Connected Kitchens
Posted on January 02, 2019 By Guest
In many homes, the kitchen serves as the family hub. That's why it makes sense to base your Smart Home technology in this important room. It also helps that modern kitchen appliances are where you'll find some of the most advanced Smart Home technology. Here are some high-tech devices to help you get started on creating your own connected kitchen!
The Hub of the Home
Your smart kitchen begins with a voice-assist smart speaker that controls devices and appliances linked in a Smart Home network. These voice-activated digital assistants - such as Google Home, Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod - use cloud-based intelligence to answer your questions, prompt you with calendar reminders, read out recipes, play your favorite music, and much more. These days you can also get your hands on a smart display, which grants you many of the perks that come with a smart speaker, with the added bonus of coming with a useful screen.
Cool and Smart
Smart refrigerators have become all the rage recently. Due to this recent surge in popularity, multiple large brands have started producing their own kind of smart fridge. A Samsung smart hub is built right into many Samsung Smart Refrigerators, which includes a 21.5-inch "Connected Touch" screen installed in its door. The touch screen can display interactive calendars to keep track of shopping lists, food deliveries, expiration dates and nutritional information, as well as display recipes for meal preparation. With a tap of your finger, the screen clears to display the interior of the refrigerator so you can see what's inside without opening the door. The Family Hub Refrigerator gives you hands-free voice control to manage many devices in your Smart Home through its Bixby digital assistant. LG smart refrigerators also come with many impressive features. Many models come with the InstaView panel, which also can show you inside the fridge without opening it. All you have to do to see right into your fridge is knock twice. With the ThinQ app, you'll also be able to remotely check in on your fridge and adjust its settings. You can also check in on and adjust other smart devices in your home with the ThinQ app.
Other Connected Kitchen Appliances
There are a slew of other smart kitchen appliances out there. Samsung makes more Wi-Fi-enabled kitchen appliances like wall ovens and cooktops. These appliances allow you to use an app on your phone to turn them on and off, preheat them, and adjust cooking temperatures from virtually anywhere. Some other LG smart kitchen appliances include LG smart ranges, LG Signature dishwashers, and LG washers and dryers. Many of these appliances have built-in Wi-Fi connections that offer remote start and stop, status checks, and troubleshooting.
Connected Clean
Another benefit of Smart Home technology is its ability to work with robotic vacuums. Many models can respond to voice commands through your home's Wi-Fi network via Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, or wirelessly through an app on your smartphone or tablet. These compact self-operating robots use visionary mapping to scan the layout of your home and create their own optimal cleaning path. Some models can even automatically determine the amount of suction needed to clean all types of surfaces, from carpet to wood flooring.
Many iRobot robotic vacuums can be controlled through the iRobot HOME App and all Wi-Fi connected Roomba vacuuming robots are compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. You can use voice commands to start, stop or dock your Roomba, schedule it to perform its duties, customize how it cleans, and view clean map reports to see which areas it covered. Roomba's iAdapt navigation with visual localization helps it navigate the entire floor of your home and keep track of its location. Its high-efficiency filter captures up to 99 percent of all allergens, pollen, and particles as small as 10 microns.
Where There's Smoke, There's Smart Detectors
Because kitchen areas are where heat, open flames and smoke are common, a smart smoke detector is a must-have for your smart kitchen. Like a regular smoke alarm, these smart devices can gauge air quality and alert you to danger. However, rather than just sounding an alarm, these devices will also send a notification to your phone. This can be helpful if you're not home, or if you forgot you left something on in the other room. When linked to your smart home system, your smart WiFi thermostat may be able to automatically shut off your home's furnace and blower fan to prevent any hazard from spreading throughout the home.
Need a Simple Way to Make Any Kitchen Smarter?
Creating a smart kitchen is easier and more affordable than you think! There are many traditional kitchen appliances that can easily be integrated into a Smart Home system by means of a smart plug. Inexpensive smart plugs like the Belkin WeMo plug into ordinary household electrical outlets to allow countertop appliances, fans, and lighting to be controlled using a voice-assist hub or a smartphone app.
Maybe you're a talented home chef, or perhaps your specialty is ordering food online. Either way, a connected kitchen filled with convenient and cost-saving Smart Home technology makes meal time easier. To learn more about connected kitchens, and some other ways to turn your house into a smart home, check out the rest of our smart home blogs. We wish you luck in your quest to modernize your kitchen!