Smart Home Made Easy With Globe Electrics
“This post is in partnership with Globe Electrics because I love em & know you’ll love em too!”
Fun fact about me: I’m a tech nerd.
Always have been. I love tinkering with all kinds of gadgets and while I am very aware of the pitfalls of technology, I just can’t help myself. As luck would have it, I married someone equally obsessed with tech & things, and even our toddler is pretty well-versed in using most of our devices without any assistance from us. Being that we rent, we knew that we couldn’t get as tech-savvy in our home as we’d like, BUT that doesn’t mean we couldn’t do a lil somethin somethin.
If you read my post all about renter-friendly smart home solutions, then you know I’m a big fan of not letting your apartment deter you from having a smart home. And of course, I took my own advice! One of the first things we purchased to make our apartment smart is a Google Home mini. Starting off this this device opened up a world of possibilities, since it would eventually serve as a sort of command hub for all the other smart things.
Quick shop my smart home
We now own 2 Google Home minis and a Google Home and it’s glorious! But let’s back it up a bit...
Having our mini meant we could use it for all kinds of commands, and we knew exactly the first thing we wanted our Google mini to do — control our lights! My husband has this weird obsession with clap on/clap off lights — remember “the clapper” of the 80s? Yeah that. Since we weren’t actually about to get a clapper, we knew that the next best [modern day] solution would be smart lights, and with our Google Home we could just tell the lights to turn on or off, and few other commands in between.
Enter Globe Electric!
Globe Electric quickly became one of my fav lighting resources for their assortment, and specifically for their smart products.
We knew we wanted their dimmable white bulb — I prefer the white light & loved the option to be able to lighten & brighten as needed, for comfort. We were able to easily install the bulb in our Nelson Bubble Sconces, making the super iconic wall sconces now super smart.
Usually people think “smart home” and immediately think lots of wiring or complicated installations. NOPE! Not with Globe Electric at least. Once we removed out regular light bulbs, we screwed in the Globe Electric bulbs — one in each sconce — and installed the Globe Electric app. The set up was super quick, since all we had to do was activate the bulbs, and connect out wi-fi. Once the Globe Electric app was all set-up, since we have our Google Home also all set up, we were able to quickly link our bulbs to our gadgets.
VOILA!
Now our home is just a touch smarter than it once was.
After a few months of using the bulbs exclusively in our bedroom, I now have one in our daughter’s room and near the front foor at the entry table. I’m deliberating on adding one to the bathroom or the hallway — I currently have a light plate switch in the hallway for night time, and in the bathroom, there’s a plug in night and led candles for when the overhead lights are just a bit more than our eyes can handle.
Our lighting — our bedrooms — aren’t the only smart elements in our room.
In the kitchen, I decided to add the Globe Electric smart plug to control our new Breville Mini Smart Toaster Oven aka my latest favorite kitchen accessory! For clarity, the mini oven isn’t “smart” like the bulbs, so much as it’s smart enough to know the right time & temperature to apply for everything from scones to chicken parm to morning toast — all of which I’ve made with the oven by the way.
But back to the smart plug…
I decided to add the smart plug to the kitchen so that this new appliance wouldn’t always be “on” while we’re not using it or not likely to be using it, like while we’re asleep. For me, it made sense to have it on a schedule — on at 6:30 am, early enough for morning toast, and off at 7:30am, aka the latest I’d ever be cooking and/or baking. While I’m not always using it during that 13 hour window, there’s definitely a peace of mind that comes with knowing there’s one less appliance running 24/7.
The smart plug, along with my programmable automatic drip coffee maker and the mini oven, has me feeling like the kitchen is truly starting to support my lifestyle. With my pantry organization nearly complete, this kitchen that I’ve low-key disliked is really starting to feel like it’s my own.
So what’s next?
After making these handful of smart upgrades to our condo, my little tech heart couldn’t be happier! It isn’t complicated stuff — like at all — but the difference it’s made in how we use our home has been immeasurable. Our Google Home can now even control our SimpliSafe security system, which I recently upgraded for the new smart features!
With our most used smart home additions being the lighting, I have really come to appreciate the Globe Electric assortment, so I plan on upgrading our home camera’s to their smart indoor security cameras. While I could get the SimpliSafe security system cameras, since the camera is more for seeing baby girl, it’s less about the monitoring and more about the smart capabilities. Also part of the Globe Electric smart family is their wi-fi receptacle and surge protector, both of which could be super convenient to have but not a priority at the moment.
What I appreciate most about how we’ve begun to set up our smart home is that it can easily move with us and be built upon — additional devices, all depending on the home and our needs.
Nearly all of the recommendations from my post about renter-friendly smart home solutions can easily be integrated with Google Home and Globe Electric, so be sure to check them out. As I continue to tinker with our tech-home, I’ll be sharing updates on my Instagram stories and saving them to my highlights.
