Keeping Your Home Warm This Winter with Smart Home Technology

Cold weather is upon us. The sandals have been retired for the year, and it's time to start bracing for the drop in temperatures. Technology is extending into every corner of our lives; you're probably reading this from a hand-held device as a matter of fact. We love our gadgets, but how can the work for us? Well, besides the obvious ways of procrastination and assisting us through that three-hour meeting.
 
Here are four ways to keep your home warm this winter with smart home technology:
 
Tip #1
Smart thermostats with wireless capabilities allow you to control the environment of your home without crossing the threshold. Hot on the market right now is the Nest product line. They "learn" your living and comfort preferences, and adjust the climate accordingly. Nest thermostats are that annoying neighbor who is always outside when you are but in a helpful way.
 
Tip #2
Gas fireplace thermostats are relatively new to the smart home market. You can install the transmitter, and program the receiver to switch the heat on or off depending on your parameters. Set up days, times, or kid-safe options of when you want the flames to flicker. No news yet of a wood-burning version, but you never know what's around the corner.
 
Tip #3 
New-fangled space heaters are not the noisy, sometimes smelly, expensive devices of old. In the olden days, near the turn of the Millennium, space heaters were a costly option for heating a room or home. Electric heaters in those days would propel a heating bill into the outer limits in a hurry. But today, space heaters have branched out beyond the underbelly of the corporate desk (there's always that one co-worker who's cold in July) and found their way to stylish and eco-friendly freedom. Complete with timers, energy saving modes, thermostats, and fan-only options, these next gen heaters are viable options for warming up.
 
Tip #4
Self-contained fireplaces have to be the most fun option for smart-home heating during the winter. These fireplaces burn clean, smoke-free bioethanol to produce heat with no chimney or flue needed. Bioethanol is an agricultural product (similar to the gasoline additive), not a fossil fuel, so it reduces your carbon footprint while keeping you warm. Plus they look good.
 
Depending on the model, the fireplaces can be used indoors or out. Larger versions have glass casings and are too heavy to move around, but the smaller flame containers are portable. The fuel produces a real flame and heat, but no smoke, so you can put them anywhere in your home, that has available space. These hotties are also a good option for existing fireplaces that are no longer in use.
 
Keeping warm in the winter is no small task. Even for states that enjoy mild winters, our bodies know it's cold and complain accordingly. For that, I suggest cashmere socks. They are soft and keep toes snug during the season between flip flops.