Gadgetory

now that everyone has a smartphone the next big wave in tech is the connected home getting everything from your doorbell to your toaster connected to the Internet working together to cut down your energy bill make your breakfast and watch your cats I'm Donnell Bell and if this sounds like the life for you here are my personal recommendations for the top by simple home upgrades that will jumpstart your smart home starting off at number five smart lights the philips hue is really the king of this category two hundred bucks gets you three bulbs and a wireless hub with extra bulbs setting you back about $60 each it's not cheap but these LED bulbs last about 15 years plus they pack more show off factor than anything else on this list just invite your neighbors over cue up Dark Side of the Moon and play with your light bulbs for 20 minutes heck in Colorado this could be a full weekend of fun at number four smart outlets a lot of options in this space but belkin's $50 Wemo switch is arguably the most well known you just plug it in download the app and within minutes you've got an outlet that you can control and schedule with your phone for $30 more you can add a motion sensor that will activate the outlet when you walk in the room or freak out your pets all day while you're at work coming in at number three smart smoke detectors pretty much talking about the nest protect here unless you're buying a more comprehensive security system someone who sets off my smoke detector almost every time I cook I would gladly fork over the 130 dollars here for a smoke detector that will talk to me a little bit before going to red alert it's also room aware so it can politely wake up my sleeping wife to let her know that I burned my grilled cheese downstairs there aunt lightballs makes me a little hungry at number two a smart thermostat now here I'm not just talking about nest they have one of the prettiest ones but there are some good connected thermostats out there for about half the price the bottom line is that here's an upgrade that can really translate into a smaller energy bill almost immediately a thermostat that adapts to you and sends you feedback on your energy use and even tells you when it's time to change the air filter that's progress now before we get to number one let's take to call out one of these silliest smart home appliances we've seen the crockpot smart slow cooker now don't get me wrong I rely on my crock-pot for cooking dinners that won't set off my smoke alarm but why does the most basic kitchen appliance ever invented need an app I suspect we're going to see a ridiculous wave of unnecessarily smart appliances over the next few years until we collectively figure out what really makes sense and $99 crock-pot does not meet that threshold alright and finally my number one pick for a simple smart home upgrade a smart lock we're seeing a bunch of these coming out this year Gogi august lockitron kevo some will replace your entire lock some will fit over your existing deadbolt but all of them promise that they can be installed in under 20 minutes a great range of prices and features some have NFC and well unlock your door with a wave of your phone some will notify you when you get a knock at the door some will even send you a picture of the person who's been stealing your amazon packages if nothing else as the first thing that people see when they come to your house it sends a message a proud geek liz here so there you go five products you can buy right now to make your home a little smarter and impress your friends be sure to check out CNN's appliance reviews for all the latest in home tech and for more top fives from me top-5 cnet.com Donald Bell thanks for watching you