{"id":11455,"date":"2024-06-14T15:50:48","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T15:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=11455"},"modified":"2024-06-14T15:50:48","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T15:50:48","slug":"im-a-new-homeowner-and-heres-how-to-byo-smart-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=11455","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m a New Homeowner, and Here\u2019s How to BYO Smart Home"},"content":{"rendered":"


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I was surprised how many smart home products were included. My builder gave us the option to install even more devices during the building process, which would’ve cost almost $2,000 for a handful of door sensors, two motion sensors, a siren, and two control panels. We opted out. I figured I could easily rig those up for less than half that price with a couple of Echo Hubs (8\/10, WIRED Recommends<\/a>).<\/p>\n

I was pleasantly surprised to find out we got so much smart home gear included without any extra fees. Of course, our builder didn’t mention this, nor did he offer any devices that I wanted, like a smart doorbell<\/a>. But while I like some of the gear that came with my home, I would’ve liked a chance to shop around or say no to some of the products they chose.<\/p>\n

Garage Greatness<\/h2>\n

My favorite device is easy: the MyQ Smart Garage Door Opener ($289)<\/a>. The only reason I didn’t set this up on day one was I had to wait for my Eeros to get turned on (my builder included a service to do it, but I should have done it myself). I needed a strong-enough Wi-Fi signal in the garage. The MyQ is great because it doesn’t need a hub, either, and had a handy little QR code to direct you to the app download. There’s a built-in camera that you can use for security (though there’s also subscription fees for video storage and better notifications).<\/p>\n

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