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5 Renter-friendly tips to smarten up your apartment

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You don’t have to wait until you own a home to start a smart home If you rent, you can still enjoy the same benefits with a simple, wire-free setup.  That way, when it’s time to head on to your next place, you can just pack up your system  with the rest of your belongings.

Setting up a smart apartment should be as easy as downloading an app on your smartphone. With the VeraMobile app installed, you can follow the step-by-step pairing  wizard to help you add smart plugs, door sensors, voice assistants, and more.

Light up your front entryway and add a virtual chime

Most of the time the front door hallway is not a very well lit place, even in the day time. Easily set the system to turn on the lights whenever you open the door or walk-in, and the motion sensor is triggered. The VeraMobile app also sends alerts whenever the door is open or closed using a magnetic sensor. This can be your “virtual chime”.

More than that, if you share your apartment with a roommate and plan to bring someone over but don’t want to disturb him, this is a great way of knowing whether he has been home or not.

Add extra security to the balcony door or fire escape

Putting a motion sensor or door sensor on these access points can give you some added security. Just like at the front, if this sensor detects movement coming through the balcony it can trigger the lights to turn on. If it was a burglar coming in, the lights would be definitely a deterrent.

If you wanted to, you can also have a siren go off when any of the sensors detect motion or the door is open. The system is smart enough to be configured to only turn on the lights after sunset, and trigger the siren only when you’re not home. That’s possible with scheduled and geofence scenes.

Get lazy with voice commands

By now voice commands are the most common way in which people interact with their surroundings. And the best thing is that you don’t have to choose—Ezlo Atom hub works with either Amazon Alexa or Google Home so you can use your voice to naturally control your devices—Alexa, Turn Off the Living Room Lights!

Add a one button security

These few uses alone are reason enough to start a smart apartment but you can use the smart technology to be lazy. If you’re so busy during the day that you basically don’t want to get off the couch to turn off the lights at night you can create a “1 button security & comfort”. Tap “good night” on your phone and the app arms your sensors then silently tells Alexa to shut off all the lights, without saying a word. Because sometimes your wife or kids are asleep and you don’t want to wake them up.

Turn on the AC when you start your workout with Siri Shortcuts

Because anyone will take a shortcut to convenience and comfort, here’s a neat little trick to integrate various other apps on your phone, with Vera scenes and your smart apartment devices.

Need to cool off during a home workout? You can set your Ceiling Fan or AC to turn on “automagically”, when you start a workout on your Apple Watch.  Sounds cool, right? Learn how you can set Siri Shortcuts with the article we wrote a while back.

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Bundles make it easy—It’s a smart move to begin with our bundles. Everything works together, none of the devices require wiring, so it’s easy for you to take them with you when you decide to move out. Learn more.

See Also

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