the house, the lights turn off. I’ve set a light to turn on when I pass the South Orange train station so our daughter knows I’m almost home. When I’m a block away from the house, the light changes color so she knows I’m close. Another great use is a customizable va- cation routine while you’re away. James Nanscawen of Maplewood is fully committed to his smart home, outfitting his entire house with 22 Insteon Smart switches. “Making the move to Insteon took our smart light- feature story / 31 This Honeywell thermostat lets you control your heat and air conditioning from your phone. James Nascawen has fully embraced the smart home concept for his home. Photo credit: Julia Verderosa ing from being a novelty to something we use every day,” he explains. Its hub connects via Wi-Fi, giving him smart- phone and Alexa control over every light in the house. But he didn’t stop there. He also installed a Nest learning thermostat, which works with your smartphone, Alexa and other smart speakers. Now you can enter your home and say “Alexa, set the heat to 70,” or start cooling down the house on your way back from the shore. One of the benefits of Nest is its ability to learn your habits and program itself accordingly. If you want a smart ther- mostat without the high price tag, con- sider the Honeywell RTH6580WF. It allows you to program a schedule from your phone and control it whether you’re home or away, for a third of the price. While it doesn’t offer Nest’s learning capabilities, it will still do things like send alerts if the tempera- ture drops below a cer- tain level. With our freez- ing winters and bursting pipes, it’s a great way to keep tabs on your house while you’re away. Nanscawen also in- stalled August Smart locks that allow him to control his deadbolts from anywhere in the world. This is a great way to give temporary access to visitors, dog walkers, etc. “The August locks are 99 percent solid in terms of reliability,” Nanscawen says. There are other vari- ations on the market that replace your existing locks completely, but it’s important to do your research. Second Generation Family Owned and Operated for 20 Years. Michael’s Chimney Service LLC & Masonry Contractors 973-271-0026 www.michaelschimneynj.com Chimneys cleaned, repaired, rebuilt, relined. Fireplace & Furnace Sweeps. Keep Your Family and Home Safe this Spring. Time for your Chimney Clean Up. Free check of your heating system flue for carbon monoxide leakage. Free Estimates - Fully Insured 24-hour Emergency Service Senior Citizen Discounts Available PSE&G violations corrected. All types of masonry work: Sidewalks, Steps, Patios 10% OFF any job over $1500 Coupon must be presented at time of contract. Expires May 1, 2018. License #13VH07937500 Control your outlets with Wemo Mini Smart Plugs and your smartphone, Ama- zon Echo or Google Home.