I Made My House "Smart" for $850 - Here's What Actually Worked (And What Was a Waste)

Alright so this is gonna sound dumb but I avoided the whole smart home thing for like 3 years because I thought it was either:

A) Crazy expensive
B) Super complicated
C) Something that would break constantly and I'd regret

Turns out I was kind of right about B and occasionally C, but totally wrong about A.

My neighbor Jerry (shout out to Jerry, he's gonna read this) has been bugging me forever to "just try it." He's one of those early adopter types who had a smart home before it was cool, and honestly his setup was pretty impressive.

But every time I looked into it I'd get overwhelmed. There's just SO much stuff. Smart lights, smart switches, smart plugs, smart locks, smart thermostats, smart cameras, smart doorbells, smart garage door openers, smart ceiling fans... like they literally just stuck "smart" in front of everything and expected us to buy it all.

Then last November my wife mentioned our electric bill was $240 and could I "do something about it." And I remembered Jerry saying his smart thermostat cut his bills by like 30%.

So I finally took the plunge.

The Budget Situation

I gave myself $1,000. Wife thought I was being cheap and should just hire someone to do it professionally. I was like "babe, those smart home installation companies charge $3,000+ for the EXACT same equipment I can buy myself and install in a weekend."

She was skeptical. I was determined.

(Spoiler: I spent like 3 weeks researching before buying anything because I'm like that. She was right to be skeptical.)

What I Actually Ended Up Buying

After about 47 hours of YouTube videos, Reddit threads (r/homeautomation is both super helpful and totally overwhelming), and reading way too many Amazon reviews, here's what I bought:

Google Nest Learning Thermostat - $130

Normally $249 but I waited for a sale. This was the whole reason I started this project so it was non-negotiable. Everyone says these things save money and at this point our electric bill was out of control.

Went with Nest over Ecobee because Nest doesn't need a C-wire (more on this disaster later) and I already had Google Home stuff.

Ring Video Doorbell - $100

Our neighborhood's had some package theft issues. Also I work from home and people ringing the doorbell during Zoom calls is my personal hell. Being able to see who's there without them knowing I'm looking? Sold.

Wyze Cam v3 (bought 3 of them) - $105

These are stupid cheap ($35 each) which made me suspicious at first. But Jerry has like 6 of them and swears they're just as good as the expensive Nest cams. Reviews backed him up so I went for it.

Originally planned to buy 2 but then I was like "for $35 why not get a third" and that's how they get you.

August Smart Lock - $189

This one I went back and forth on forever. Do I really NEED to unlock my door with my phone? Probably not. But I lose my keys approximately twice a week and my wife is tired of letting me in, so... yeah.

Also the idea of giving the dog walker a temporary code instead of a physical key seemed smart.

Wyze Bulbs - $150 for 15 bulbs

I researched smart bulbs for an embarrassingly long time. Philips Hue is the gold standard but they're like $50 per bulb which is INSANE. Wyze bulbs are $10 each and do basically the same thing (just without all the fancy color options, which honestly who cares).

Bought 15 because I needed to do the main living areas plus bedrooms. In hindsight that might've been overkill but whatever.

Echo Dot (2 of them) - $60

Waited for Prime Day and got them for $30 each. One for the bedroom, one for the kitchen. Needed something to voice control all this stuff.

I know Google Home would've made more sense with the Nest but Echo was on sale and I'm cheap.

TP-Link Smart Plugs (4-pack) - $35

Honestly just saw these in the "frequently bought together" section and impulse added them. Figured I'd find a use for them.

(Still not sure I have, but we'll get to that.)

Total: $769

Under budget! I felt very smug about this.

Then I remembered I needed to buy a drill because ours broke like 2 years ago and I never replaced it. $79 at Home Depot.

New total: $848. Close enough to my $1,000 budget. Still claiming victory.

The Installation Process (Or: Why YouTube Is Both Helpful And Completely Lies About How Long Things Take)

Started on a Saturday morning. Told my wife I'd have everything done by dinner. She laughed at me.

She was right to laugh.

Smart Bulbs: The Easy Win

Started with these because they seemed foolproof and I wanted an early win.

And yeah, it was easy. Screw in bulb, download Wyze app, connect to wifi, done. Took maybe 30 minutes to do all 15 bulbs.

Felt like a genius. This was gonna be easier than I thought!

(Narrator: It was not easier than he thought.)

The Nest Thermostat: A Journey

Nest has this really nice setup process in their app. It walks you through everything step by step with pictures. Looks super simple.

Step 1: Turn off power to your HVAC system at the breaker.
Easy. Done.

Step 2: Remove your old thermostat and take a picture of the wires.
Okay cool, taking picture now.

Step 3: Connect the wires to your new Nest thermostat matching the same letters.
Wait.

My old thermostat has 4 wires: R (red), W (white), Y (yellow), G (green).

Nest has terminals for: R, W, Y, G, and... C.

I don't have a C wire.

Googled "nest thermostat no c wire" and fell down a rabbit hole for like 45 minutes. Turns out lots of older homes (mine's from 1998) don't have this C-wire thing which apparently provides constant power to the thermostat.

Old thermostats didn't need it. Smart thermostats do because wifi and screens and stuff.

Options were:

1. Run a new wire from my furnace to the thermostat (requires going into the attic, running wire through walls, sounds hard)

2. Use this "power adapter" thing that Nest includes for exactly this problem

Went with option 2 obviously.

Except the instructions for the power adapter were... confusing. Had to go down to the furnace in my basement, find the control board, connect this adapter to specific terminals, then connect my existing thermostat wire through it...

It took me like 90 minutes and I'm still not 100% sure I did it right.

But I turned the power back on and the Nest lit up! So I'm calling it a win.

Connected it to wifi, went through the setup process, and boom. Smart thermostat achieved.

Time estimate from Nest: "Installation typically takes 20-30 minutes!"
Actual time: 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Sure, Nest. Sure.

Ring Doorbell: Actually Pretty Easy

We already had a wired doorbell so this was straightforward. Disconnect old doorbell, connect Ring to the same two wires, mount it with the included screws, done.

The mounting bracket was kind of annoying to get level (I'm bad at that) but overall took maybe 40 minutes including the part where I couldn't figure out how to remove the old doorbell because it was stuck with like 30 years of paint.

Set it up in the app, tested it out, worked great.

My wife immediately made me go outside and ring it like 10 times while she watched from inside on her phone. We're adults, I swear.

Wyze Cameras: Easier In Theory Than Practice

These are supposed to be super simple. Plug them in, they work. Indoor use, outdoor use with the weatherproof housing, whatever.

I wanted them outside. Which means I needed:

1. Weatherproof housing (came with them, cool)

2. Power (therein lies the problem)

Camera #1: Mounted above the garage. There's an outlet right there. Easy. Done in 15 minutes.

Camera #2: Back door. No outlet nearby. Spent way too long trying to figure out how to run power to it properly before giving up and just... running an extension cord through a hole I drilled in the wall.

Is this the "right" way to do it? Definitely not.
Does it work? Yes.
Am I ever gonna fix it properly? Probably not.

Camera #3: Side of house. Same extension cord situation. I'm not proud but I'm also not drilling holes through my entire house to run proper electrical.

Set them all up in the Wyze app, tested them, all working. Good enough.

August Smart Lock: The Boss Fight

This is the one I was most nervous about.

August's whole thing is it fits OVER your existing deadbolt. So you don't have to change your lock, you just attach this thing to the inside and it turns your existing lock smart. Brilliant concept.

Except.

Our deadbolt is some weird off-brand thing from probably 1998 when the house was built. And August's adapter plate doesn't quite fit it.

Tried for like 30 minutes to make it work. No dice.

Ended up going to Home Depot (trip #2 of the day) and buying a new Kwikset deadbolt that August specifically says it works with. $42.

Installed the new deadbolt (this part was actually fine, changed door locks before).

Then installed August over it following their instructions. This took way longer than it should've because the calibration process is picky and I had to redo it like 4 times before it would lock/unlock properly.

Total time: 2 hours and 15 minutes.
August's estimate: "10 minute installation!"

I've decided that all installation time estimates are just completely made up.

But once it was working? Pretty sweet. Connected it to wifi, set up my code, my wife's code, tested it a bunch. Worked great.

Echo Dots: Plug In And Done

After all that, setting up the Echo Dots was hilariously easy. Plug them in, download Alexa app, follow setup prompts, done.

10 minutes each. Finally something that matched the time estimate.

Then spent another 30 minutes connecting all my smart devices to Alexa so I could voice control them. This was tedious but straightforward - enable Wyze skill, enable Ring skill, enable August skill, discover devices, rename them so I don't have to say "Alexa turn on Living Room Light 1" but can just say "living room lights."

By this point it was 7pm. I'd started at 9am. 10 hours for what I thought would be a 3-4 hour project.

My wife ordered pizza because I definitely didn't finish by dinner like I said.

Living With It: What Actually Gets Used After 8 Months

Okay so that was all back in November. It's now July. Here's what I actually use and what was kind of a waste:

Nest Thermostat: 10/10, Would Buy Again

This thing is legit. Our summer electric bill went from $240/month to $165/month. That's $75/month savings, which over the summer (June-September) is $300 saved.

The thermostat cost $130. It paid for itself in less than 2 months. Everything after that is just free money.

The "learning" thing actually works too. First couple weeks it was kind of dumb - I had to manually adjust it when I wanted it cooler or warmer. But after like 2-3 weeks it figured out our pattern.

We like it at 68° at night, 72° during the day, and it should start cooling down around 9pm because that's when we start getting ready for bed. Nest learned all that on its own and now just does it automatically.

Also being able to change the temp from my phone when I'm in bed and it's too hot? *Chef's kiss*

Only complaint: The app is kind of slow sometimes. Like there's a delay between when I adjust the temp in the app and when the thermostat actually responds. Minor annoyance.

Nest is on sale at the time of writing this post Buy direct from amazon.

Ring Doorbell: 9/10, One Problem

Use this constantly. Package deliveries, random solicitors, my kids' friends ringing the bell...

Being able to see who's there before opening the door is genuinely useful. Also the two-way audio means I can tell delivery people "just leave it there, thanks!" without getting up.

Motion detection is both great and annoying. It alerts me when someone's at the door which is good. It also alerts me when someone walks by on the sidewalk which is... not necessary.

Tried adjusting the motion zones and sensitivity but it's hard to get it just right. Either it's too sensitive (every person walking by triggers it) or not sensitive enough (misses actual people coming to the door).

Still figuring that out. But overall super worth it.

Oh and the cloud storage is $4/month which I didn't realize when I bought it. Not expensive but another subscription to manage.

August Smart Lock: 8/10, Battery Life Though

Way more useful than I expected. Use cases I didn't think about:

• Dog walker has a code, no need to give them a physical key

• Unlocking the door when I'm carrying groceries and don't want to put them down

• Remote unlock when my kid forgot their keys (happens weekly)

• Auto-unlock when I get home (this is cool but sometimes triggers when I'm just in the driveway and haven't parked yet, so I turned it off)

We mostly use the keypad honestly. Everyone in the family has their own code which is nice for knowing who came home when.

Battery life is the only real issue. Have to change the 4 AA batteries like every 2-3 months. Not a huge deal but more often than I expected.

Also one time the batteries died while I was out and the door was locked and my phone remote unlock didn't work and I had to wait outside for my wife to get home. That was fun. Now I keep spare batteries in the car.

Wyze Cameras: 6/10, Don't Use Them Much

Thought I'd check these all the time. Reality is I look at them maybe once a week?

They're good for peace of mind I guess. And we did catch the neighbor's dog pooping in our yard which was satisfying (showed them the footage, they were super apologetic).

The motion alerts are way too frequent to be useful. Every car driving by, every person walking past, every leaf blowing in the wind apparently qualifies as motion.

Turned the alerts off for sanity. Now I only check them if I specifically want to see something.

Cloud storage is $2/month per camera or $15/year unlimited. I'm doing the unlimited plan because I have 3 cameras and math.

Smart Bulbs: 5/10, Kind Of Regret This

These are fine I guess? Being able to dim lights from the couch is nice. Setting them to turn off automatically at midnight so I don't leave lights on all night saves probably $5/month.

But here's the thing that nobody told me: if someone turns off the physical light switch, the bulb loses power and goes "dumb." Then you can't control it until someone manually turns the switch back on.

This has led to approximately 1,000 conversations with family members about "don't use the switch, use your voice or the app."

It's annoying.

If I was doing this over I'd get smart SWITCHES instead of smart bulbs. More expensive upfront ($30-40 per switch vs $10 per bulb) but then the physical switch still works AND you have smart control.

Live and learn.

Echo Dots: 7/10, Useful But Not Essential

Voice control is genuinely convenient for some things:

• "Alexa turn off all the lights" when leaving

• "Alexa set a timer for 12 minutes" while cooking

• "Alexa what's the weather" in the morning

• "Alexa play classic rock" while cleaning

But for adjusting the thermostat? Honestly pulling out my phone is just as fast.

And sometimes Alexa just... doesn't understand me. "Alexa turn on the bedroom lights" works 90% of the time. The other 10% she's like "I don't know what you mean" and I have to repeat myself or just use the app.

Still use them daily though. Worth the $60.

Smart Plugs: 3/10, Barely Use These

I still don't have a good use case for these.

Put one on a lamp in the living room (but I already have smart bulbs in that lamp so it's redundant).

Put one on the coffee maker thinking I could auto-start it in the morning (doesn't work because you still have to physically press the button on the coffee maker).

Put one on a box fan thinking I could voice control it (works but easier to just use the fan's buttons).

The fourth one is still in the box.

I'm sure there are great uses for smart plugs but I haven't figured them out yet.

Things I Learned That Might Help You

Installation time estimates are fiction

Triple whatever time they tell you. If it says 30 minutes, plan for 90. If it says 10 minutes, plan for 30. This is just how it works.

C-wire is a thing you need to know about

If you're getting a smart thermostat and your house is older than like 2005, Google "does my thermostat have a C-wire" before buying. Will save you a lot of headache.

Nest and Ecobee both come with adapters for this but it's still annoying to install.

Cheap can be just as good

My $35 Wyze cameras work just as well as my friend's $200 Nest cameras. Sure the Nest ones look prettier and have slightly better app integration but for actually seeing who's in your yard? Same thing.

Don't overpay for brand names if the cheaper option has good reviews.

Smart switches > smart bulbs (probably)

I went with smart bulbs because they're cheaper per room. But the "switches disable them" problem is real and annoying.

If you can afford it, smart switches are probably better in the long run.

You don't need everything to be smart

I almost bought a smart garage door opener, smart sprinkler controller, smart smoke detectors, smart ceiling fans...

Glad I stopped where I did. More smart stuff just means more apps to manage, more things to update, more things that can break.

Start with the basics (thermostat, doorbell, locks, lights) and add more later if you actually want it.

The savings are real on the thermostat

$75/month savings is real money. Over a year that's $900. The thermostat cost $130.

Even if nothing else I bought saves a dime, that one purchase justified the entire project.

Would I Recommend This?

Yeah, if you're patient and okay with things taking longer than expected.

The smart thermostat alone is worth it for the energy savings. Everything else is just convenience and "cool factor" but the thermostat actually pays for itself.

Add a video doorbell if package theft is an issue in your area or you just want to see who's there.

Smart lock if you lose your keys constantly or have people (dog walkers, cleaners, etc.) who need access sometimes.

Voice assistant to control it all because using apps for everything gets old fast.

Cameras if you want peace of mind but know that you probably won't check them as much as you think.

Skip the smart plugs unless you have a specific use case in mind.

And maybe reconsider smart bulbs vs smart switches like I should have.

Total cost for a good basic setup: $600-900.

Time investment: One weekend (or in my case, two weekends because the first one didn't go according to plan).

Worth it? Yeah, I think so. My electric bill is lower, my wife can see who's at the door during the day when I'm at work, and I can unlock the door for my kid without getting up from my desk.

Not life-changing but definitely convenient. And hey, I got to feel like I accomplished something technical which counts for something.

Just don't expect everything to work perfectly on the first try, give yourself more time than you think you need, and be prepared to make at least 2 trips to Home Depot because you definitely forgot something.

(I forgot to buy wire nuts and electrical tape. Had to go back the next day. Always happens.)

If you want to plan your own setup:

• Cost Calculator - figure out what you'll actually spend

• Compatibility Checker - make sure your stuff works together

• Project Planner - map out what you need

• Find local installers if you decide DIY isn't for you (no shame in that)