Top Recommended Tech Products To Complete Your Smart Garage Set-Up
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Your smart home products don't have to be used exclusively in your home — they'll work just fine in your garage as well. There's no real reason not to have all the benefits of smart devices when you're working with your new tools in your garage, and there are many different products you can pick up to make that into a reality. There's the obvious step of grabbing a smart garage door opener, but you can expand it to include lights, audio devices, and cameras.
Each item on this list is backed up by high user scores and reputable brands. It's important to know the item you're about to spend money on is recommended by other people in the real world, as nobody wants to waste money on something that doesn't work. On top of that, everything is readily available from Amazon, Home Depot, or another major retailer. A more in-depth explanation of our methodology is found at the end of this list.
Genie Signature Series 1 hp. Belt Drive Smart Garage Door Opener
You'll quickly grow tired of having to manually open your garage door, and that's when you'll want to make the jump to a smart opener. The Genie smart garage door opener is a good option, and it means you'll be able to stay in your car while the door opens up. It connects directly with either Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant, so all you have to do is ask for it to be opened up. You can also have direct control over the door through the Aladdin app on your smartphone. The Genie smart opener can be purchased from Home Depot for $248.
With over 200 user reviews, the Genie garage door opener has a 4.5 out of five rating on Home Depot's website. Outside of some reviewers mentioning the box missing some parts needed to put it all together, the opener works just as expected. What makes this one stand out from the competition is the quiet design that makes it so you won't wake up the neighborhood when opening up your garage.
Google Nest Mini
Being in the Google ecosystem means you can have an interconnected system throughout your home that's all controlled by Google Assistant. You can apply that to your garage as well. Many garage door openers, like the Genie one from this list, will connect directly with Google Assistant. That's what makes it nice to have a Google Nest set up in your garage because you'll be able to control the door and a variety of other things in your garage. You can set up lighting using smart bulbs, control your door, and even control your outlets if you have smart plugs. It's a handy way of making your garage smart without having to do a whole lot of extra work. You can pick one up from Amazon for $47.99.
There are a few different options you can go for — Nest Mini, Nest Hub, or Nest Hub Max — but the Mini will suit you just fine in the garage. For what it's worth, we're big fans of both the Nest Hub and the Nest Hub Max, so it's hard to go wrong with any of them. The Mini is the cheapest of the bunch, and it has a 4.3 out of five rating on Amazon.
Kasa Smart Plug
Smart plugs can be put right into a traditional wall outlet, making it compatible with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. If you're using an Echo or Google Assistant device, you can control the plug with your voice. If you have multiple outlets in your garage, you can set them up to be turned on and off without having to flip a switch. It's easy to set up and can be useful when you only want a certain outlet powered on versus everything at once, which would happen when you flick the switch.
The Kasa Smart Plug will run you $19.99 on Amazon for a two-pack, but you can opt for various brands if you find something more affordable. The Kasa plug has a 4.6 out of five rating based on over 68,000 reviews, so that's a good choice if you just want to get started with a pair of smart plugs. If you do end up buying a lot of them, you'll need to make sure you name them appropriately in your Google Home app, as you won't want your voice turning on your whole house at once.
myQ Smart Garage Control Sensor
If you're away from home, there's no telling what's going on in or around your garage. For some peace of mind, you can keep track of your garage door with the myQ Smart Garage Control Sensor. This allows you to easily see if your door has been opened without your knowledge. You can do all this through the myQ app, making it quite easy to set up and use. The sensor is being sold at Home Depot for $16.96, so it's a relatively inexpensive way to add some more security to your garage.
User reviews on Home Depot's website are 4.5 out of five, but there are some downsides to mention. The myQ sensor will only work with its app, so those of you looking to connect with Google Home devices will run into problems. That's not the end of the world by any means, but it does mean you'll need to juggle another app, and you won't get to use the voice commands you might be used to with other devices in your garage or household.
Blink Outdoor 4
If you have a detached garage, it can be difficult to know what's going on as you might not hear anything going bump in the night like you would if it's directly attached to your home. As a way to alleviate some concerns you may have about security, you can pick up a smart camera that lets you get visibility on what's going on out there. The Blink Outdoor 4 is a perfect solution as it can connect right to your garage and give you surveillance on everything it can see. Blink says battery life is up to two years, so you can set it up once and not have to think about it for a while.
This ties directly into your Amazon Alexa devices, but you'd have to go elsewhere if you want Google Assistant integration. You can also see real-time footage through the Blink app, so you don't necessarily need to have an Alexa device for this to work. Amazon reviews for the camera come in at 4.2 out of five based on over 6,000 reviews. It does cost $119.99 without a sale, so get ready to spend a decent bit of cash for the camera.
Why were these devices chosen?
All the items on this list will help transform your regular garage into a smart one. The items range from simple things that can be used anywhere, like a Google Nest or smart plug, to a garage door opener, but it's tough to argue with these all being good items to help your garage undergo an upgrade.
The products on the list are readily available from easy-to-find locations, and they are backed up by high user reviews as well as positive reviews from us. While some of the products are relatively cheap, that's not the case for everything, so it's important to see buyers who are pleased with their purchase.