您听到并阅读了很多有关智能家居技术(home tech)的信息，但它并不总是合适的。毕竟，很多技术都倾向于更具有未来感的外观，但您可能不愿意放弃您的家人在客厅里(living room)保存了几代人的传家宝灯。
值得庆幸的是，这不是一个非此即彼的情况。您可以在不放弃经典和/或质朴外观的情况下获得智能家居技术的所有好处。(home technology)关键是让你的“愚蠢”电器变得智能。
本文将向您介绍几种低成本的方法，让您的经典台灯获得相当于哈佛学位(Harvard degree)的技术。智能插头、智能电池和其他类似设备可以让您通过Wi-Fi控制普通电器，而无需改变整个家的外观和感觉。(look and feel)
安装智能电池以使哑烟探测器更智能(Install Smart Batteries To Smarten Up a Dumb Smoke Detector)
智能烟雾探测器(smoke detector)最有益的方面之一是电池电量不足时的推送通知。它完全消除了似乎总是在深夜发生的烦人的哔哔声。
虽然智能电池可能无法为您提供与智能烟雾探测器(smoke detector)相同级别的数据分析和/或语音通知，但它可以在电池电量不足时向您的手机发送推送通知。与其他智能设备相比，智能电池不太常见，但您可以从Roost等公司找到它们。它们也便宜得多。
即使在旧电器中，智能灯也能提供智能家居控制(Smart Lights Grant Smart Home Control Even In Older Appliances)
大多数智能灯只不过是一个灯泡——也许是一个 Wi-Fi 集线器。一种低成本的方法，只需拧上智能灯并进行设置，即可对几乎任何灯进行智能控制。“智能”功能(” feature)来自灯泡本身，而不是它所插入的。
唯一的问题是智能灯泡需要恒定的电流才能运行。智能灯泡比传统(Smart bulbs)灯泡(light bulbs)使用更少的能源，但请确保灯中的接线完好无损，特别是如果它较旧，则在您长时间流过电流之前。
智能灯开关可以一次打开和关闭所有灯(Smart Light Switches Can Turn All Your Lights On & Off At Once)
虽然智能灯泡可用于单个灯，但如果您想控制整个房间的照明而不投资大量灯泡，您必须找到源头：电灯开关。
便宜的智能灯开关(smart light switch)基本上是您的灯的 Wi-Fi 开关。有些还包括调暗灯光的能力。您可以通过Google Home 或 Amazon Alexa(Google Home or Amazon Alexa)等智能助手或手机控制开关。
使用智能插头来安排设备和控制远方的电源(Use a Smart Plug To Schedule Devices & Control The Power From Afar)
您是否曾经想在刚煮好的咖啡壶中醒来，但您从未投资过可编程咖啡壶？智能插头可以提供帮助。
智能(Smart)插头可让您控制插入其中的任何设备的电源，有些甚至为您提供详细的使用统计信息，例如设备使用的电量、打开或关闭的次数等。
智能(Smart)插头非常适合将咖啡壶(coffee pot)插入并安排在每天早上的固定时间开启。(set time)您还可以插入有风险的设备，例如熨斗或空间加热器(space heater)，并设置一个计时器以确保它关闭，并且您不会意外留下可能引发火灾的东西。
使用流媒体设备和 HDMI 设置来智能电视(Use a Streaming Device & HDMI Settings To Turn a Dumb TV Smart)
Chromecast、Roku和Amazon Fire Stick等设备价格低廉，几乎可以做任何智能电视可以做的事情。大多数“智能”电视只不过是内置某些流媒体服务的普通电视。如果您将流媒体设备(streaming device)插入电视并激活HDMI-CEC，您可以在普通电视中获得与智能电视几乎相同的控制水平。
HDMI-CEC 允许打开连接的设备（如流媒体棒）以打开电视并将其切换到正确的输入。只需打开(Just)Chromecast的电源，电视就会打开到您想要的位置。
将所有这些设备放在一起，与购买一套全新的设备和电器相比，您拥有的智能家居要便宜得多。智能(Smart)家居看起来价格昂贵且颜色选择(color choice)有限，但它们在任何预算和任何风格下都是可能的——你只需要知道在哪里看。
5 Low-Cost Ways to Make “Dumb” Appliances Smart
You hear and read a lot about smart home tech, but it’s not always the right fit. After all, a lot of the technology tends to lean toward a more futuristic appearance, but you might not be willing to give up that heirloom lamp your fаmily has keрt in the living roоm fоr generatiоns.
Thankfully, it’s not an either/or situation. You can get all the benefits of smart home technology without giving up a classic and/or rustic look. The key is turning your “dumb” appliances smart.
This article will walk you through several low-cost ways to give your classic lamp the tech equivalent of a Harvard degree. Devices like smart plugs, smart batteries, and others like them can give you control of your run-of-the-mill appliances over Wi-Fi without the need to change the look and feel of your entire home.
Install Smart Batteries To Smarten Up a Dumb Smoke Detector
One of the most beneficial aspects of a smart smoke detector is the push notifications that come when the battery is low. It completely eliminates the irritating beeping that always seems to happen in the dead of night.
While a smart battery might not give you the same level of data analysis and or vocal announcements that a smart smoke detector will, it can send push notifications to your phone when the battery is low. Smart batteries are less common than other smart devices, but you can find them from companies like Roost. They’re also much less expensive.
Smart Lights Grant Smart Home Control Even In Older Appliances
Most smart lights are nothing more than a bulb – and maybe a Wi-Fi hub. One low-cost way to get smart control over nearly any lamp simply by screwing in a smart light and setting it up. The “smart” feature comes from the bulb itself, not what it’s plugged into.
The only catch is that smart bulbs require a constant flow of power to operate. Smart bulbs use less energy than traditional light bulbs, but make sure the wiring in your lamp, especially if it’s older, is intact before you leave a current running through it for an extended period of time.
Smart Light Switches Can Turn All Your Lights On & Off At Once
While smart bulbs can be useful for individual lamps, if you want to take control of your entire room’s lighting without investing in a lot of bulbs, you have to go to the source: the light switch.
An inexpensive smart light switch is basically a Wi-Fi on and off switch for your lights. Some include the ability to dim the lights, too. You can control the switch through a smart assistant like Google Home or Amazon Alexa, or with your phone.
Use a Smart Plug To Schedule Devices & Control The Power From Afar
Have you ever wanted to wake up to a freshly-brewed pot of coffee, but you never invested in a programmable pot? A smart plug can help.
Smart plugs let you control the power to any device plugged into them, and some even provide you with detailed usage statistics like the amount of power the appliance used, the number of times it is turned on or off, etc.
Smart plugs are great for plugging a coffee pot into and scheduling it to come on at a set time each morning. You can also plug in risky appliances, like an iron or a space heater, and set a timer to ensure it goes off and you don’t accidentally leave something plugged in that might start a fire.
Use a Streaming Device & HDMI Settings To Turn a Dumb TV Smart
Devices like Chromecast, Roku, and the Amazon Fire Stick are low-cost and can do nearly anything a smart TV can. Most “smart” TVs are nothing more than regular TVs with certain streaming services built-in. If you plug a streaming device into a TV and activate HDMI-CEC, you can gain almost the same level of control in a normal TV that you would with a smart TV.
HDMI-CEC allows turning on a connected device (like a streaming stick) to also turn on the television and shift it to the proper input. Just turn the power on to your Chromecast and the TV will turn on to exactly where you want it.
Throw all of these devices together and you have a smart home for much less than if you purchased a brand-new suite of devices and appliances. Smart homes can seem expensive and limited in color choice, but they’re possible on any budget and any style—you just have to know where to look.
