When I bought my new apartment in Florida after Christmas, I decided it must be a smart apartment. I want everything to be automated. The Internet of Things in my bedroom. And my living room. And my kitchen.
Plus, I have this hope that a lot of millennials are going to move to West Palm Beach within the next two years — they’re calling downtown “Urban Tropics” guys — and I want my apartment to be EXACTLY what they want so I can sell it and make bank!
It’s a small apartment so there’s a limit to what I can do but here’s what I’ve set up so far:
Nest thermostat
FINALLY. And I’m so impressed by how smart it is already and what it’s learned about me and my temperature preferences. Amazing. In just a few days, it’s figured out that I like to be freezing cold when I go to bed but I don’t mind warmth during the day. Note I live in a two bedroom apartment and did not get the sensors and I wish I did. The bedrooms always feel a little warmer than the living area. If you don’t already have a Nest thermostat, you should buy one.
Automated, remote-control blackout roller blind in bedroom
This came in at $1000 but is worth every penny, both because of the remote and the sleep quality! HOWEVER…because of the machinery, the blind has about a 1/2 inch gap on the right when it’s down which means it’s more like 96% blackout. I bought these at The Shade Store in downtown West Palm Beach and had a great experience. Suzanne was my salesperson and she’s great.
Six USB outlets in key locations throughout the apartment
The rental apartment I was in for 6 months before buying my place had two USB outlets in the kitchen and I loved them. So now in my new place, I have one in the kitchen, one in the living room, and two in each bedroom. Everyone should have these USB outlets!
Phillips Hue lights in the kitchen and bedroom hallways
These are awesome. So many different color settings! I had no idea I wanted different types of lighting until I had it. (Warm white, cool white, Savanna sunset, Tropical twilight, and more.) Dimmable via remote control and via app. The one mistake I made was not realizing that Phillips Hue lights are not compatible with all brands of dimmer switches. So the dimmer switch I list below did not work when we hooked it up to these. Cue my handyman laughing at me for attempting this given that I can TALK to the lights. (i.e., you really don’t need a switch.) Yes, I’ve linked my Phillips Hue lights to Alexa so when I go to bed, I can say “Alexa, turn off all the lights.” I would definitely buy these again and recommend them to everyone. Note I purchased the retrofit cans to replace my old ceiling lights.
Note you’ll need the Phillips Hue bridge to get all your Phillips Hue lights in sync. I was unable to find the bridge on its own. You seem to have to buy the kit with the light bulbs.
Smart dimmer switches
I now have one in my bedroom, one in my living room, and one in my office. They have their own app and they also work with Alexa. So for example, my living room track lighting is just normal track lighting. BUT now the track lighting is controlled by this smart dimmer switch so I can use Alexa to control the lights and also use the Treatlife app to control the lights.
My original plan was to have these dimmer switches EVERYWHERE but I learned a few things. My wifi network is “smart” and auto-tunes itself to the right band, channel and channel width for maximum speed. This is great but it means that on the surface, I only have one wifi network. You can’t see that there’s a 2.4GHz and a 5GHz network. The dimmer switches I bought only connect to 2.4Ghz and apparently aren’t smart enough to figure out that my wifi network offers both bands. My workaround was to turn on the 2.4GHz guest wifi network and connect my dimmer switches to the guest network. So if I were to buy smart dimmers, I would make sure I bought ones that were compatible with 5GHz. (I’m also now slightly worried that in another 5 years, 2.4GHz will no longer exist and the switches will be obsolete.) The other problem I had was that the electrical boxes in the wall in my apartment were poorly installed 15 years ago so my handyman had to actually get out his saw and make more space in each box. This turned what should have been a 20 minute per switch project into a one hour per switch project and I am not rich. So instead of installing eight dimmers, I installed three. These are the ones I bought.
Smart Wifi-Router
I bought the TP Link Archer A7 and am pleased so far but I should probably have read the instruction manual. It took me forever to figure out what was going on with the two bands. The Archer A7 has simultaneous 2.4GHz 450 Mbps and 5GHz 1300 Mbps connections for 1.75Gbps of total available bandwidth — fairly normal for dual-band routers I think. But here’s the twist — not sure if all routers have this — I live in a densely populated area. So there are a gazillion wifi networks around and most people are on Channel 1. The Archer figures this out and automagically switches your band, channel and channel width depending on traffic.
Smart shower head
This is kinda gimmicky but I love music and podcasts and Audible and thought it was great that this shower head had a built-in Bluetooth speaker! So I bought it! I’ve yet to take a shower with it (the master bath has other issues I have to straighten out first) but from testing it out, the water pressure seems great! Apparently newer versions of the Kohler Moxie will have Alexa and Siri.
Roomba
OK, this isn’t something I’ll leave behind in the apartment but I also bought a Roomba and I kinda love it. Kinda. I love that I can just let it do its thing. I don’t love that it doesn’t really get into the cracks and crevices. So for example, after all the work the handyman did, there’s a lot of drywall bits under my light switches and outlets. The Roomba caught 95% of it, but 5% is between the carpet and the wall so I have to get that out manually. So yes, I may need to buy a Dust Buster to supplement my Roomba. Note I picked this up during the Amazon sales so I got a good deal. I’m curious if the more expensive versions are quieter or can be controlled like remote-control cars.
What’s Next
Smart Kitchen Faucet that’s Touch-Activated & Works with Alexa
You can actually make this thing dispense measured amounts. Seriously. You can be like “Alexa, give me 16 ounces of water” and the faucet will do that. I don’t know how often I will do this but I feel like it’s the future.
Toto Washlet
I can’t afford a real Japanese toilet (I checked and they are $5000) but a $450 Washlet will get me pretty close. There’s front and rear warm water washing with five adjustable temperature and pressure controls. There’s also a heated seat and warm air dryer with five variable settings. I mean…I need this. We all need this. Get yours now.
Phillips Hue Flushmount
I have one last lighting fixture to replace. It’s just a simple overhead light so as long as I am on a Phillips Hue kick, I am considering this one.
How Else Can I Make My Apartment Smart?
I don’t really need a security system or a doorbell. What else can I be doing to make my new apartment smart?? I need more ideas!
