How To Make Your Home Smarter With Google Home

As the technology in our everyday lives increases by the minute I am always on the lookout for ways to simplify our life and make things as easy as possible.

When the google home first came out honestly it wasn’t even on our radar but as time went on I became more and more intrigued by this little gadget.

So over the Christmas holiday, we took a leap and purchased the main base and also added a mini to our bedroom. After living with it for several months I now feel confident enough to give you all our honest review of the product and show you how to make your home smarter with Google Home!

This small machine has added some much-needed help to our everyday lives and as time goes on we will definitely be adding even more accessories to the units we have but for now, we are getting good daily use out of it with a small amount of money spent.

If you are someone that is looking for a product that will bring you a cold drink then this product is not for you but if you would like the ability to speak and the lights go out then  continue reading.

This is not a sponsored post and as usual, all opinions are my own.

This post may contain affiliate links for your shopping convenience, this is at no extra cost to you. For information see my disclosures here. 

Things You Can Do With Google Home

• Make phone calls
• Set up multiple users for multiple phones
• Create shopping Lists
• Create routines for certain times throughout the day
• Turn lights on/off with the sound of your voice
• Dim lights from 0%-100%
• Lock & unlock the door
• Adjust a smart thermostat such as nest
• Stream tv (only with Chromecast account/ Chromecast tv/ or Chromecast plugged into tv)
• Turn tv on/off (only with Chromecast account/ Chromecast tv/ or Chromecast plugged into tv)
• Answer crazy questions
• Listen to music
• Latest news
• Weather forecasts
• Traffic updates
• Plan your day
• Timer
• General and media alarms
• Sports updates
• and much much more.

Google Home Review

In order to use this you only need one base, we wanted to be able to speak to it with no issues in our bedroom as well so we added the mini version and stationed it on our nightstand.

Having two that can work together is really pretty awesome especially when listening to music because you can hear it in either room. But don’t think you have to buy them both because you do not that is just what we preferred.

The setup of the system was fairly seamless, you simply hook the product up to your WIFI connection and follow the steps given in the instructions, it also has a handy app you can use on your phone.

Once we had it hooked up we quickly realized that its ability to connect to our home was dependant on us having at least some kind of accessory for it to operate. For example the nest thermostat, wifi compatible deadbolt system, Phillips Hue light bulbs or one of the many hardwired options available.

Yes, you can use the Google Home without any of the accessories but for you to get the best possible use out of the product its best to have one of the things listed above to give it something to operate.

Alone the product answers questions, makes phone calls, plays music, etc. but once we added the Philips Hue light bulbs and Phillips Hue Smart Bridge to the four main lamps in our home ( two in the living room and two in the master) it definitely changed things.

We were then able to simply say ” hey Google, turn off the living room lights” and it would immediately follow our commands! Talk about awesome, I honestly love nothing more than being able to say “hey google turn off the bedroom lights” without ever having to move once it gets late and I am ready for bed. We would most definitely buy the system again and again for just this feature alone!

Once we realized there was a whole world of items out there that were compatible with the Google Home we then began researching which items we would like to add and what the cost would be.

When it comes to the Google home the possibilities are really endless, you can create routines that it retains in its memory and with just the sound of your voice it will know its time for the morning routine and automatically turn things like the lights, thermostat and coffee pot on while also reading you the latest news to start your day which I think is pretty dang cool!

Another thing it does that I think is pretty phenomenal is it learns your voice so say I ask google to call my mom, it will know it is me speaking and to call my mom not my husband’s mother!

That is pretty genius for such a small machine. 

FYI, adding the light bulbs seemed like the cheaper option at the time and honestly we would have had to buy them or a several smart plug options no matter what for our lamps (we use the lamps 90% of the time in those two rooms) but if you would like to go with a hardwired version then this one is well priced  Lutron Caseta Wireless Smart Lighting Dimmer Switch & Remote Kit for wall and ceiling lights. 

This allows you to hardwire any compatible switch in your home so you no longer have to buy light bulbs once they burn out which is the best way to go in my opinion but only if you use the overhead lighting often.

Since we use the lamps most often we needed the bulbs for those two rooms but we will be adding the Lutron option to our kitchen which is the other space we use most often.

The thing I love most about being able to control the lighting in our home is the fact that we can also control it when we are not home so say we will be coming in late from ballet practice, I can easily have the lights turned on with just the touch of a button and I love the convenience of that.

Most of the items that connect to the Google Home units do require a thing called smart Bridge, we chose the Phillips Hue Smart Bridge, which is a fancy way of saying it connects your devices to your wifi connection.

The Phillips Smart Bridge hooks up to your router and then allows you to operate the new devices with the voice assistant and it will also allow us to add a Nest thermostat and other accessories down the road without having to switch to a different bridge unit.

Yes, this could get a little pricey if you just went out and bought everything to make your home “SMART” but buying a few things here and there seemed like a much more manageable way to bring technology into our home without going broke in the process.

Several things to keep in mind if you are going to purchase a Google Home of your own

• You will need accessories to use it to the best of its abilities
• You will need a Smart Bridge to connect the unit and accessories via wifi
• You must say “Hey Google” for it to respond
•  Google Home is a learning unit so it will become more and more in tune with your voice and the way you speak and may not operate as well to a total strangers voice.

Overall we are very happy with our decision and would definitely buy these items again especially knowing that over a period of time we can add products that will no doubt make our lives easier.

I have linked some of my favorite Smart products below, simply click the photo to go directly to the site.