My Smart Home for Seniors

Winner, Bronze Award, APEX 2018 and 2018 INDIES Book of the Year Honorable Mention/Health This full-color introduction to the smart home has been written from the ground up with one audience in mind: seniors. No ordinary "beginner's book," My Smart Home for Seniors approaches every topic from a 50+ person's point of view, using meaningful, realistic examples. Full-color, step-by-step tasks–in legible print–walk you through making your home safer and easier to live in using smart technology. Learn how to: • Control your home’s lighting with smart bulbs and switches • Make your home more secure with smart doorbells, door locks, and security cameras • Automatically control your home’s temperature with a smart thermostat • Make cooking and cleaning easier with smart appliances • Use voice commands or your smart phone to control your smart devices • Use If This Then That (IFTTT) to make your smart devices interact with each other automatically • Get smart about the security and privacy concerns of smart devices • Set up your smart devices and get them to work with one another • Compare and select the best smart hub for your smart home needs • Learn to use Amazon Alexa™, Google Home™ and other voice-activated devices, as well as Apple’s HomeKit™ on the iPhone, to make your smart devices work together

Michael Miller is a popular and prolific writer of close to 200 non-fiction books, known for his ability to explain complex topics to everyday readers. He writes about a variety of topics, including technology, business, and music.

1 Making Your Life Easier with Smart Home Technology 3 What Is a Smart Home? 4 How Smart Home Technology Works 6 Smart Communications 6 Smart Operations 7 Smart Interactivity 8 What Can Your Smart Home Control? 9 Smart Lighting 9 Smart Heating and Cooling 11 Smart Home Security 12 Smart Appliances 13 Smart Home Entertainment 14 Smart Home Control 15 And More… 15 Why You Need to Turn Your Home into a Smart Home 16 Saving Time and Effort 16 Saving Money and Conserving Energy 17 Doing More 17 2 Understanding Smart Home Hubs and Controllers 21 Understanding Smart Home Technologies 21 X10 23 Insteon 24 Wi-Fi 25 Bluetooth 25 Z-Wave 25 ZigBee 26 Comparing Smart Home Systems 26 Insteon 27 SmartThings by Samsung 28 Wink 28 And More… 29 What Works with What? 30 Comparing Smart Home Controllers 34 Apple HomeKit 35 Amazon Echo and Alexa 36 Google Home 37 3 Automating Your Home Lighting 41 Considering Smart Lighting Systems 41 Insteon 41 LIFX 42 Philips Hue 42 Wink 43 Other Systems 43 Using the Philips Hue Personal Wireless Lighting System 44 Connect the Hue Bridge 44 Connect to the Hue Dimmer Switch 46 Control Your Lights with the Dimmer Switch 48 Connect to the Hue App 48 Create a Room 50 Add More Lights or Accessories 52 Turn Lights On or Off with the Hue Smartphone App 54 Dim Your Lights 55 Adjust a Light’s Color Temperature 55 Select a Scene 57 Create a New Scene 58 Create a New Home & Away Routine 61 Create a Wake Up Routine 65 Create a Go to Sleep Routine 66 4 Automating Heating and Cooling 71 Understanding Smart Thermostats 71 How Smart Thermostats Work 72 Should You Upgrade to a Smart Thermostat? 74 Evaluating Smart Thermostats 75 Carrier Cor Wi-Fi Thermostat 76 Ecobee 77 Emerson Sensi Wi-Fi Thermostat 78 Honeywell Lyric Round Wi-Fi Thermostat 79 Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat 80 Nest Learning Thermostat 80 Using the Nest Learning Thermostat 83 Set Up and Configure Your Nest Thermostat 84 Control Your Thermostat 90 Set the Temperature 91 Program Your Nest 93 Learning Your Routine 94 Connecting Your Nest to Other Smart Devices 95 5 Automating Home Security 99 Adding a Smart Doorbell 100 How Smart Doorbells Work 100 August Doorbell Cam 101 Ring Video Doorbell 103 SkyBell HD Wi-Fi Video Doorbell 105 Installing a Smart Door Lock 106 How Smart Door Locks Work 107 August Smart Lock 108 Kwikset Kevo 111 Kwikset Premis 112 Schlage Connect 113 Schlage Sense 113 Yale Assure Lock with Bluetooth 114 Using Smart Security Cameras 115 How Smart Cameras Work 115 Arlo Q 117 Arlo Pro 118 Canary Flex 119 Nest Cam Indoor and Outdoor 120 Working with Smart Smoke and CO Detectors 122 Birdi 123 Halo+ 124 Nest Protect 124 Assembling a Smart Home Security System 126 Samsung SmartThings 127 Wink 128 Canary 128 Piper 130 iSmartAlarm 131 SimpliSafe 132 6 Automating Your Kitchen and Laundry 135 Understanding Today’s Smart Appliances 136 Smart Operation 136 Smart Monitoring 137 Smart Energy Savings 137 Smart Maintenance 137 Smarter Food Storage with Smart Refrigerators 138 GE Connected Refrigerators 138 LG SmartThinQ Refrigerators 139 Samsung Family Hub Refrigerators 140 Smarter Cooking with Smart Ranges and Ovens 142 GE Wi-Fi Connected Ovens and Ranges 142 LG SmartThinQ Ranges 143 Samsung Wi-Fi Ranges 144 Smarter Dishwashing with Smart Dishwashers 145 Bosch Dishwasher with Home Connect 145 GE Wi-Fi Connected Dishwashers 145 Smarter Cleaning with Smart Washers and Dryers 146 GE Wi-Fi Connected Washers and Dryers 147 LG SmartThinQ Washers and Dryers 148 Whirlpool 148 7 Automating Home Entertainment 153 Watching Smart TV 153 What’s Inside a Smart TV 154 What a Smart TV Does 155 Using a Typical Smart TV156 Using a Smart Set-Top Box 158 Streaming Audio Throughout Your Home 159 Using the Amazon Echo as a Speaker 160 Using Google Home as a Speaker 161 Using the Harmony Hub 162 Getting to Know the Harmony Hub 162 What’s It Work With? 164 Setting Up the Harmony Hub 164 Using the Harmony Hub 165 8 Examining Other Smart Devices and Applications 169 Smart Devices for the Living Room 169 Smart Plugs 170 Smart Outlets 171 Smart Wall Switches 171 Smart Motion Detectors 172 Smart Window Coverings 173 Smart Vacuums 174 Smart Devices for the Bedroom 175 Smart Bedding and Accessories 175 Smart Devices for the Kitchen 176 Smart Coffee Makers 177 Smart Cooking Appliances 178 Smart Devices for the Garage 178 Smart Garage Door Openers 178 Smart Car Adapter 180 Smart Devices for Outdoors 181 Smart Irrigation Systems 181 Smart Lawn Mowers 181 9 Controlling Your Smart Home with Wink 185 Getting to Know Wink 185 Setting Things Up 187 Connect the Wink Hub 2 188 Add a New Device via Barcode Scanning 190 Manually Add a New Device 193 Using the Wink App 196 Turn a Device On or Off 196 View Information from a Sensor 197 Create a Shortcut 199 Activate a Shortcut 201 Automating Activities with Robots and Events 202 Create a Robot 202 Remove a Robot 206 Create an Event 206 10 Controlling Your Smart Home with Apple Home 213 Understanding Apple HomeKit 214 How HomeKit Works 214 What’s Compatible with HomeKit 215 Adding Devices and Rooms 216 Add a New Device 217 Add a New Room 219 Assign an Accessory Device to a Room 220 Create a Scene 222 Controlling Your Smart Devices 223 Control a Device or Scene 224 Controlling Devices and Scenes with Siri 225 Automating Multiple Devices 225 Create a Location Automation 227 Create a Time Automation 229 Create a Controlled Automation 231 11 Controlling Your Smart Home with Amazon Alexa 235 Understanding Alexa—and Echo 236 What Alexa Does and How Alexa Works 236 Using Alexa as a Smart Home Controller 236 Meet Amazon’s Echo Devices 237 Amazon Echo 237 Amazon Echo Dot 238 Amazon Echo Show 239 Which Echo Is Right for You? 239 Setting Up Your Echo Device 240 Set Up Your Device 241 Changing the Wake Word 246 Working with Alexa 249 Employ General Commands 250 Tell Alexa What to Do 251 Using the Alexa App 252 Tour the Alexa App 252 Link Accounts from Other Services 254 Working with Alexa’s Skills 257 Find a Skill 257 Add a Skill to Alexa 260 Using Alexa to Control Your Smart Devices 261 What’s Compatible? 261 Connect a Smart Device to Alexa 261 Working with Device Groups 264 Controlling a Smart Device with Alexa 266 12 Controlling Your Smart Home with Google Home 269 Understanding Google Home and the Google Assistant 270 Setting Up and Using Google Home 271 Set Up Your Device 272 Navigate and Configure the Google Home App 278 Working with the Google Assistant 282 Wake Words 283 Employ General Commands 283 Tell the Google Assistant What to Do 284 Using Google Home to Control Your Smart Devices 285 What Does Google Home Control? 285 Pair a Device with the Google Assistant 286 Use the Google Assistant to Control Your Smart Devices 289 13 Using Smart Technology for Independent Living 291 Making Daily Living Easier 292 Use a Voice-Controlled Personal Assistant 292 Install Smart Lighting Systems 293 Employ a Smart Doorbell 294 Install a Smart Door Lock 294 Consider a Smart Thermostat 295 Keeping You and Your Loved Ones Safer 297 Install a Smart Door Lock 297 Employ Smart Door and Window Sensors 298 Add Smart Cameras 298 Use a Personal GPS Tracker 299 Employ a Personal Safety Device 300 Embracing In-Home Care 303 14 Adding More Functionality with IFTTT 305 Understanding IFTTT 306 How Does IFTTT Work? 306 Why Would You Want to Use IFTTT? 307 What Does IFTTT Work With? 308 Using IFTTT Applets 308 Link a Device or Service to IFTTT 309 Find and Activate an Applet 311 Manage Your Applets 313 Creating Your Own Applets 313 Understanding the Parts of an Applet 313 Create a New Applet 314 15 Evaluating Privacy and Security Concerns 319 Privacy Concerns 320 What Do They Really Know About You? 320 How Much Privacy Do You Need? 322 Security Issues 323 Spyware and Botnets 323 Seizing Control 325 What Can You Do? 326 Making Your Smart Home Safer 327 Is It Safe Enough? 328 16 What’s Next? (ONLINE ONLY) Glossary 331 Index 335 Find the bonus online chapter and other helpful information on this book’s website at http://informitcom/title/9780789759894