New High Tech Makes Controlling Your Home While on Vacation Easy
I’m definitely a gadget geek, and love finding new high tech gear that helps families. I received a goody box from Hive Home as part of my partnership to gear up my home for remote control. Since you’re a fellow traveler, I want to show you how this system works.
What is Hive?
Hive is a leading smart home brand in the UK, and just launched this month to the US and Canada. Hive’s adaptable suite of home products, services and experiences makes everyday life easier, effortless and more enjoyable – so you can live brilliantly, and easily! They offer subscription-based smart home plans designed with a strategic mix of products and services to put people in control of their homes at affordable monthly subscription rates that suit their home needs. This is a system where you pay a simple rate each month and that includes the gear, so no massive purchasing of tech pieces up front.
About the Hive Welcome Home Standard Plan
Hive is kicking off their North American launch by offering their Hive Welcome Home Starter Plan, which lets people adjust temperature, lighting and appliances from wherever they are. The Hive Welcome Home kit contains the Hive Hub, an Active Thermostat, (4) Active Light Warm to Cool White bulbs, (2) Active Plugs, (2) Window or Door Sensors, and a Motion Sensor.
How Does Hive Help Travelers?
I’m excited because this Hive system can help me control my home while on vacation. A perfect example has to do with my house temperature. If you’re like me, you adjust your thermostat so you’re not heating or cooling your house as much while you’re away. However, getting home from vacation means entering a house that feels a bit like an icebox or sauna. Imagine pulling out your phone and easily adjusting your thermostat to get your house ready for your arrival. Or perhaps you forgot to adjust the thermostat when you left, with Hive you can do it while away.
The Hive Lights, Plugs, and Sensors all help you keep tabs on your home environment while away. You can easily control and change the home feel to make it look lived in. The lights can be turned off and on while away, the plugs will allow you to click on a radio or TV if you want some sound coming from your home, and the sensors help you watch for any unexpected entry or movement. Perfect for travelers who want to deter criminals and who want some self assurance that everything is normal.
From a mom angle, the door sensors are great if you have older kids who arrive home from school while you’re out or at work.
How Easy is Hive to Install?
Here’s where ease is super important. Every part of the Hive Welcome Home system is designed for easy installation and setup. I first had to connect the Hive Hub to my home router. Two cords, networking and power, and I was ready to roll. I installed the Hive Home app and the Hub allowed each piece of tech to immediately be recognized by the app.
I actually squealed when I was able to manually dim my bedside light. Simply screw in the Hive Active Light and it will be recognized in your app. You can then manually control the light as well as adjust the percentage / dim the light. You can even set up a schedule — perfect for creating a random lighting schedule while traveling.
A note about the Hive thermostat. The directions are extremely easy to understand, and very helpful in letting you install it yourself. Unfortunately, I was missing a ‘C’ wire that is required for self-installation of the Hive Thermostat. So I recommend you check your thermostat hookup wiring before your purchase to see if the self-install will work for you. If you’re missing the ‘C’ wire on your current connection it’s recommended that you contact an electrician to help you get the thermostat installed, or choose the Hive package that just includes the lights and door/window sensors.
The Hive Home system is a great way to control your home and make life a little easier. The monthly service plans let you get started right away without a large expense upfront to purchase all the gear.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hive. The opinions and text are all mine.
Great post! This seems like the perfect solution for me – as a pilot I´m constantly travelling and I don’t really like the idea of leaving my house completely empty. Technology these days is astounding!