December 2023

Your Holiday Guide to Make your HOME as smart as YOU! with Dr. Garret Pachtinger

By Dr. Garret Pachtinger, VMD, DACVECC, Director of Operations / Co-Founder, VETgirl

As VETgirl is the techy-savvy, SMART way to get your CE…we thought our resident techspert, Dr. Garret Pachtinger, DACVECC would help make your home as tech-savvy and as smart as you! Even better, turning your home into a tech-savvy palace has never been easier (and this cost effective, just like your VETgirl membership!). In this blog, we’ll explore some of the latest tech-savvy ways to make your home smarter, more efficient, and a joy to live in. Spoiler alert, number 4 is my favorite!

1) Smart Thermostats:
Smart thermostats, such as the Nest Learning Thermostat, allow you to optimize your home’s temperature control. These devices learn your heating and cooling preferences and adjust themselves to save energy and money. What we love is that you can control them remotely and set schedules, ensuring your home is comfortable when you arrive.

2) Smart Security
Technology makes it so easy to protect and monitor your home with improved home security systems including cameras, doorbell cameras, and locks. Garret’s favorites are:

The Ring Alarm System also connects with smart locks such as the Yale locks and important home monitoring such as the First Alert Battery Powered Z-Wave Smoke Detector & Carbon Monoxide Alarm and the Ring Flood Freeze monitors.

They now even have cool devices such as the Moen Flo Smart Water Monitor and Automatic Shutoff Sensors to remotely shut off the water to your house if a leak is detected.

3) Smart Entertainment
This was the year…the year I “cut the cord” and cancelled my cable. No…I still have my high-speed internet, but I was tired of paying for cable I didn’t use and a land line that was always ringing but never answered!

So, do I still watch TV? Of course, but I signed up for YouTube TV. YouTube TV lets you stream live and local sports, news, shows from 100+ channels – and you can watch not only on your TV, but your tablet, phone, computer, or other device…just like VETgirl!

Granted, I also have an Amazon account, so I can watch Amazon Prime Video. Netflix too! But my overall cable / internet bill is about 1/2 of what it used to be!

4) Smart Garage

Potentially my favorite purchase was the CHAMBERLAIN Smart Garage Control. “Did I shut the garage when I left the house?” “I’m already in bed, do I have to check the garage to make sure I shut it? No more worrying!!! You can now open or close your garage (and monitor the status of the doors) from anywhere. This ~$20 purchase and free app gets you connected and ready. Even better, it works with most conventional garage door openers (made after 1993) saving you from purchasing a several hundred dollar wifi enabled opener!

Finally, they finally came out with the myQ Smart Garage Door Video Keypad with Wide-Angle Camera. With this garage door keypad you can view who is approaching or near your garage door with it’s wide-angle surveillance camera, get real-time notifications, engage in live conversations, and easily create and share personalized access codes for family, guests, or service providers.

…and the best news (for my wallet) is that aside from the Moen Flo Smart Water Monitor and Automatic Shutoff Sensors, I was able to install all of these monitoring devices myself!

So, if you have a tech savvy person (or a person that wants to become tech savvy)…or yourself…I hope this helps!

Let me know in the comments below! What technological updates make your life easier!?

Dr. Garret Pachtinger, DACVECC
Co-Founder, Director of Operations, VETgirl

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