Foreign.
Speaker BWelcome to around the House with Eric G. Your trusted source for all things home improvement.
Speaker BWhether you're tackling a DIY project, hiring it out, or just trying to keep your home running smoothly, you're in the right place.
Speaker BWith over 30 years of remodeling experience, certified kitchen designer Eric G. Takes you behind the scenes with expert advice, industry trends, and the latest innovations for your home.
Speaker BHome it's everything you need to know without the fluff.
Speaker BNow here's your host, Eric G. Welcome.
Speaker ATo the Round the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker AI'm Eric G. Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker AThis hour is brought to you by my friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker ACheck them out@monumentgrills.com if you're looking for that brand new barbecue and you want to save some money, but you want something solid that's going to last a lot longer than the last one, check them out@monumentgrills.com today I thought we'd talk about how to get started on having a smart home.
Speaker AAnd yes, I'm fully aware of the conspiracy theories out there and everything else, but I'm just talking about some basic stuff in your house to make it more comfortable, to maybe save some money and make it a little bit safer.
Speaker ANow, my first thing that I recommend when you're talking about starting up a smart home is really making sure that you've got the right Internet around your house.
Speaker AThis is the basic, this is going in, making sure you got the right speed, that you're paying for the right speed.
Speaker AAnd having a mesh network.
Speaker ASo it doesn't matter if you're in the garage out front, out back, hanging out by the barbecue, you've got adequate coverage.
Speaker ASo what is a mesh network?
Speaker AWhat A mesh network is like having a handful of other broadcast stations around your house.
Speaker ASo maybe the modem is down, maybe it's behind the TV in the living room, but you got a fireplace and everything on the outside of that fireplace is a big dead zone for WI fi.
Speaker ASo what you do is you put these other pods around your house, a plugin, they take that and create multiple areas around your house so you don't have any blind spots there.
Speaker AAnytime that you have a chimney, anytime you've got a washer and dryer, metal ducting, appliances, any of that other stuff even, and exterior insulation, even more so in homes like mine that has that foil insulation that doesn't do well, it really tends to slow things down a little bit.
Speaker ASo really making sure that you've got that outside so you got all the coverage you need, anywhere you want.
Speaker AIt is a good thing to have because.
Speaker ABecause if you've got cameras outside someday, or a doorbell, that's a video doorbell, you want to make sure you got good coverage so it's not slowing down and that you can work with it correctly.
Speaker ASo really making sure you have that basic is a big one.
Speaker ASo after you've done that's kind of like the first foundational thing, make sure you got that.
Speaker AThe next thing I would do is start with a solid smart home hub.
Speaker ANow, you don't want to have all these scattered apps, right?
Speaker AThat's so frustrating.
Speaker AOkay, I need to turn the lights on.
Speaker AI go to this app.
Speaker AOh, I need to answer the door.
Speaker AI got to go to this app.
Speaker AMake sure you start with a reliable hub or ecosystem.
Speaker ANow, in 2025, matter compatible devices are the way to go.
Speaker AWhether you choose Alexa, Google, Apple, HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, just pick one and stick with it so you have the best compatibility.
Speaker AAnd here's why.
Speaker AThat way, when you're out shopping for things, you can go, oh, it's going to work with Samsung SmartThings.
Speaker AThat's one of the things that I use at my house.
Speaker ASmartThings is really nice.
Speaker AIt is very widespread.
Speaker AIt works with a couple different, many different systems.
Speaker ABut really you want to make sure you've got everything that fits around that hub.
Speaker ASo when you're looking at a video doorbell or something else, you got it dialed in.
Speaker AThat's a huge one for you when you're trying to make sure everything's compatible.
Speaker AAnd that way you can set up the systems.
Speaker ALike, for instance, and I've talked about on the show before, when I go to bed at night, I hit good night.
Speaker AIt turns off and on all the stuff I wanted to and I'm ready to go.
Speaker AIt turns on the outside lights.
Speaker AIt just gets it all dialed in.
Speaker AIt's a seriously big part of my system, and it gives me the ultimate control without having frustrating 15 apps on my phone.
Speaker AAnd that's a big deal.
Speaker ASo the second one on here is secure your network before adding devices.
Speaker AThe last thing you need is hackers, a neighbor stealing and playing their video games and dragging down your system.
Speaker AYour smart home is only as smart and safe as your WI fi.
Speaker ASo using a strong router with separate guest networks for smart devices, enable your WPA3 encryption and turn on the two FA two factor authentication for every app and login.
Speaker ANow, here's the thing.
Speaker AI don't know about you guys, but so many times you have friends coming over.
Speaker AThere's Stan, you have a party, somebody has the WI fi.
Speaker AHere's what's cool, is you can go in and create a guest WI fi for when your friends come over.
Speaker AAnd what you can do is set it up.
Speaker AThat way you can even put a little paper sign or a little sign up and say, hey, here's the WI fi if you need it.
Speaker ANo problem.
Speaker AIt's great on karaoke night.
Speaker ABut here's the thing, by doing that, at the end of the party, you can close that out, change the password and control who has access to that so you can really control what access they have.
Speaker AAnd then you can shut it down when you don't want it.
Speaker ASo think about how that works, how you can keep it safer.
Speaker AAnd you can really control who has access and who doesn't.
Speaker AAnd that's a big one right there.
Speaker ASo that way you don't have to teach everything else.
Speaker ABecause when you change your wifi, have to change your passwords, it's not fun.
Speaker AYou have to go around.
Speaker AHow many things do you have?
Speaker AYou might have a lot of things you have to change from cameras to whatever else, light switches.
Speaker AIt's a real pain in the butt.
Speaker ASo make sure you got it dialed in.
Speaker AAnd that way you're only changing that versus everything else.
Speaker AOnce you have that secured, you'll be good to go.
Speaker ANow, next up here is a big one.
Speaker ALighting is your perfect first project.
Speaker AThere's smart bulbs and switches, easy to install.
Speaker AIt's great to start out with this, but I'll.
Speaker ALet's be honest with this.
Speaker AYou got to be careful with this.
Speaker AI am not a smart bulb person that worked 15 years ago.
Speaker AAnd maybe it's good for a fixture or something that you don't want to upgrade, you're having issues with.
Speaker AMaybe it's good for that.
Speaker ABut really, where I start out with one of the first things I do is I go and start work with Lutron and their Casita line.
Speaker AThat way you could put all one light switch in the house.
Speaker AYou can use the right light switch, make sure that you match those up with the bulbs or the fixtures you're doing.
Speaker AAnd yes, it does matter.
Speaker AI always want to make sure that I'm working with that switch and it's compatible.
Speaker AIf it's not, or if you have bulbs that won't dim, you'll see stuff flashing that's going to look like a nightclub.
Speaker AIt's not a good thing.
Speaker ASo you can get that dialed in and it's Looking way better.
Speaker ASo take a look at that.
Speaker ALighting is your great project.
Speaker ABut I tell you what, starting out with a solid system and lighting is a great way to chase it around the house.
Speaker AYou'll be good to go, it's going to work really well and you'll be much, much happier when it comes down to having one system for lighting.
Speaker AThat way, if you want to jump on the app, you can, but you can also work on smart Samsung smartthings or whatever and get it dialed in.
Speaker ASo that's a great way to go.
Speaker AReally spend the time on the lighting, make sure it's working great and it's going to be one of those things that you can get dialed in.
Speaker AI really like working this way.
Speaker AAnd then if you want to get into exterior lighting and some of that other stuff, you can do it.
Speaker ABut, but really controlling your lighting and then you can change out any lighting fixtures you need.
Speaker AYou can get ones for lamps, you can get ones for outside, inside, you can get it for the plug string lights outside.
Speaker AThey make a lot of different things with that and it makes it really simple with that ecosystem.
Speaker AAnd the cool thing is too is if you have maybe you wanted to have a three way switch where they didn't put in, you know, an extra switch to the hallway, you could add a little one of their little pico remotes that look just like a light switch.
Speaker ASo you can mount that on any wall without having to run electricity to it.
Speaker AAnd you can give control or have a remote control so you can change the lights from anywhere if you don't want to have access to your phone.
Speaker ASo that's a great way to go now.
Speaker AHey guys, if this is the first time catching the show here today, make sure you can find us over at Aroundthe House online.
Speaker ACom.
Speaker AMake sure you find us on social media.
Speaker AWe're on TikTok.
Speaker AWe're on Instagram, we're on Facebook.
Speaker AWe have our closed group around the House Nation.
Speaker AYou can find us over there as well as our YouTube channel which is growing very fast.
Speaker AI love how things take off like this.
Speaker AWe've been having a great growth spurt there.
Speaker ANew content coming up and I'm going to be filming some stuff here this week as well.
Speaker ASo we got a lot of great stuff headed your direction.
Speaker ASo check it out there.
Speaker AAround the house.
Speaker AWe'll be right back with more smart home tips.
Speaker AYour Smart Home 101 just as soon as we return.
Speaker ADon't go anywhere.
Speaker BTo find out more information, head to aroundthehouse online.com.
Speaker Bdon't change that dial.
Speaker BAround the House.
Speaker BWe'll be right back after these important messages.
Speaker AWhat's up?
Speaker AThis is Sticks it in ya and Satchel from Steel Panther and you are.
Speaker BListening to around the House with Eric G. Yeah, we love Eric G. And you should too.
Speaker AWelcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker AI'm Eric G. This hour is brought to you by my friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker ACheck them out@monument grills.com today we've been talking about my top 10 tips for starting a smart home in 2025.
Speaker AAnd I'll say this is probably the easiest time to do this.
Speaker AWhen I first started getting into smart home technology, I tell you what, it was a pain.
Speaker ANothing played well together and there were a lot of products that were disjointed.
Speaker ANow let's talk about here though, that there's your kind of retail stuff that we're talking about today where you run down to your store, jump online and grab stuff.
Speaker AAnd then there's the bigger stuff out there where you have a whole system and you have an integrator that's involved.
Speaker AWhat's an integrator?
Speaker AYou probably don't know.
Speaker AThere's builders out there that don't know what an integrator is.
Speaker AAn integrator is like any other trade, like an electrician, a plumber, H Vac tech.
Speaker AAn integrator is the person that gets the smart home stuff working and works with the trades and the builder or remodeler to make sure everything works as you want it to.
Speaker ASo their job is to make sure whether it's a high end system where you're going through and maybe it's Control four or one of those other ones out there.
Speaker AThese guys are the ones that make this all work together and make sure that you know how to run it in the end.
Speaker AThat's the big part right there.
Speaker AThat way you know what's going on.
Speaker AThat way you can tell what's happening.
Speaker AThat way you're ready to go.
Speaker ASo if you're doing a bigger project and you're not going to use this just retail out of the box stuff, that integrator is the best way to go.
Speaker AAnd they're the ones that'll help you walk through this jump online.
Speaker ALook, there is the cta, which is the, those are the, those guys really are the ones that are out there that watch over this industry.
Speaker ATake a look at them.
Speaker ABut really that's the way to go if you want to hire someone to come do this for you.
Speaker ANow next up here, number four are smart thermostats can save you real money.
Speaker AYou know, well programmed smart thermo can really cut your heating and cooling bills by up to 20% or so.
Speaker AEcobee and Nest, they both support matter in 2025.
Speaker AAnd Ecobee does offer remote sensors for better room to room balance.
Speaker AThese are great things.
Speaker ABut let's talk about smart thermostats.
Speaker AThe first thing you want to do is figure out if you want to have your electrical utility control it.
Speaker ANow there are a lot of utility companies out there that are offering free or next to free smart thermostats.
Speaker AHowever, comma, there could be a big asterisk there.
Speaker AIf you get into a peak time and they're running out of power, you could have a serious issue.
Speaker ASo they could actually you give them control where they're going to turn down your thermostat a few degrees and maybe not have it so cool to take a little load off the grid.
Speaker ASome people don't want to give that control away.
Speaker AI totally get it.
Speaker ASo be careful.
Speaker AThe thermostats they give you might be sharing that control and that's part of why they're giving them to you.
Speaker AYou might be better off if you want ultimate controls just to go to the store, pick one up, jump online and do that.
Speaker ANow pay attention to this because this is a big one.
Speaker ANot all smart thermostats are the same.
Speaker AIf you have an older system that's 20 plus year old, you might not have that common wire.
Speaker AThat common wire is what powers a smart thermostat.
Speaker ASome smart thermostats don't require them.
Speaker AThey have their own little battery thing.
Speaker AYou'll go through batteries time after time, but it'll work.
Speaker AOr you can run another common wire there or just change it out when you get to your smart thermostat.
Speaker ABut really understanding it, the best way to do is to pull the COVID off of your existing one, snap a picture of the wires and then go take a look at the major players out there like the Nest or the ecobee or the many others that they have and see what works with the wiring diagram.
Speaker AThere will be the colors there.
Speaker AAnd a lot of these websites you can put the colors in and that will tell you where you're at and what needs to happen.
Speaker AThat'll make it really easy.
Speaker AThen of course, once you get ready, turn the power off, wire it up, set it up, you should be good to go.
Speaker AIf you're not handy at all, bring in your H Vac Professional and they'll walk you through it and make it so much easier.
Speaker AThat's a great way to go.
Speaker ASo take a look at that.
Speaker AIt's a great way to save money.
Speaker AWho doesn't like saving money?
Speaker ANext one up here.
Speaker AVideo doorbells and smart cameras really can document the outside of your home.
Speaker ANow, my debate is I'm not really sure if they're adding real security.
Speaker AThere's nobody watching them.
Speaker AIs it really secure or are they just gonna document the crime?
Speaker ASo these devices do more than show you who's at the door.
Speaker AThey deter crime and give you peace of mind.
Speaker AYeah, they deter crime, but they're so common out there.
Speaker AWe're seeing more and more people come up and just not care.
Speaker ANow the thing is, if you have the ability to use a hardwire option, do it.
Speaker ABattery units work fine, but hardwired cams offer better reliability and integration and you don't have to worry about dealing with all of the different battery systems out there.
Speaker ANow I've got deep sentinel at my house.
Speaker AWe talked about it in the last hour.
Speaker AGreat security camera.
Speaker ATheir battery lasts probably 45 days at my house.
Speaker ANow, it's depending on how many people are coming to go and how much traffic, but they last a long time.
Speaker AEverything else is pretty much hardwired.
Speaker AIt's ready to rock.
Speaker ASo I have.
Speaker AI'm not going to tell you all my security stuff at my house, but I've been testing stuff.
Speaker AI have three different camera systems around my house because I want to see how they're doing, how they work, what's reliable, what's not.
Speaker ASo to me, if you want security, make sure you have a monitored system to do that.
Speaker ANow you can set them up where if it sees someone, there's a push notification will come to your phone and then you can deal with it.
Speaker AThe good cameras will talk back where you can say, hey man, what are you doing in my yard?
Speaker AThat kind of stuff.
Speaker ASo take a look.
Speaker AWired units are great.
Speaker ANight vision is great.
Speaker AAnd having a loud, basically high siren or speaker on it is good.
Speaker AAnd that works really well.
Speaker ASo, you know, take some time.
Speaker AAurora AQ makes a great camera system that's affordable.
Speaker AYou get it on Amazon.
Speaker AI've been testing it.
Speaker AI've got three of their cameras right now.
Speaker AThey work really well.
Speaker ATake a look at that.
Speaker AIt's a great buy.
Speaker ASo take a look at that.
Speaker ANow the next one here is really cool and it's something that I think you should take a look at.
Speaker ASmart locks and garage controllers, keyless entry and smartphone garage access are game changers for busy households.
Speaker ANow here's the thing I like about the garage door.
Speaker AI've got the MYQ system at my house and I can make sure that if you have.
Speaker AI don't know if you guys have done this.
Speaker AI've done this.
Speaker AAnd it drove me crazy.
Speaker AGo to bed in the summertime.
Speaker AForgot that my garage door was open.
Speaker AWhen you got a lot of expensive tools.
Speaker ALast thing you need is that so you can set it up so it'll shut the garage door if it's been open too long, you can make sure that it's got.
Speaker AYou can set reminders, you can track.
Speaker AThere's cameras.
Speaker AThere's a lot of things you can do with these, but Chamberlain really has that dialed in.
Speaker AAnd the MYQ system, you can adjust.
Speaker AYou can put in these into an older system as well.
Speaker AThat's maybe not their brand.
Speaker ASo there's a lot of things you can do from the video keypad to the smart home little box that'll control that.
Speaker AThat's great.
Speaker AAnd I've been running smart locks on my house for probably seven years now.
Speaker AGame changer.
Speaker ALove it.
Speaker ADon't have to have a key.
Speaker ABattery powered.
Speaker AWorks really well.
Speaker AAnd so you can really set that up beautifully.
Speaker AAll right, we're gonna go out to break here around the house.
Speaker AWe right back.
Speaker AWe'll talk more about this just as soon as we return.
Speaker ADon't go anywhere if it's true.
Speaker ANo, not from you, not from anybody.
Speaker AWelcome back to the around the house show.
Speaker AThe next generation of home improvement.
Speaker AI'm Eric G. Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker AThis hour is brought to you by our friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker ACheck them out for your brand new barbecue.
Speaker AYou can even buy them on lowe's.com check them out at moneymcgrills.com We've been talking about my top 10, basically tips for starting a smart home in 2025.
Speaker AThere's so many things to think about.
Speaker AThere are so many things to plan out here.
Speaker AAnd you can make it really easy with a lot of the new systems out.
Speaker AIt's easier than it's ever been before.
Speaker AAnd a lot of these things will really help you get from start to finish.
Speaker AAnd when I doubt, you can always hire that pro.
Speaker ABut really, let's talk about getting you set up so you can do this easily and be ready to rock.
Speaker ASo we were talking about in the past here in the last couple segments, we were talking about really starting out.
Speaker AAnd I say start out with your Internet and your Mesh system.
Speaker ASo that works out.
Speaker AThen start with a solid smart home hub.
Speaker AThat way you can have one language and they talk together.
Speaker ALess apps securing your network before adding devices.
Speaker ALighting is a great place to start.
Speaker ASmart thermostats can save you money but you got to pay attention to the details.
Speaker AAnd of course video doorbells and smart cameras can add some security.
Speaker ANow the cool thing is and the next step here is automate based on routines, not just voice commands.
Speaker AIt's really cool to sit there and throw out that a name to turn on a light and I'm not going to turn on your lights right now.
Speaker ASo that's why I'm not using it.
Speaker AI got in trouble a number of years ago when I said for it to order some pizzas and I had some complaints that I'd ordered some pizzas for people.
Speaker ASo as you can see, the voice commands can be troublesome sometimes.
Speaker ANow here's what I would like to do.
Speaker AWe were talking about this earlier.
Speaker ASet up automations like turn on the porch light an hour before sunset or adjust the thermostat when everyone leaves the house.
Speaker AThis is where you really start adding smart home things.
Speaker AAnd I took it a next step further.
Speaker AI set up different situations within the house that I could just single button like good morning, turns on the lights for access.
Speaker AGood night, dims things down, turns on, make sure my outside lights are on.
Speaker AAnd here's the thing, if they're already on, it just says oh, it's already on.
Speaker ABut it really sets you up so you've got a consistent program and you don't have to mess it again, mess with it again.
Speaker AIt's awesome.
Speaker AWhere you don't have to turn on an exterior light, you're saving electricity because you're only using it when you need it.
Speaker AAnd it really makes a lot of sense.
Speaker AAnd when you base it around sunset and sun up or sunrise, it's doing automatically so it's smart.
Speaker ASo really taking a look at that and making it work is really awesome and it really makes things make a lot of sense.
Speaker AI've got it where I can turn on change the under cabinet lights in my kitchen.
Speaker ASo if I've got a Seahawks game on it'll change them to blue and green.
Speaker AI've got some fun stuff to do there but it really makes sense.
Speaker ANow the next one here is important.
Speaker AMaking sure that you're checking your power and your bandwidth limits and the bandwidth limit is huge.
Speaker AIf you've got basic and I'm just talking the basic Internet, you can easily with a couple TVs and a Zoom meeting, overload it.
Speaker ANow, it used to be if you're using your cable company with coax, that was not near as good as some of the fiber optic companies.
Speaker AYeah, not that way anymore.
Speaker ALet me tell you what.
Speaker AI'm sitting here in my studio right now, and if I run this is a good tip, look up speed test.
Speaker AYou can see what you got as far as speed.
Speaker ALike on my cell phone right now, not plugged in anything, using my Mesh network, I hit the connect button.
Speaker AIt goes connecting now, it goes through the download speed, and that's going to be in Mbps Mbps.
Speaker ASo I'm looking right here at the house right now on my cell phone wirelessly, I'm at a thousand 31.
Speaker ASo I'm a gig down.
Speaker AAnd that's going over coax cable.
Speaker AThanks, Comcast, Xfinity, and then my up, which is slower, which is what one of the down things with coax.
Speaker ABut they're changing that.
Speaker AI'm 343 up.
Speaker AEven with all my uploads and videos, that's flying.
Speaker AAnd really, I use that a lot.
Speaker ASo making sure that I've got great download and upload.
Speaker ABecause download is when you're watching a movie, upload is when you're saving something to the cloud, or if you're on a zoom call or any kind of thing like that, or you're doing any video conferencing.
Speaker AThat's how fast stuff's going up into the ether.
Speaker ASo really, making sure you've got those both working correctly works well.
Speaker AIf you do a lot of business at home or your kids are doing homework and they're putting up files.
Speaker AHaving a little faster upload is key.
Speaker ABut the download for most things is the important part.
Speaker ABut for me, I need to have both.
Speaker AThat's the balance you need to figure out.
Speaker ANow, power is not as big a deal, but just like anything, you don't want to be overloading things with a bunch of power strips, things like that, making sure that you've got things sized correctly.
Speaker AThose cheap little white or black power strips aren't good for heavy power use.
Speaker ASo you want to make sure to get something heavy duty and make sure if you have to put things on different, you know, different systems so you don't have to worry about it.
Speaker ANow, one thing that you can do, and this is smart, and this is something that Xfinity has in my neighborhood, which I like, and that is they're basically their backup.
Speaker ASo what happens is If I lose power or Internet or both, I have a backup system that's battery powered and it's going to sit there and actually take that and give us that power.
Speaker AAnd it's going to go over to cell phone coverage to do that.
Speaker ASo that won't be a big deal, but it works really well.
Speaker AAnd so going to cell phone was good, but the problem is if you've got a wide outage, many people go to cell phone and that's going to get super slow.
Speaker ABut it does buy you time on short outages.
Speaker ANow, if you've got a generator or things like that, it's a little bit easier and that's not as big a deal.
Speaker ASo something to think about when it comes into that and making sure that you've got that Internet backed up in that.
Speaker AIf you've got a home generator or something like that, make sure you're putting that on a circuit that will help you with that coverage.
Speaker ASo that way the Internet's going and you don't have to worry so much about it, because that's a key right there.
Speaker ANow, next one here is interesting, and this is something that I always say, plan for your voice commands, but don't rely on it.
Speaker AVoice control is cool, but it always does.
Speaker AIt doesn't always work or is practical.
Speaker AIf the Internet's down, it doesn't work at all.
Speaker ASo making sure that you have physical controls for lights, locks, H vac, smart wall panels like I've got Brilliant and Aurora, making sure that you've got physical control is big because that way it still works.
Speaker AWhen the Internet's down, the power's down, that kind of thing.
Speaker AAnd sometimes for all you guys out there, dealing with Alexa, that can be a serious issue.
Speaker ASometimes she's dumb.
Speaker ATrying to get her to set stuff up, that can be a problem.
Speaker ANow, one thing I want to talk about before we go out to break here.
Speaker ANow this is an important one here is the Achilles heel of smart home stuff.
Speaker AIt used to be you put a thermostat or a doorbell and it was there until it broke.
Speaker AThat could be 30 years.
Speaker ANowadays you will be switching things out more frequency.
Speaker AWith more frequency.
Speaker AThat can happen.
Speaker AYou could be spending five years on it.
Speaker AJust like your cell phone, at some point it just doesn't like to work.
Speaker AOr a printer.
Speaker ASo at some point, you know you're gonna have that ring doorbell and you're like, why isn't it ringing the doorbell anymore?
Speaker AOr why isn't it doing this?
Speaker AAnd why is it being so slow at some point.
Speaker AIt's just time for an upgrade and it's something that you really want to take some time and make sure that you're doing this correctly because those old pieces plan to swap them out every four to six years.
Speaker AMaybe it's three, depending on when that model came out.
Speaker AIf you got it at the last of its life cycle, you might only go a year or two.
Speaker ASo when in doubt, buy the newest model and just know it's not going to last forever.
Speaker AIn four or five years, you're probably going to have to start seeing issues and you're going to go, fine, I'm done.
Speaker AIt's good to go.
Speaker AAnd that's the big one.
Speaker ASo really making sure that you've got that dialed in and understand that these have a lifespan just like any other electronics device and you'll be good to go.
Speaker AAll right, we come back, we're gonna wrap it up.
Speaker AWe're gonna make sure that we got that.
Speaker AI got a couple extra bonus ones for you, too that make life so much easier.
Speaker AWe'll do that just as soon as around the House returns.
Speaker ADon't change that.
Speaker AWelcome back to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker AI'm Eric G. Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker AThis hour, of course, is brought to you by our friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker ACheck them out@monumentgrills.com today we've been talking about our top 10 tips for starting a smart home in 2025.
Speaker ANow, one of the things that I say that is super important and there is a lot of stuff that we see out there and it's crazy.
Speaker AThere are a lot of conspiracy theories on don't upgrade your phone or don't do the updates or any of this other stuff.
Speaker AYou got to do your firmware updates, whether it's your phone, whether it's your smart home system.
Speaker AThose updates, when they do them, are security updates many times.
Speaker ASo they are f somebody might find a hole where they can hack into these firmware updates.
Speaker AFix this so you don't have to worry about it.
Speaker ASo make sure that you're always checking when you're on a device.
Speaker ADouble check to make sure sometimes those automatic firmware updates don't work or they're not happening and you have to do a manually.
Speaker ASo always check when you get a chance.
Speaker AMaybe it's your tv, maybe it's your hub, maybe it's all this other stuff.
Speaker ADouble check to make sure that those updates are happening.
Speaker AIt could be an issue.
Speaker AAnd that's the first thing you do so make sure you got that dialed in and you'll be set to go.
Speaker ASo make sure that it's private.
Speaker AJust make sure you got those dialed in because those firmware updates are big.
Speaker ADo them.
Speaker AYou'll have a much smoother experience as you're going up down the road.
Speaker ANow here is our tip for the week.
Speaker ATime for an around the House nugget brought to you by Aerobrum.
Speaker AI'm Eric G. And I love how aerobroom's two in one sweeper and cordless blower makes outdoor cleanup a breeze even inside.
Speaker AWith that dog hair, sweep debris or blast leaves from all the tight spots.
Speaker AAll under $60.
Speaker AGrab yours@aerobroom.com that's a E R O broom.com it's my go to for dog hair messes.
Speaker ANow here's your quick tip.
Speaker AHey, it's Eric G With around the House.
Speaker AThinking about buying new cabinets?
Speaker ABefore you pull out your welcome, here's a few smart tips that could save you thousands and a whole lot of frustration.
Speaker AFirst, hire an experienced kitchen designer.
Speaker AIt might seem like an extra cost, but trust me, it'll save you money in the long run.
Speaker AThey'll make sure everything fits appliances, clearances, door swings and even ceiling heights so you don't end up with expensive mistakes or last minute changes during install.
Speaker ANext, pay attention to the finish.
Speaker AThis is where it takes the daily abuse, the spills, the splashes and scrubbing.
Speaker AYour cabinet maker should be using high quality, durable finish that holds up in a kitchen or bath.
Speaker ACheap paint or stain won't last and you'll start to see it fail fast.
Speaker AAlso, don't judge by a tiny showroom sample.
Speaker AColor and grain can vary across a whole kitchen.
Speaker AAsk for larger samples or finished project photos before you commit.
Speaker AAnd finally, get a skilled installer.
Speaker ACabinets are only as good as a person putting them in, and a great install can make a huge difference in how they look and function.
Speaker AWant my full list of cabinetry commandments?
Speaker AHead over to last week's episode of around the House with Eric G. Your go to for Smarter Home Improvement now let's get into some of my extra tips here for smart home stuff around your house.
Speaker AThere are a lot of cool things out there that you can do.
Speaker AThere's a lot of great things you can do out there.
Speaker AWhen it comes to smart home stuff, there's a lot of great technology out there.
Speaker AThere are companies that'll sit here and use all the smart home pieces in your house and make them work together and you can actually make it Operate your healthy home.
Speaker ASo it'll take all those different things and make them work together.
Speaker ASo there's a lot of different things that you can do in combination.
Speaker AAnd there's companies out there, just jump on a Google search or send me a message if you're looking for something.
Speaker ABut I tell you what, there's a lot of neat things that can happen out there with all of these things when they start playing together.
Speaker ANow if you want to find out more, if you're looking, for instance, to hire that integrator, take a look at the hta.
Speaker ANow this is the Home Technology Association.
Speaker ANow the HTA is really cool.
Speaker AThey do a lot of different stuff in the industry.
Speaker AWhat I like about them is they're the first and only industry standard of excellence for home technology installation companies.
Speaker AIn an industry that has no barriers to entry, the HTA has created a rigorous set of standards for home technology companies to adhere to.
Speaker ASo firms that meet the 60 plus points of evaluation criteria are granted certification status.
Speaker AAnd once they're HTA certified, these firms must commit to maintaining a high standard of HTA certification or risk losing certification.
Speaker ASo if you want to become an integrator out there, if you want to be part of this, take a look@htacertified.org that's a great place to go.
Speaker AI think it's really a industry standard now.
Speaker AIt's really cool how it all works together.
Speaker ASo take a look at that.
Speaker AI think it's really neat on how they're doing.
Speaker ASo now what we're seeing too, and the big thing right now is if you're noticing we're not seeing a lot of different new products come out.
Speaker AThat was five years ago.
Speaker ARight now we're starting to see how pieces of the smart home integrate together and start working.
Speaker AAnd this is where all of a sudden you're seeing everything play together.
Speaker ASo like your thermostat will grab the temperature sensor inside your flat screen TV to see what it is over there.
Speaker AAnd all of a sudden you start to see things working together smoothly, which I love.
Speaker AThat's really where that integration is big.
Speaker AI'll be honest, I don't care if a rice cooker tells me what the weather is outside, but my LG washer, that tells me that the spin cycle is off balance or it's done.
Speaker ASo I don't have to go to the laundry room to check.
Speaker AThese are things that could be really cool or downloading a new setting, even appliances these days.
Speaker AI think it was a number of years ago here GE came out with an over the air update for their range and it added a air fryer option to it just had a new button showed up on the touchscreen.
Speaker ASo these things happen and these smart home things really can be pretty smart.
Speaker AYou can set up your appliances if you want to with some brands where they will reorder the detergent for you automatically.
Speaker AThere's a lot of cool things with this that make a big difference.
Speaker ANow a lot of this stuff can be overwhelming for some people, but it can really be a lifesaver as well.
Speaker APutting in there's technology out there now that you can sit there and use the wifi signal in someone's home and you can sit there and use that technology to make sure that if grandma falls down that this actually will say that hey, someone's not moving around in the home or it looks like they might have fallen.
Speaker AThat way you don't have to rely on them, a sensor coming off or more importantly, them calling someone.
Speaker ASo really that's a great way to go.
Speaker AAnd this technology keeps getting better and better.
Speaker ASo take a look at it.
Speaker AThere's a lot of these fall detection sensors and all that stuff.
Speaker AHack my iPhone if I fall or my iPhone, my Apple watch will do the same thing.
Speaker ASo there's a lot of cool stuff out there.
Speaker ATake a look, do your research and find out more about it because that's another one there.
Speaker AAnd so really you can start to integrate all these things together and it works really well.
Speaker AWe took, we talked about this earlier and Ting fire is another one of those ting fire prevention.
Speaker ATingfire.com I have this in my house.
Speaker AIt's awesome.
Speaker AIt works so well.
Speaker AIt's a Ting sensor with fire protection service for one year, 99 bucks.
Speaker AYou plug it in, comes with the smartphone app that you put on your phone.
Speaker AIt gives you the service and $1,000 repair credit for ting identified hazards.
Speaker ANow here's the most important part of this.
Speaker AIf you talk to your insurance provider, they might buy this for free for you and give it to you.
Speaker ASo this is really cool.
Speaker AThis is something if you buy it for a hundred bucks, they can fix it.
Speaker ANow take a look.
Speaker AThere's a lot of insurance companies out there.
Speaker AReach out to those guys.
Speaker AYou might be able to do something with that and get it for free.
Speaker ABut that is another one that might work for you.
Speaker ANow the other one that's important, we talked about it earlier.
Speaker AI wanted to give this information out to you.
Speaker AFlame detector.
Speaker AThis is a game changer for flame detection in your home.
Speaker ASo this is flame detector.com smoke detection.
Speaker AAverage time is three plus minutes.
Speaker AThat same flame detection is 1.8 seconds.
Speaker AI have lit off a torch in my garage, forgot that I had it on.
Speaker ABam it goes off.
Speaker ASo this immediately detects a flame alarms and sends push notifications.
Speaker AIf you have a child that is playing with fire garage fire prevention, this is all stuff that is brilliant.
Speaker AThis is something I think every garage and shop should have and it will tell you that there's a flame going.
Speaker AFlame detector on their website is $129 and it works well.
Speaker AI've got one in my shop.
Speaker AAll right everybody, that's the end of hour number two.
Speaker AThanks for tuning in today.
Speaker AIf you want to find out more about us or you want to send me a message, head over to aroundthehouse online.com thanks for tuning in around the house.
Speaker AWe'll see you next week on the podcast or next weekend on the show.
Speaker AThanks again.
Speaker BMake sure and visit our sponsors Monument Grills and Aerobroom and show them some love for us.
Speaker BWe will see you next time all.
Speaker AOver the radio Take my hand out Nowhere to go all over the radio with you.