ULTIMATE SMART HOME TECH TOUR: 21 Home Automation Ideas for 2020

[@MikeJones-ux7ql]

I’m not sure if people are just looking for someone to hate/something to be upset about or if they have some deluded notion that their idea of sustainability or smart home is the only one in existence. I’m absolutely baffled that people in the comments are complaining that this home is not at all sustainable or moving towards that direction. It has SOLAR PANELS and battery backup people. I’m even more baffled at people in the comments saying this home is not a smart/automated home. For crying out loud, google home/assistant can automate every single product on this list except for solar panels. Quit complaining/negatively criticizing someone trying to do their part to be more efficient and sustainable in their lives. Live yours and if you don’t like the concept, come out with your own video about sustainability and automation.

[@coolnchilled2456]

And I oop😗

[@GearJones]

You tell 'em, Mike!!

[@nathancarlk]

If you put something out in public your going to have public respond. 80/20 rule man. 80% of the people exist and make up 20% of the noise around something because they are normal. The other 20% are idiots and make up 80% of the noise.

[@SolarTTauri]

Hear hear!

[@willdwyer6782]

I haven't read such a crybaby rant in a long time. Everybody's entitled to their own opinion. Who died and made you the opinion police?

[@ShawnMenchaca]

"Helps keep refrigerators relevant in this day and age" lol, like the refrigeration part isn't enough to keep it relevant 😄😄😄

[@iwilitu6591]

I swear some people

[@Connecting.the.Dots.797]

Yeah, every year at CES there’s extreme competition even amongst the kitchen appliances themselves

[@OKjoey86]

This year Samsung introduced temperature modulation to prevent food spoilage, otherwise known as refrigeration.

[@JasonPhipps]

@@OKjoey86 Way back in 1959, they phased out the "ice box." :D

[@jfish032]

🤣 say word

[@gilachess]

Can't afford any of these. :( I need a smart wallet!

[@v2lyn340]

Can you even afford a smart wallet....

[@Nana_S_T]

Tip for affordable smart blinds: IKEA! I recently bought their black out blinds and they work great. They’re even Alexa and Apple HomeKit compatible!

[@abigaildeleon5617]

i wish ,i wish.

[@freshsox7052]

Me too🤣😂🤣😂

[@lmcdon11]

And with Nest is a sub for $10-25 a month for monitoring/nope here

[@Bluecollarpops]

I work for a security company, and I admire your smart home setup. My only concerns, 1. Who monitors your alarm system? 2. Your alarm solely works on wifi, there for if your Wi-Fi goes down, you’ll never get alerted about anything. 3. Your sensors and main hub are registered to transmit its signals over 2.4GHz (same as your lower band Wi-Fi) easily jammable. I’ve done it with a $5 RF remote off amazon, and jammed my ring, nest, simpliSafe etc.... which I purchased just to test since I’m in the industry. Other than your outdoor cams power lines being easily accessible, and all of your security measures relying on Wi-Fi, I like the fridge!

[@MikeJones-ux7ql]

Nicky g I’m sure someone who has invested time and resources into smart tech has also considered all your concerns and mitigated as much as possible.

[@dragonson72]

@Nicky g, The Nest security has a SIM card option with battery back up and different outdoor cameras can be solar powered as well

[@MissHollywoodHope]

And I oop.

[@rodneydejesus462]

This is like saying "Why bother locking your front door when a cheap crowbar will eventually pry it open?"

[@jericoba]

Rodney DeJesus Well, if someone really wants to get in, they will, regardless of the home. Almost any home.

[@jagmit]

This feels like a long ad for all the most expensive smart home devices

[@yaboynook5865]

i said the same thing everything on here cost way to much when there are other options that are cheaper and work the same or even better

[@phillylady]

These smart home devices might cost more up front, but the intention is that they ultimately save money over time. Take the Tesla for example, the amount of money saved on fuel will soon pay for the extra cost; solar panels too are great money savers, my neighbor has solar panels and he cools his entire 3000+ sf home for less than $50 per month and he runs his AC all the time, by comparison I’d be paying hundreds of dollars per month if I ran my AC like he does in my non-solar panel home. I’m more concerned with privacy than costs when considering these smart devices.

[@Youslopp]

Yeah. Remote controlled everything is not a smart home. She could've put normal devices on a fucking clapper and had the same effect. Cringe vid.

[@JoeSchmo51]

@@phillylady You can save money on fuel but what's her kw/h cost and how many city/highway miles does she drive? What's the initial cost for solar? Is she going to stay in the house for the ~12 year return from the initial investment? How many batteries need to be replaced within this period and how are those batteries disposed of? How are these financed? What's your opportunity cost? I would suggest talking to your financial planner.

[@phillylady]

ChrisKarlHolzer Solar panels, after tax credits, can cost somewhere between $11k and $15k. Of course you could also lease the panels. They oftentimes add value to your home if you bought them, but could be a deal breaker if you lease them and have to negotiate with a potential buyer that they’re worth paying a monthly lease. Overall they will reduce your electric bill, which will reduce the cost of charging that Tesla. Speaking of Tesla, per Tesla’s website, a battery for the model 3 can last up to 500,000 miles dependent on variant you purchase (standard, mid-range, long-range), but will last at least 250000 miles. Electric costs, even without solar panel is way less than the cost of gasoline. I only drive my crv 9 miles per day to my park n ride, and maybe an average of an additional 30 miles per week for errands. I fill up once or twice per month at a little less than $30 per fill with today’s gas prices; with my driving habits and vehicle, I am clearly in the outlier for drivers, but I’m still spending $30-60 per month on gas. $60 per month is roughly what I pay in the winter for my electric and perhaps $90 to $120 monthly in the summer. Back to vehicle cost now, with a fully electric car such as the Tesla featured in this video, the owner can drive up to 400 miles on a single charge costing roughly $22 full charge, they do not have oil and filter change because, well, they do not have an engine, Teslas have an incredible low depreciation compared with any other vehicle, and they’re rated the safest vehicles to drive. I will not pretend to know a whole deal about each piece of tech in the video, nor did I advise anyone to go out and get these tech, but the point I was making is that the intention is for technology to save you in the long run; which incidentally is what has happened with just about everything. I have the Samsung flex washer, and I can’t tell you how much it’s saved me not just in electric costs but also detergent (there’s not been a day where I regretted the money I paid, except the fact that I did not also get the matching dryer). Anyway that’s all I have to say, do a lot of research before investing in anything.

[@TheHellis]

Smart plugs probably use more power than the appliance that is connected to it while in standby. Just think of it. You eliminate a stand by device and add a running device with WiFi connection all the time.

[@MacPaiin]

Haha yeah! The super small usage from standby will never be earned back by those expensive devices either. Even if they would 100% work.

[@latrecave8381]

Have any of you ever thought that maybe they didn’t get everything at once. It takes months or even years to get your home just The way you want it. Even people with a lot of money don’t always have their home perfect . They may add or even take some things away in the future. You have a beautiful home thanks for sharing with us. You have given me a lot of great ideas for my future home.

[@amspamyoung2524]

Next vid: my house has gone crazy because my phone broke

[@lambo-ca]

😅😅😅

[@mio0101]

I was thinking the samething.. software malfunction sometimes right?

[@amoriadarakayla]

😂

[@shuvrajyotidebroy8325]

why? you can still voice control it with google mini. Also you can install those apps in other phone too

[@DMSChannel15]

Too many apps. I really wish there was a way to connect them all into one seamless app that can help control everything through their respective appa

[@nayz-]

There is, if you're willing enough to invest some setting everything up, have a look into 'Home Assistant', it's Foss and works locally, making it a much more secure system.

[@detrondavis75]

For now you can use the Alexa app that how I do it for now

[@troydonaldson]

This is why I like sticking with Apple's Homekit. Everything in my smart home is controlled through one app.

[@AndrewLemons]

I’ve noticed lots of people saying “Alexa” or “Home Kit”. Neither of these will work for an overall control hub. Currently, Alexa barley supports Z-Wave or Zigbee and Home Kit is very picky about any device in general. Home assistant, on the other hand, can control everything. It’s takes a lot of work but is often the best option for universal control.

[@jokersushi1316]

If you have Google Assistant the Home app isn't all that bad

[@Idfkshimun]

They must be super rich 😂

[@WolfNRaven]

No kidding. I was thinking the same thing. Making KZbin videos sure does pay off.

[@Idfkshimun]

@@WolfNRaven yup! I hope making youtube videos is that easy and simple 😂 but it takes a lot of time and effort.

[@rbrennan1000]

Not that rich. Smart homes aren't expensive these days, you could probably kit out all your lights and plugs in a standard house to smart ones for under $200.

[@Idfkshimun]

@@rbrennan1000 oh thanks 😊

[@dirtrider88]

Ryan B, maybe but she has all the most expensive things in her house, not just smart things. JUST that sonos subwoofer is $700 and it doesnt even produce any sound.

[@chica2020]

Awesome vid... I'm building my smart home piece by piece... So far I have the door locks, Xfinity smart security system with cameras, Samsung smart fridge, hub, doorbells, smart lightbulbs, smart thermostat, smart plugs, smart washer & dryer. Now on to Solar on my house! Thank you for the ideas... I love your house!!

[@hooeetube]

SmartBlinds, for the insanely insane price of only $270/window. No thanks.

[@supernova8962]

they are getting cheaper...you can get it at 100$ for 1 by using the 20% coupon I bought 10

[@kaylinvb6423]

ok

[@reneefung8768]

Ikea now has affordable ones

[@toriless]

Often much more! The cost is the main reason I have not done them.

[@Joshpods]

You can make one with stepper motor and a esp controller for 30-40~ dollars

[@aidlsantoso76]

Make it control from one application. ‘Home Assistant’ can do that

[@MikeJones-ux7ql]

AIDIL So can Google Home/Assistant.

[@Clankillas]

AIDIL They are working on that but there a “dominance” issue where one company is open source and another is not so in order for them both to work together- one has to get permission. Alexa does not own these devices and these devices don’t have the voice command abilities that Alexa has. So in order to work together one has to go through another to complete the task. You won’t see any one company having full control until that company “does it all.”

[@abhijeetsingh7805]

AIDIL yes we do that

[@alexbakshi2755]

It's way too complicated to use, even for programmers

[@toriless]

Many hub programs can, Hubitat, Wink 2 and SmartThings can al be set up as a central app. SmartThings needs the internet which is why I do not use mine. My network is local.

[@nubianmaxUK]

Hard work, Saving, waiting & God. I watched your video on how you achieved your lifestyle. So many people have some sort of smart apps in the home. More power to you both. Sidenote I would love that lawnmower. Sending Blessings from he Uk.💞👑👑

[@AscendedSaiyan3]

This is, mostly, what I did, to my parents' house. Instead of the automatic mower, I got my dad an electric riding mower ( multi-acre yard). His Model S Long Range will be in March. Plus, I went a different direction than Google equipment. Great video, again, Ashley!

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

AscendedSaiyan3 Wow!! You did that for your parents? That was so awesome of you! Which ecosystem did you go with?

[@AscendedSaiyan3]

@@HeyAshleyRenne Tesla, for solar and batteries. Ring, for doorbell cameras. I went with a custom solution for all the major watching areas (Amcrest professional pan and tilt cameras with Blue Iris software). I had to build a server for it, to combine visual systems (up to 64 cameras). Lighting is Lutron Maestro (motion detection) and Caseta. I put in an Orbi system, too, like you did.

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

AscendedSaiyan3 Their home sounds incredible 😮 Did you document it? Lol I'd love to see it

[@AscendedSaiyan3]

@@HeyAshleyRenne I just has bits and pieces. The main reasons I did all of that is because the substructure was deteriorating. I noticed unevenness in the floors, while visiting. Long story story short: I wouldn't want people I love to worry about things crumbling around them, in their twilight years. So, I, basically, had the house structure rebuilt, from the ground, to the roof (with modern tech integrated). Now, there is no electric bill. And, I can see if someone is trying to break in. 🙂 I have solar panel and battery install pics. I, also, have closed cell (low VOC version) foam install pics. The other kinds can be bad for the environment. Just let me know what you want to see.

[@saulibarra2892]

@@AscendedSaiyan3 quirrocuvhar musica

[@ShroudedPhoenix]

I'm a simple man, I saw a husky and I hit the like button

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

LOL! He's my sweetie.

[@sargvision8313]

No way a rumba and fancy lights and solar absolutely revolutionary

[@KJSvitko]

Love the solar panels. Saving energy saves money on utilities.

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Kenz300 x Thank you! We love them too. Our power bill has been almost zero since we got it. And we just installed a power wall today!

[@miketony2069]

Great video and good line up of smart home options. Ignore the haters who's only goal is to stuff a hot pocket in their mouth and critize everything.

[@monas.6839]

Not a criticism, but a question: is it sustainable when these devices break or become obsolete and end up in a landfill? I’m thinking that there should be a special recycling program just for electronics so they can be sent to a place where they’re broken down and each part can be re/upcycled.

[@supernova8962]

never throw it away... they are salvageable .... you can re-sale back out as parts ... most of the time its just a minor chip replacement and you can get back pretty good dollars...just like broken Hue bulbs...

[@TediBearProductions]

I like the way that you present your automated home. Subscribed.

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Thank you! :)

[@JohnsMainYT]

This video called me broke

[@Errordemn6]

These are some great smart items. I recently purchased my first property and I'm looking at a few things to make it a smart home. First thing I'm going to is get a smart door lock. The washing machine/dryer device is really cool. Thanks for the video

[@mrcoolgs100]

Your husband is so lucky to have a wife like you!!! Gadget geek and smart lady! Congrats on your wonderful home and family.

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Aww that was sweet. Thank you!

[@javiermarcialcespedesberne8575]

Hola, como estas?, Los mejores y más cordiales Saludos desde puente piedra, lima, Perú, ojalá que puedas venir nuevamente en algún momento a mi país y que disfrutes mucho de todo por aquí, con la familia y los amigos, felicidades por tus vídeos...

[@tyronecotman4765]

Ashley this was one of my favorite Smart Home videos and I am a tech and gadget guy . I’m a vegetarian about to convert to vegan and I am a Tesla Model S owner . I’m a fan and want to congratulate you for sharing this informative video so I can share with my friends and family.. I love want you doing and keep sharing !! I am looking forward to next one as you continue to make your home smarter . I do want to know what do you recommend for a whole home backup if you lost your power and WiFi goes out . What do you recommend ?

[@JasonPhipps]

... crickets Why, an automatic home power generator, and Zigbee Devices of course! Not that there's much of those devices in this house...

[@kiranrathod7371]

This is dream smart home for many of tech enthusiastic people. Great video

[@tonysanderson7741]

There are 3 types of smart home people, 1.[Smart Consumer] - people who don’t really understand how smart homes actually work, purchasing the expensive brands that tend to be plug and play. Next is the 2.[Smart Tinkerer], someone who tends to buy premium brands but tinkers with rules and conditions using 3rd party services such as IFTTT. Last but not least 3.[Smart Guru], someone who understands how smart homes actually work, tends to buy cheaper brands that need a little more configuration or firmware patching, They tend to use Home assistant (Hassio) and are confident at developing their own code using (Yaml, Java , Python) creating total automation. The person in the video as nice is she is, I would class as a 1.[Smart Consumer].

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Tony sanderson aww and you think I'm nice too! Thank you 😉

[@MikeJones-ux7ql]

Tony sanderson Tony sanderson don’t forget 4.[Smart Guru want to be], someone with delusions that they are a smart guru and goes about commenting on KZbin smart tech videos and explaining the 4 different type of smart home people. 😂

[@tonysanderson7741]

@@MikeJones-ux7ql Yeah however there seems to be only one person that falls into the 4 category offering Mike , hence will leave you out of it. Kind Regards.

[@MikeJones-ux7ql]

Tony sanderson How about you focus on learning how to write properly before moving on to the 4th category. Thanks 😊

[@JordanJunco]

We use a lot of the same tech. I live Nest! We used Ring before but Nest worked so much better for us. And Google Homes and the Lenovo smart display we love too.

[@ohthatstyyy084]

I love this! I love how you’re teaching the benefits of sustainability especially as a black woman. Keep going and keep teaching the world sis❤️

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Tyra Gravesande 😭Thank you!! That means so much to me! That's my goal, to especially show the black and POC community how to live more sustainably. At the end of the day, the climate crisis will have an extremely heavy impact on communities already burdened by oppression so we need to do everything in our power to educate ourselves

[@velebik4157]

@@HeyAshleyRenne i wanted to ask, because I feel that being called "black" just doesn't seem nice for me, if I was "black" I would probably try to find some other name other than "black" even if someone calls me "white" it's just weird, is that just me or is it like this?

[@Eccentech]

@@velebik4157 I'm pretty sure that's just you because the word black doesn't bother me either. I don't go around saying "African American" and I don't know any other black person that says African American either in a normal everyday conversation. We just say black. Even on What Would You Do episodes they use the word black and it doesn't offend anybody. It's just normal. If they meant it in a racist way then yeah sure... then it's gonna be a problem.

[@coolglasses9917]

@@velebik4157 I'm bothered with "especially black" thing

[@Caram3lKYD]

@@Eccentech But have you ever truly questioned why being called Black is "Normal" , given the fact human beings and people that are identified as Black from a societal standpoint are actually Brown ( Beautiful Walking Composite Colors) . Ik what I'm saying will be heavily misinterpreted but i come from a place of love. I'm asking all to look at skintone, color, diversity from a higher perspective of the rainbow. Before you ask or assume, yes I am African American/ Carribean American person of the African Diaspora, but the way I view Blackness is actually as Browness, because that is what we actually are BROWN ( Brown is a composite color made using Orange, Red & Black) . European colonization created an ffed up view of identity. Stripping away the rainbow for which we are , forcing this false Black/White divisive identity politics.

[@fenyrmastermk2902]

Imaginé a house with both traditional way and tecnology way, that must be amazing

[@joeyblondie]

This video was edited amazingly and really showcases how we’re using technology to our advantage in our lives and to move forward in society. Gained a follower👏🏻👏🏻

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Aww thanks so much!

[@terrancegibson391]

I subbed just bc the quality of the video

[@terrancegibson391]

Hey Ashley Renne you should have put a audio warning @4:20 the alarm damn near gave me a heart attack 😂😂

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

@@terrancegibson391 Lol haha sorry!

[@aminasamira11]

I actually want to get a Tesla in the future but I’m still deciding if I want the truck or the model s. I got to test drive it, it was awesome

[@braddeitrich4264]

Although I think some of these items are over the top as far as like really smart blinds?!! But they're definitely some cool items it makes things super convenient!! I like it!

[@toriless]

They can be useful in a bedroom or a media / TV room. You can darken it or turn on the lights as needed along with the receiver and TV once setup right.

[@samyray2k851]

Yall house reminds me of black mirror!😂

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Samyra y2k 😂😂 That's one of my favorite shows! Sometimes I do feel like I'm living in a Black Mirror world. It's kinda nuts.

[@shooterguitari328]

Mr. Robot smarthome hack 🤓 i'll hack your house

[@SaiCostmoney]

I’m trying to be like you ! I really enjoyed how you brought together tech and sustainability to have the perfect home !

[@kajikenji]

my ears died at 04:08 R.I.P my good old ears.

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Max Peros 😂 my ears die a little anytime I hear it too

[@joanmolina1684]

I used Gosund for my smart home. The advanced features are great! Awesome products!!!

[@akudk389]

You might also need smart boyfriend

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

David Kristiawan I have a smart hubby 😉

[@jayhouston21]

David Kristiawan she had a DOG 🐕

[@vannykay727]

@@HeyAshleyRenne 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.Seriously? Smart hubby? Lol

[@jfish032]

@𝓣𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓪 𝓜𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓾 😂..like.. ya

[@blakevackar6785]

Well done video of a vey cool and realistic home.

[@Alexis_M777]

Smart Home Goals❤️💙

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Thank you Alexis!

[@longterminvestmentsonly4817]

Gotta give u props. Well put together video.

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Thanks! 💚

[@garybknightjr]

Never heard of you, and love everything about you! 1) informed 2) Cool Tech 3) Great production value 4) #BGM

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Gary knight Ayyyyyy thank you so much!! I appreciate you 💚💚

[@jonesebere2929]

I love this video, how so I learn how to install this smart home devices and how can I get the smart home products and services? Am based in Nigeria. Thanks

[@TravelsWithIan]

What a house 😭, So amazing! My house needs to be just as smart if not better! Great video

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Travels With Ian Thanks so much for watching! You can 100% get it there! I've been wanting to publish my smart home video for a year, but I kept adding more stuff lol. The possibilities are endless. I had to just go ahead and publish it once it reached 21 smart tech ideas. Maybe when I reach 42 I'll do a Part 2 😆

[@lieulieubear1407]

I love the concept but it would be so expensive but also, a great investment.

[@olefischer1]

Anyone else from Germany who asked himself why there's a car from cologne in the garage ?😂😂

[@shlamhabor]

oh yes :D i do not understand why people should ship a car to the US?

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

@@shlamhabor The car was not shipped :) The license plate is decorative. He got the plate when he lived in Germany.

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

My husband brought the license plate back from when he lived in Germany :) It's used as decoration now

[@shlamhabor]

@@HeyAshleyRenne nice action :)

[@1Damstar]

Yes! I scrolled down the comments to see if someone else noticed

[@guerocuervo]

Nice home,good job buddy I have smart home but yours is in other level

[@ReVoltyyy]

I am impressed.

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

jeffrey blichfeldt Thank you! 💕

[@Hubertxlv]

Love this video amazing work 👍

[@bschil1]

Thank You!! You have put an amazing amount of work and effort into this video and your home to inform us THANK YOU!

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

bschil1 Thank you so much 😍😍 I appreciate you taking the time to watch!

[@aceofspades8971]

Do I like those gadgets? - Yes Do they worth the value? - No way I don't like the missing control of all the things in one app...

[@Chris24Michel]

Wait I’m so glad I found your video I love you so much! We r twins I’m a vegan software engineer :)

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Aww!! That's so amazing! Yayyy, hello fellow vegan techy :)

[@jamesmcfarland8444]

Great video. Can you tell me if there is much maintenance for the lawn mower? Does it get clogged with grass cuttings and such? Also, just subscribed because you explain everything with such grace. Great job.

[@esyew]

“Keep the fridge relevant” new trend is ditching the fridge and just eating moldy milk

[@sceb]

Erick Grant I heard that too and chuckled...I know what she meant, but it was still funny

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

@@sceb LOL!

[@sceb]

Hey Ashley Renne great showcasing of what’s possible Ashley Rene. My husband and I are integrating more and more smart items into our cottage here in Sweden, and once we renovate, will add many more. So much convenience! Keep the vids coming!

[@jamesreynolds8838]

"Eating" was too graphic for me. :P

[@toriless]

@@jamesreynolds8838 Get out the fork.

[@haudace]

What an amazing home!

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Thank you!

[@eythor23]

4:09 rip headphone users.. :'(

[@maxwellvigil6084]

Yup

[@Jos_Intimate_Creations]

Lol

[@Micknesss]

This is a fantastic video, but I agree with some of the comments... you guys are fkn loaded! In Australia, to build that house the way you have (3 stories), with the solar panels and the Tesla Powerwalls alone would set you back about $3 Mil anywhere within 25km of a major city. Not to mention the $50k - $100k+ worth of smart tech you have invested in the house, and the Tesla car which costs $150k+ in Australia. Well done to you guys, a great example of a smart home kitted out to the max. Not saying you're making a killing of YT vids, but you definitely got some cashh.

[@lavidboys]

The foundation of a smart home starts with a great home network and learning to protect you and your family from companies of smart devices. Once this foundation is setup correctly build on from there.

[@Ojoujae]

How would a smart toaster work? Do you still need to push it down? and what if my switch for lights is on but I control it off from my phone. Next time I switch it off, lights will come on?? Just a bit confused but I’m considering the smart lights for my house ☺️☺️

[@diamondrella2475]

Imagine actually living in a place that literally watches your every move and no I'm not talking about the cameras I'm talking about everything. Everything you do is interacting with technology which basically collects data from you and spies on you. Not to mention those nest cameras and ring cameras footage are probably being sent to the police station.

[@justspacegoatfarts]

some people just love the attention ,lol

[@andrewcbartlett]

Did you write your comment with your phone or computer which tracks your every move?

[@Y2Kr4SHM4N]

Sarah Goodson Then you’d best not be a hypocrite Sarah. You’d better destroy your smartphone. I’m not being facetious either. Your smartphone collects way more data on you than anything else. Ever notice that the ads you receive on webpages are related to things you haven’t googled, but have spoken about? So, if you are that frightened, get out the hammer and go off grid. Right now! Someone could be hacking your phones camera whilst you’re on the can. Or, accept that privacy is a 20th century notion, and unfortunately, is something we now have to live without. Soon people will be wearing smart glasses with cameras. If you so much as trip or fart in public, an algorithm will identify who you are, and everything about you. And if the people who saw you fall/fart/humiliate yourself, decide to retrieve the (automatically recorded cache of the) last few minutes of video, to upload the humiliation, then tough luck. It’s online. On the flip side, you enjoy instant everything from Uber/Uber eats to emails. So, what do you want? Convenience and modernity and youtube? Or Stone Age privacy? You can’t have both. 🔨 smash it up. PC. Mac. Phone. Smart tv. Router. All of it. Your parents lived without it. You can too right?

[@DMSChannel15]

I really don’t understand this argument from people. It’s honestly narcissistic. Do you find yourself interesting enough to be spied on?

[@jaredw6480]

​@@DMSChannel15 Edward Snowden, enough said. I'm not saying i'm off grid by any means but watching the documentary and following the story makes me a little more cautious every time I go to plug in a new device. I use one Alexa in my computer room and its only to tell me when someone is at the door, other than that no other mic'd or cam'd devices in the rest of the house (but i carry a phone everywhere so?)

[@Ft.rivariva]

Wonderful and knowledgeable video.

[@friday678]

yeah this is cool until your internet goes down and literally nothing in your house works

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

The internet isn't the only method for accessing our home and devices :-P

[@taufiqiman_]

Probably can use Bluetooth too

[@Y2Kr4SHM4N]

Fighter Net goes down and you lose advanced features, normal features are all the same. Ie - smart plugs and lights become inaccessible away from home, or by voice assistants. However, they are entirely accessible when on the home network (despite being offline). But you have to use your app instead of “hey google, set the lights to desert.” It’s not 2010 anymore. Get with the times man!

[@Y2Kr4SHM4N]

Hey Ashley Renne I’m in Australia, and thought I had a pretty high-tech smarthome for the last several years. (Smart homes are not common here.) I don’t feel state of the art anymore! Your house is amazing!

[@andrewcbartlett]

Nest thermostat and lights (and probably everything else) carry on with same schedule and go into manual mode, until internet restored.

[@mccoyology]

Hey Ashley me and my wife are looking to build a house in the next few months and we want to go with a fully automated smart home. Can you do a review possible on zigbee or any other connective automation tools.

[@altamashparwaiz2097]

Google Nest + samsung smart home = 90% smarthome

[@kellygerben7646]

Oh so she got money money 😂. Jk your smart home is super cool and seems super convenient also the video was edited super well

[@Bernardlaurent]

before even reading the comments first thing I said was they rich

[@yega3k]

They drive a Volkswagen and a Tesla. Is that what we call rich these days?

[@dirtrider88]

Yega, clearly you have no clue how much the shit inside their house cost

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

@@yega3k Hahaha I was thinking the same thing. I guess people have different definitions of rich, because to me, this certainly aint it. If I was rich, I wouldn't need smart tech. I'd just hire help :-P

[@residentone475]

Bernardlaurent Rich phase 1 would be buying everything from Apple(who overcharges for everything). The Tesla however is a status sign. Rich phase 2 is paying someone to do the work for you. However, this is just lazy. I think we can walk 30 feet to unlock the door, and so on. The irrigation would come in handy for rural people, but those in Rural America it seems are living in mid-century cottages with not much internet access in the area. Sustainability shouldn’t be limited to turning your house into a “smart home” where Artificial intelligence is being used to conserve energy use on everything. Also, if you want to lower your carbon footprint even more, ditch the cars and walk, bike, or take public transit everywhere. Good chance there’s a bus system in your city if you live in a smart home.

[@ryanhicks3080]

@@HeyAshleyRenne Running the numbers based off your list you provided, (taking some guesses on quantities) I'd estimate you payed in the neighborhood of $20,000 for all the tech for your smart home not including the solar panels. I can give credit for some the standard appliances like the washer and dryer as those have a high cost to start and you spent just a little more for the connection perks. So all in all, I'd say your smart home cost you around $15K...that's a car for most people. If you don't consider yourself wealthy, I imagine you haven't seen a lot of the rest the country. That being said, I like seeing the cool tech, but I'd caution telling people you're not wealthy because you don't have butlers when you have a $3,000 lawnmower doing your work.

[@davidthesing668]

Great video with a fun person

[@nightix4538]

I Love how you pronounced Huskvarna, never heard an american say that

[@scrapmetal58]

I have a smart home as well, but I haven't used smart plus except for a vintage fan and some lamps. Can you expand on how you use them for other appliances (outside of phantom power)? I wanted to use one for my modern pedestal fan, but it requires a button to be pushed when power in order to actually start. Thanks!

[@Fine_i_set_the_handle]

in order for them to work the device needs to resume what it was doing before it was unpluged, so it doesnt work on personal computers and most modern fans it can turn them off but not back on, it works good on most tvs though, and your christmas tree/lights in december i also use one on a bug zapper. Honestly theres not alot of uses for them.

[@Jimmy-nl8yi]

damn i got everything except the solar panels and the only reason I didn’t get it was because trees were in the way. damn i was one one lol!

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Lol that's so cool that you have everything else though! We totally lucked out with positioning of our house. If it was facing the opposite direction, there's no way we would have been able to do it, so it worked out!

[@Jimmy-nl8yi]

Hey Ashley Renne great job and great style, and great energy

[@AirborneLogic_Isaac]

Very good video! Just purchased a home, looking to update the technology.

[@LivingAdventurousLee]

Wow. your channel definitely need more subs. amazing content for a 20k + channel. SUBBED :)

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Whiskey Insider Aww thank you! 😍😍

[@Brian.RollTide]

Thank you for the detailed tour of your connected home. We’re getting ready to build our dream home and now I have more ideas to make life a little more pleasurable.

Hi, where do you come from? I saw the volkswagen in the garage with a german license plate from the city cologne?

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Good eye! So cool that you noticed that. I'm from the US, but my husband lived in Germany for awhile :) He loved his time there so much he put a German license plate on his car.

[@maxwellvigil6084]

Oh I was gonna ask the same thing

[@Jowitaxoxo]

Oh. My. God. You are incredible. Your home is ridiculous. Your husky is adorable. ❤️ I LOVE your content!! Thank you for making this video! We have the nest thermostats, speakers, Google nest hub & Ring doorbell but after watching this, I want the fans and smart plugs!!!

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Aww thank you so much!! I appreciate that. Hope you enjoy the new ideas!

[@sangel12345]

serious question: are smart homes more at risk of catching on fire??

[@sofiareyes2949]

sydney angel I don’t think so

[@georgedean4998]

Great video...thanks!

[@euroamericabusiness]

And when there is an internet outage you're back to the caverns time, jajajajaja.....!

[@CoryTaylor904]

Lol

[@thirtyeyes]

Ha ha. I haven't had an Internet outage in the 9 years I've lived in my current home that wasn't also a power outage due to weather. You do realize that the internet isn't power? If the Internet does go out then the house becomes a regular house with switches that work just like they used to?

[@UmPinguinho]

I really love this vídeo. I want my home smart too.

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Thank you!

[@TerryLeeWhite]

Great job!

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Terry White Thank you Terry!

[@LoveAffairsTube]

Thank you for this video... I know nothing about most smart devices. We are building our home too and this was VERY helpful to know what products are on the market and how to utilize them in your home. I like this particular video and list better than youraverageconsumers videos.

[@pavel0900]

Your lawn is brown. Guess the robot 🤖 mower and the “smart” irrigation didn’t help there 😜

[@roxymetcalf]

Where does the grass go with the electric automatic lawnmower? Does it have something to catch it or would you have to rake it?

[@juliol854]

What happens when your phone dies? 🤔

[@dirtrider88]

you plug it in. are you serious, like being able to plug in your phone is a problem in the day where cell phone batteries last for, literal, days.

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

You can also manually control things. For example, if I want to turn on my fan but my phone is dead and I don't feel like waiting 10 seconds for it to charge, I can just walk over to the switch. Thermostat, same thing. Blinds, same thing. Robot vacuum, same thing. So and so forth. But most of these are automated and on a schedule anyway, so I rarely need my phone for anything.

[@jamesreynolds8838]

@@dirtrider88 I suspect he was asking mostly about the smart lock. I wondered the same thing. I'm not going to the neighbor's house to charge up just so I can get in, haha

[@EnderiumRace]

you've got to be using a lot of internet and energy in order to power all these smart appliances but still cool ideas

[@fritske88]

using an app on your phone or voicecommands for your "smart" home doesn't make it smart, it's just a glorified remote and looks like everything you have goes through a cloud so goodluck when the internet goes down.

[@2cool0]

you can use the lights like normal with a switch. The doors unlock like normal with a regular key. Everything else should work as they would normally. The only downside is the camera being connected to internet making it accessible if someone tries to hack it.

[@nixellion]

@@2cool0 The point is that all the 'remote' control dies if there's internet outage. Can be solved with a backup failover connection like with an LTE stick for a bit extra money though. Still locally controlled systems are better, like HomeAssistant, Hubitat or SmartThings. Sure they require some time to learn how to use them, but IMO it's worth it.

[@2cool0]

@@nixellion ah I see what you mean. But I mean how likely is it that the internet is going to go out?

[@nixellion]

@@2cool0 Depends on location. Even if you live in some big city with gigabit connection it's possible that someone may accidentally damage the line. Consumer connections often dont have any backups from ISPs, and it can kill your internet for a few hours. I happenned a few days ago to me, internet was out for 2-4 hours. I could still enjoy my Plex server shows and movies and my IoT working without any problems. Which is important, because, for example, when we get our kid ready to sleep he's used to relaxing with dimmed light. If that stopped working and it was just full on or full off it would be a lot harder to get him to relax and go to bed. Then once you move away from big cities things get even worse. Majority of the planet actually does not have wired internet, only wireless mobile networks. In out country house I had to install a big ass Mikrotik LHG LTE antenna to get more or less reliable 3-4Mbit. Sometimes if I pay extra for mobile operator I can boost it to 10-20Mbit, but it's hit or miss, sure they remove restrictions from their side, but signal strength and tower load stays the same. If i'm lucky I get 8-10 Mbit. But if a lot of people are using their internet from the same cell tower it gets worse. Then it does not even have to be your connection problem. There are a lot of links between you and 'smart' server, and any of those links can go down. There were already issues when Google IoT servers went down for a couple hours, all their 'smart' devices turned dumb for that time. Sure it's just a few hours. But it's out of your control, and it can happen at very inconvenient time. And I'm not even touching things like privacy concerns with them collecting data and basically having a backdoor to your home network. Like imagine Hue Bridge, it's connected to your LAN and can do anything on it, like accessing your network shared folders... And uploading them to the 'cloud'. Anything with wifi is basically a mini PC that can do anything with your LAN unless you take precautions to isolate it with firewalls and VLANs. And there's also an issue of companies just going out of business and shutting down their servers. It happened to a couple of such companies already. Then in most cases you can just toss their devices into garbage bin, unless they had open APIs or used common protocols like ZWave or ZigBee or something like that.

[@2cool0]

@@nixellion hmmm those are some good points. So how do you have your smart devices work without your isp? How is that possible?

[@sagarchauhan97]

I have a question dear, what are cost you are invested for made your home smart. I appreciate you have done awasome in video and also your home. God bless you.

[@martino_yes]

Smart, but dangerous, if I'd ever have a smart home I would remove the thermostat, nest x yell door thingie and that grass thing, those things can be dangerous, and are an open door for hackers.

[@toriless]

Never get automated locks. My security system is wired with POE cabling. Yeah, that mower seems scary. I would not let my dog near it. The watering system is nice though. Installation is the hard part with it. The parts are not that expensive.

[@ZuluMachineTravels]

That door bell is cool

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

ZuluMachine Travels It comes in really handy 😊

[@JohnnyNodari]

This not smart, this nuclear WIFI home.

[@toriless]

He definition of a smart home is WRONG to begin with. She does not know what she is talking about.

[@TomCastello1]

I'd love to have a auto lawn mower but I have a 3/4 acre lot around my house with no fence's. How many of these things would I need and I'm guessing I still have to plug them in all the time? The rest of your stuff seem's really cool and I love your setup. I especially like that home mini pod for mounting in a outlet, so clean I just bought a 3 pack! This is the first video I watched that kept me interested in home automation, showed the wife, now we are hooked on your stuff. Keep up the great work!

[@crzywatch]

Even though it’s a technology gadget madness, if we were to review each individual device based on its efficiency, durability and most importantly dependability its not yet up to the mark. Garage Genie seems convenient but just not crime safe, lawn mower amazing but does it cut all sorts of grass needs more development, nest devices do they have privacy regulations on them, they are all WiFi depended if a human were to lose their phone or forgot to charge their phone it would be an issue, Door lock 🔐 should have a manual way as well, doorbell definitely a must, outlet for electric devices probably needs more refinement, how hacking safe are all these devices, and when exactly can we charge our cars in our garage without depending on Tesla. Just saying. There is a lot of room for improvement and durability. But it’s a good beginning. Second generation of products will be more secure and efficient. More security and privacy.

[@MikeJones-ux7ql]

crzywatch You bring up some good points, but I think of you do more research, you’ll find most or at least some of your points are invalid.

[@arturofuentes6302]

Hey Ashley! how are you! hoping all is well and that you are keeping safe. I wanted to ask you: Who does someone hires to install and configure all of this devices that you listed on this video?

[@isaacj4401]

A little warning would have been nice for that alarm.

[@luanjusto7854]

I loved everything! congratulations! I just think that was missing an Infrared HUB with google assistant, I suggest: broadlink mini 3, with it you could control everything that has remote control by voice using your google mini. For example, the TV doesn't have to be using this wifi socket, just make the hub control the tv by emulating a remote control.

[@luanjusto7854]

PS: with a HUB, all the functions on tv are unlocked, not just on/off.. volume/Chanel/etc...

[@toriless]

Logitech has something like that called Harmony but I could never get mine working right. It is in a box.

[@Affeshatem]

I can't believe she explained the definition of what a "smart home" is... "KZbinrs" these days...

[@jeffreymayes907]

If you are truly concerned about energy consumption, even with solar, then you should also be looking at installing a whole house energy monitor form Emporia, Sense or Square D.

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

Thanks for watching! What smart tech do you have or want for your home?

[@antoniosjohnson123aj]

Never knew about the lawn mower, washer and dryer or the smart plugs. Those are very interesting.

[@antoniosjohnson123aj]

Thanks for sharing. Put your husband in more videos. Real love is awesome.

[@ShmuelSpade]

The lawnmower is the one I started looking for as soon as I finished the video

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

antoniosjohnson123aj Sweet! Glad you got a couple new ideas. Haha the hubby is extremely camera shy. I've been working on getting him to be more comfortable 😁

[@HeyAshleyRenne]

ShmuelSpade The automower is one of my favorites! It's one of the best investments we made. My dad taught my husband how to mow the lawn over the summer and he was over it after a couple weekends in a row of mowing 😆 So we got this automower and now he can relax.

[@bobbychariot1980]

Excellent video, I hope it encourages some people to dip their toes into the smart home water. I've gone the Home Assistant route, I want one app controlling all of my devices on a local network (no cloud). It's obviously a bit more fiddly but I'm working hard to get this all integrated and rock solid. One thing I noticed though about your video - the part about smart sockets saving power for items on standby, I'm not sure that's quite a big saving as the smart plug also uses power (even when the load device is switched off). Thanks for the lovely video 🤗