor will turn on automatically.
The VeraMobile app can also be used to, in conjunction with a magnetic door sensor, to alert you whenever the door is open or closed. This can be your “virtual chime”.
2. Turn on the AC when you start your workout with Siri Shortcuts
Because anyone will take a shortcut to convenience and comfort, here’s a neat little trick to integrate various other apps on your phone, with Vera scenes and your smart apartment devices. Need to cool off during a home workout? You can set your Ceiling Fan or AC to turn on “automagically”, when you start a workout on your Apple Watch. Sounds cool, right? Learn how you can set Siri Shortcuts with the article we wrote a while back.
3. Add extra security to the balcony door or fire escape
Putting a motion sensor or door sensor on these access points can give you some added security. Just like the motion sensor at your front door, when this sensor detects movement coming through the balcony, it can trigger the lights to turn on. You can also have a siren go off when any of the sensors detect motion or the door is open. The system is smart enough to be configured in such a way that lights come on automatically at sunset, and that the siren is triggered only when you’re not home. That’s pretty smart, isn’t it?
4. Being shouting commands from the couch.
By now voice commands are the most common way in which people interact with their smart devices. With Ezlo hubs, you can choose whichever hub works best for you — Atom, Secure, or Plus —and know that it will work beautifully with your Amazon Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant. That means you can continue to lounge and bark orders.
5. Add one-touch convenience and security
You’re ready to call it a night so you turn off the living room lights and head off to bed. Will you bruise your shin again as you stumble into that coffee table? Not this time. Not since you paired a motion sensor with a smart lamp and plugged it into a smart plug like Ezlo’s PlubHub2. Now you can land safely in bed; doors locked, lights out, and completely bruise free.
This is just a start at making your apartment smart.
These are just a few of the small miracles that smart devices can perform. To learn more about our devices and how you can make that apartment a smarter place
