The smart home is not only a great trend but also an important part of the Internet of Things (IoT) that will continue to grow in the next few years. However, like any other product, the smart home has its challenges. Some devices can be expensive and incompatible with others. In this article, we’ll explain to you how to choose the best cloud-based smart home server for your future smart home setup. We have discussed different types of smart home devices and their applications in our previous blog post. Although there are many different companies and products on the market, most of them use similar standards for communication and usage. Therefore, it’s pretty easy to integrate different smart devices into one system and manage them from a single control center. A Smart Home Server is a type of device that helps connect all your various connected devices seamlessly.
Why do you need a Smart Home Server?
Since the smart home is an ecosystem of connected devices, it’s important to know how to choose the best cloud-based smart home server before investing in a new device. There are many options to choose from, but it is important to select a reputable brand that keeps your data secure and private. For example, Amazon’s Echo devices are cloud-based and have the Alexa artificial intelligence software, but they are not recommended for hosting a smart home server because they do not have sufficient processing power. It’s crucial to have a central hub that connects all these different devices. A smart home server can be compared to a modem/router that provides connectivity to your various IoT devices. A cloud-based server also enables remote access and automation. You can connect your home devices to other services and apps like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT. Because smart devices use various communication protocols and operate on different frequencies, a hub is necessary to control them. A smart home server can connect to your router and then use WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Z-Wave, or other connectivity methods to connect to your devices.
Types of Cloud-Based Smart Home Server
Generally, there are three types of smart home servers - Cloud-based, standalone, and hybrid smart home servers. Let’s take a look at each one of them.
Cloud-based Server: This type of server relies on an internet connection to manage your smart home devices. Cloud-based servers typically offer more features and integrations than standalone servers. They can connect to hundreds of other devices, apps, and services.
Standalone Server: A standalone server doesn’t require an internet connection. It has all the necessary software and hardware to connect to your devices and control your smart home. This means the server will have to be reset if the internet goes down.
Hybrid Server: A hybrid server is a combination of cloud-based and standalone servers. It offers the best of both worlds. You get the remote access and automation of a cloud-based server along with the offline functionality of a standalone server.
Things to look for when choosing a smart home server
Compatibility - Before you invest in a smart home server, you must know which devices you will connect to it. Otherwise, you won’t be able to take advantage of the server’s full functionality. For example, let’s imagine that you want to control your home’s lights with your voice. You’ll need a smart home server that supports voice control. In addition, you might want to integrate your home with other smart devices, like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Here, the server must support the required communications protocols.
Stability - A stable connection is essential when it comes to controlling your smart home. If the server drops out and you can’t control your devices, it’s not very useful. A smart home server must be able to handle heavy loads, including a large number of connected devices and remote users. Otherwise, it may affect the performance of your entire home. The server’s architecture and platform are also important factors to look for when choosing a smart home server.
Security - Security is another important factor to consider when choosing a smart home server. It will control your home devices and sensitive information. Therefore, you want it to be safe from third parties who might want to hack it. If the server doesn’t have a proper security system, it can be a serious threat.
Google Assistant and Nest
Google Assistant is a voice-activated virtual assistant that lets you search the web, play music, and manage your daily tasks. It can also control various smart home devices, including lights, thermostats, and speakers. Nest is a smart home brand that creates home security and temperature control devices. Nest devices can be controlled remotely via the Google Assistant app. For this setup, you will need an Android phone, a Nest thermostat, and a Google Home smart speaker.
Amazon Alexa and Echo
Alexa is an AI-powered voice assistant that can listen and respond to your voice commands. It was first introduced by Amazon in 2014 and has been growing ever since. When it comes to integrating your smart home, Alexa can control a wide range of devices, including lights, thermostats, remote locks, and more. You can control your smart home with a single voice command using an Amazon Echo smart speaker. To complete your smart home setup, you will need an Amazon account, a smart speaker, and a smart plug.
Samsung SmartThings and Bixby Voice
Samsung’s multi-purpose hub can do a lot of things, including controlling your smart home devices via Bixby Voice. To use Bixby Voice with your smart home, you must have an Android phone running Android 5.0 and higher or iOS 9 and higher. Once you have the app installed, plug in a SmartThings hub, and create an account, you can start controlling your smart home with Bixby Voice.
Conclusion
The Internet of Things is here to stay, and the smart home is a big part of that. Smart home devices are becoming more popular every day, and there’s a good reason for that. These devices make your home safer, more efficient, and easier to manage. You can control them from your phone or a computer, as well as set up schedules to make them work when you’re not even home. The newest smart home devices are cheaper and more reliable than ever, and you can use them with any type of smartphone or computer. To get the most out of your smart devices, you’ll need a way to manage and control them. A smart home server is the best way to do that. It’s important to know what you want out of a home automation system before choosing a particular brand or model. There are a lot of different options available, and all of them are designed to help you automate your home in a new and exciting way. It’s also important to remember that while they all do the same general thing, they are all very different in terms of design, features, and functionality.
