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...