Back to School - How the Smart Home Removes Some of the Stress

Between buying new school supplies, sorting out carpool logistics and coping with first-day jitters, back-to-school can be a stressful time to say the least!

While the lives of parents will soon become a lot more hectic, there are a number of ways to easily cut out some of the stress. And you won’t find them in the flashy activity tracker or newest ‘phablet,' but rather in your smart home. 

Here are a few ways how:

  • Your child forgot their keys at home: Let’s face it, we’ve all done it once. This is where smart door locks - like the Schlage Touchscreen Deadbolt - can really work their magic. You can give your child a unique code they can use in place of a key and receive an alert when that code is used. And if your child forgets their code, no matter. A quick tap within the Wink app can unlock the front door no matter where you are. 
  • You’re sick of returning to a tampered thermostat: Traditional thermostats with lots of buttons are an open invitation for children to make the temperature go haywire. Keep tabs on your home’s climate and schedule it to adjust right when school gets out with a smart thermostat like the Emerson Sensi. You can also get alerted if anyone tries to mess with it.
  • You want to make sure everyone got home safe: Smart cameras - like Nest Cam - are a great way to quickly see what’s going on at home. Set one up in your living room or kitchen and connect it with Wink for real time monitoring no matter where you are. It’s a great way to get peace of mind that the kids got home safe and the pets haven’t run off into the wild. 
  • Everyone is finally in bed, but is everything turned off?: Sure it’s dark in your bedroom, but what about the downstairs hallway? Was the TV turned off? Is the garage door still open? Create a ‘Good Night’ Shortcut in Wink to lock up the house and turn everything off with just one swipe.

A few simple steps with your smart home can go a long way in re-introducing some sanity to the start of the school year!

  

New Products Now Compatible With Wink

Wink gives you choice and flexibility when selecting smart products for your home by working with the best smart products and leading brands.  Today, we're excited to introduce two new products that are now compatible with the Wink platform. To connect them with your Wink account, simply tap “Add new product” within the Wink app and follow the instructions!

Here’s a bit more about each:

OSRAM LIGHTIFY LED Tunable A19 White Bulb - Wink HUB required

This smart bulb lets you customize the color temperature of your home’s lighting to enhance your environment. How? It has an adjustable temperature range, so you can switch between warm and cool shades of white. You could have bright light for when you’re hard at work or a much softer light for a cozier feel when you’re watching TV. 

With Wink, you can also connect it with other smart devices in your home so that certain events (opening the front door, for example) will trigger it to turn on or off. 

 

Emerson Sensi™ Wi-Fi Programmable Thermostat - Wink HUB not required

This smart thermostat gives you the ability to control your home’s temperature anytime, anywhere through the Wink app. You can set schedules, monitor the temperature, and even turn on your air conditioner when you leave work so your home is nice and comfy when you arrive. 

Or, if you want your thermostat to kick into gear along with other smart products, you can integrate it into a Wink Shortcut. A “Bedtime” Shortcut, for example, could dim your lights, lower the blinds and adjust your thermostat with just one tap.

 

Interested in picking these up? Both products, in addition to a variety of other Wink-compatible devices, can be found on the new Wink endcap in The Home Depot stores nationwide this summer!