Five Ways to Create a Smart Home for the Holidays

ELMHURST, lll., Dec. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2014, consumer excitement about the smart home reached epic heights, with hundreds of new devices that monitor, notify, control and secure the home becoming a part of everyday life. While connected-home devices have been on the market for years, mobile ubiquity, technology innovation, and industry standards and partnerships have contributed to more than 13 million U.S. households owning a connected device.[1] This number is anticipated to increase threefold over the next three years to an estimated 45 million smart homes by 2018.[2]

With the selection of connected products tempting even the most novice tech consumer, and the holidays around the corner, now is a great time to create a smart home for the holidays – either for creative gift ideas or keeping a closer eye on your home while traveling.

A smart home benefits from products that can be controlled from anywhere using a smartphone. Today's most popular connected devices are easy to install and can help create a smart home for as little as $50. Following are tips for creating a smarter home this holiday.

1. Control the garage door. Since an estimated 71% of U.S. households use their garage as the main entry point to their homes,[3] automating the garage door with Chamberlain's MyQ Garage allows you to monitor and control the most active door of the house from anywhere in the world. Smartphone alerts tell you when the garage is in use or left open, and allow you to open it anytime to let deliveries, guests or workers inside. MyQ Garage works with most existing garage door openers, installs in minutes, and is available for $129.99 at Best Buy, Home Depot, Amazon and the Chamberlain website.
2. Install smart locks. With connected door locks, a mere touch of your finger, smartphone or key fob locks or unlocks the front door bolt, and gives you activity alerts so you can monitor who's coming and going. You can also allow access to others through their smartphones, and turn off access at any time. Smart locks begin at about $200 and are available at Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe's, and other stores.
3. View your home with video. Sadly, more than 400,000 home break-ins occur in the U.S. during November and December alone,[4] with holiday travel, deliveries, parties and general distractions the cause. A connected home video camera can help by streaming live video to your smartphone once movement is detected in or around the home, and video is accessible with a cloud storage option. These products start at about $150.
4. Automate your light switches. One of the easiest and most affordable places to start automating your home is with the lights. Chamberlain and other companies let you appear home when you're not by setting schedules that turn lights on and off at select or random times. These products are sold at most home improvement and electronics stores such as Home Depot, Lowe's, Best Buy and online for about $49.99.
5. Save money and energy through temperature control. Installing a connected thermostat can save you up to 20% on your heating bill during the cold winter months. Smart thermostats allow you to adjust the temperature based on your comings and goings from anywhere—turn up the heat in your house just before returning from a trip, or switch your setting to vacation mode if you forgot to do so before leaving. These devices sell for about $250 from various online, electronics and home improvement retailers.

Smart Home Products at CES 2015. Hundreds of connected-home products will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 6-10, 2015. Chamberlain will introduce a host of exceptional new products and features that integrate the garage door with additional devices in the home. For more information on Chamberlain or to schedule a meeting at the Venetian Hotel during CES, please contact [email protected].

About Chamberlain
Chamberlain manufactures and markets some of the most reliable and innovative do-it-yourself products for the garage and home. Chamberlain offers a full line of residential garage door openers and accessories as well as other cutting edge garage solutions. For more information on Chamberlain products, visit www.Chamberlain.com. 

Chamberlain®, MyQ® and MyQ Garage™ are trademarks licensed by The Chamberlain Group, Inc.

[1] Parks Associates, 2014

[2] CNET

[3] Door & Access Systems Manufacturers Association

[4] Federal Bureau of Investigations Crime Statistics

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SOURCE Chamberlain

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