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Anyone who used to watch the BBC TV show Tomorrow's World will recall how the programme regularly featured household gadgets that promised to revolutionise our lives. These devices always looked incredible, and we were assured we would all be using them in a few years' time. But, of course, many of them ended up on the scrapheap.

Yet, over the past few years, there's been a quiet revolution in the type of computer gadgets that really will change our homes for the better. And the big difference with the inventions of yesteryear is that these devices are here to stay — and will even save you money.

Today, we talk you through the new world of the hi-tech home, and show you why you do not need to be an electronics expert to join it.

How can I monitor my electricity usage?

Every time an electricity bill lands on the doormat, or pings into our email inbox, we shudder with disbelief. Can we really have used that much over the past quarter?

There's no doubt that running a home is getting more expensive, and at times it seems there's nothing we can do to curb that upward spiral.

However, there is one device that can really help you bring down your costs — and that is an electricity usage monitor. Easy to install, the monitor shows you precisely how much electricity your entire home is using, second by second.

When you switch on, say, a kettle, you will see a sudden and huge spike in the amount of kilowatt hours your home is consuming.

In fact, when you first buy a monitor, it is easy to get addicted to bringing the numbers on it right down!

If you go around your home switching off every redundant light, every device that is on standby, and every mobile phone charger, you will notice an appreciable drop in the numbers on the display — a drop that, of course, means a saving in money.

How do the monitors work?

Typically, a monitor consists of three parts: the sensor, a transmitter and a display.

The sensor is easily clipped to the live mains cable below your fuse-box, and it detects how much electricity you are using at any one time by measuring the magnetic field around the cable.

This sensor is connected to a transmitter, which sends out the data wirelessly to a small display.

This can be any size, but they normally fit in the palm of one's hand. So long as it is in range of the transmitter, the display can be placed anywhere in your home.

Most people keep the display in the room they use the most, which is usually the kitchen.

Despite the popular myth, electricity monitors do not transmit your electricity usage back to your electricity supplier, or the Government, or anyone else. They are not 'spies' in your home.

Can they connect to my phone?

In many cases, yes. Most of the major manufacturers of monitors produce apps that let you monitor your energy usage on your computer, tablet or phone. This is a useful way to have an easily accessible record, as well as to establish patterns of usage, thus enabling you to make savings.

Which monitor should I buy?

Due to their popularity, there are now many on the market. Do bear in mind that some electricity suppliers will offer you a free monitor — but that is contingent on you signing to a specific tariff.

You will need to check whether the tariff really suits you, and whether you really will save money against the relatively cheap cost of buying your own monitor.

Here are four of the best on the market:

Efergy e2 Classic 2.0

£49.99, http://ift.tt/1rXP7Ky

The Efergy range of monitors is extremely popular, and it's easy to see why. Nicely designed, and with good software should you want it, the monitors are also extremely sensitive and accurate.

The Owl CM160

From £39.95, theowl.com

Simple to install, simple to use, The Owl is fast becoming a market leader. It also stores a vast amount of readings, so you can look back on your energy history with ease.

Energeno Wattson Classic

From £119, diykyoto.com/uk

The Wattson may look like more of a design statement than a monitor, but there's no doubt that it's a lot more fun to look at than most of the competition.

GEO Minim

From £39.95, greenenergy options.co.uk

With a colourful and well-designed display, the GEO Minim is a far more attractive monitor than most.

With the Minim, you can also set yourself an energy usage target — and the display makes it easy to see when you've gone over your desired limit.

BEAT BURGLARS WITH HOME SPY CAMERAS

With around 35,000 burglaries committed every month in England and Wales, there's never been a better time to improve your home's security.

Although some good door and window locks will deter many thieves, and an alarm may put off the somewhat less amateur, most of our houses are still vulnerable to determined criminals.

Now, thanks to the advances in camera technology and wifi broadband in our homes, you can boost your security with a range of CCTV cameras that are relatively easy to install.

Although most of us associate such cameras with offices and public spaces, they are fast becoming an essential feature of keeping our homes safe. As well as acting as a deterrent, CCTV cameras will provide invaluable evidence in the event that a burglar does break in.

Plus, although for years CCTV cameras were large and ugly, they are now well-designed, small and discreet. Here are five of the best:

 

Swann TruBlue 960H 1TB

Nine-channel CCTV kit with four bullet cameras

£379.99, maplin.co.uk

A good starter kit, which includes four cameras and a digital video recorder that can record a whole month of footage around your home — perfect if you're going away on a long cruise! The cameras also feature night vision, and the system can take up to nine cameras if you have a larger property. Competent DIY enthusiasts should be able to install this themselves, otherwise an electrician would be recommended.

Sentient 4 Channel

Wireless touchscreen CCTV kit with one outdoor camera

£199.99, maplin.co.uk

Although this kit features its own touchscreen digital video recorder, you can also keep an eye on your home when you're away with an app on your smartphone or tablet. The camera features infra-red, so you can even record what happens at night. Additional cameras cost £79.99 each. 

SANNCE 8CH

HDMI security surveillance DVR

£189.99, amazon.co.uk

This system represents excellent value for money, and the four cameras are robust enough to deal with the worst British weather. With the ability to watch the camera feeds on your PC (but not Mac), this is a great starter system.

Foscam FI8910W

Low-cost wifi camera

£54.89, amazon.co.uk

If you're on a budget, and just want something incredibly simple, consider the Foscam. The camera connects to your home wifi network, and you can then watch what is happening on a web browser on your computer, tablet or smartphone. The camera is not weatherproof, but works well if placed in a window. It's also ideal if you're looking for something that can keep an eye on unruly children or pets!

Y-cam HomeMonitor HD

CCTV system with movement sensor

£147, amazon.co.uk

Very easy to set up, unlike many other CCTV systems the Y-cam does not save the video to a digital video recorder, but instead uses the 'cloud' (a remote computer). You can then view the footage for seven days. If you are away from home, you can also set the system to alert you if the camera spots any movement. 

TIP: Signing up to an online account for your energy bills makes it much easier to submit your own meter readings. Do this every few months to gauge how much power you're using.   

Turn your heating on and off with your mobile

For most of us, controlling our home heating is a bit of a hit-and-miss affair. And because we're not on top of controlling it, we are wasting far too much money both on over-heating our homes, and also heating them while we're out.

This year has marked the emergence of the 'smart thermostat', which connects to your smartphone or tablet and enables you to have full and accurate control over the temperature of your home — whether you're in bed or whether you're out and about.

Better still, smart thermostats can adjust the level of heating to weather conditions, and even build up a profile of your family's behaviour.

Although estimates vary, it is thought that by using a smart thermostat heating bills can be brought down by a staggering 30 per cent — a saving of some £270 on the average household's annual bill.

As a result, even though smart thermostats may look to be expensive, you will be making your money back within a year. And if you have a larger family, then it will pay for itself far quicker than that.

Can I install them myself?

This is certainly a job best left to a professional. Most of the purchase prices of the smart thermostats here do not include installation, but deals change all the time, so you'll need to check when you buy.

In order to take advantage of being able to control your smart thermostat with your smartphone or tablet, you will require a wifi connection in your home. Here are five outstanding examples:

British Gas Hive

£199, http://ift.tt/10DbUoB

If British Gas provides the gas for your central heating, you may have heard of the company's new product called Hive Active Heating, which offers 'clever heating and hot water control'.

Hive enables you to control your gas boiler with your smartphone, laptop or tablet from wherever you are, thereby allowing you to come home to the perfect temperature.

One of the best things about Hive is that selecting when you want your boiler to turn on and off is far simpler than using a normal control panel, which is fiddly and seems to involve holding down the 'Select' button endlessly.

According to the company, because the smartphone app puts you much more in control of your boiler, Hive can save you around £150 per year — which means you will quickly make back your initial outlay.

To install Hive, you will need to have a gas central heating system with a single thermostat, a broadband router with a spare ethernet port connection, and a boiler that's in full working order.

Don't worry if that is all beginning to sound too complicated, as British Gas will install Hive for you and upgrade your controls to a modern wireless thermostat, as well as set up your Hive hub and online account.

Though Hive lacks the location detection you get with the Tado system (see below), if you're a customer of British Gas, then Hive could be the right option for you. British Gas says installation takes no longer than an hour.

Google Nest

£249, nest.com/uk/

Nest works very similarly to most other smart thermostats, and features an app that you can use to control your system. A motion sensor detects when your home is empty, and automatically turns down the controls.

Tado

£249.99, tado.com/gb/

Already a success in France and Germany, Tado tries to make your house as energy efficient as possible by tracking family members around the home and learning from your daily routine. A weather sensor allows further adjustments.

Scottish Power Connect

£66, then £9.94 per month for two years, http://ift.tt/10DbUER

Similar to Hive, the Connect aims to give you complete control of your heating by using a smartphone app, available on both iPhone and Android. Connect can control both your heating and hot water, and you can also give the heating a boost, so your home is cosy when your return.

If you're going on holiday, you can tell Connect the number of days you'll be away for and it will switch on the day you come back. And if your schedule changes, you can remotely tell the system.

Scottish Power aims to install Connect in an hour, and you will need a mobile phone signal in your home. The app also allows you to submit meter readings.

Honeywell Evohome

£249, http://ift.tt/10DbTAR

Similar to other makes of smart thermostat, the Evohome also offers you the ability to set up different zones in your home, and to control them individually.

DON'T BE DIM! JOIN THE LED BULB REVOLUTION

Many of us have heard of LED bulbs. Standing for light-emitting diode, they use around one-tenth of the electricity of normal incandescent and halogen bulbs, slashing your bills. And as they use so little power, they're also far greener.

Though they've been around a while, only recently have they become capable of producing white light for home use. The three Japanese scientists who solved the problem were awarded this year's Nobel prize for physics.

Not only are they cheap to run, they also last a long time — in some cases up to three decades.

The only drawback is they cost around £5 per bulb. However, that money is made back extremely quickly.

If, say, your kitchen has ten halogen 50-watt downlighters, and you replace them with LEDs at a cost of £50, you should recoup the money in less than three months.

As with many genuine money-saving devices, the case with LED bulbs is whether you can afford not to buy them.

A further advantage is that they come in many colours. So manufacturers are now producing all sorts of fun lighting systems that let you control the 'mood' of your house.

Better still, the lights can be connected to your home wifi network, so you can control the lighting from your smartphone.

So, for a kitchen supper party, you can prepare the meal in bright, white light; then, when friends arrive, you can add some yellowy warmth to the light via your phone. Later, if you fancy a dance, you can turn the same lights into flashing green, orange and red, or whatever you want.

Here are some of the best LED lights around: 

 

Philips hue personal wireless lighting starter kit

£179.95, philips.co.uk. Available from johnlewis.com and selfridges.com

The Philips hue system is the market-leader in smart lighting for the home. This starter kit comprises three bulbs and a unit called a 'bridge', that connects your lights to your wifi system, allowing you to control the lights with your iOS or Android smartphone or tablet.

If you want to really go to town, you can add up to 50 more bulbs. As well as being able to control the lights, you can also make the lights respond in certain ways to certain events.

For example, if your football team scores, the lights could be programmed to flash. Or if you get an email from your children, the lights could change colour.

Marlight 7.5W smartphone controllable wireless LED bulb starter pack

£79.99, amazon.co.uk

The Marlight starter system features three bulbs, a unit to connect to your wifi network, and a dedicated remote control — although you can also use your smartphone.

A good entry level for those on a budget and wanting some fun, but lacking the sophistication and range of features of the Philips system.

Auraglow BC/B22 remote-controlled colour-changing light bulb

£12.99, amazon.co.uk

At such a low price, the Auraglow really is the most basic form of wirelessly controlled LED bulb. The bulb does not connect to your wifi at home, so it can't be controlled by your smartphone or tablet.

Instead, the bulb comes with its own remote control, and the more bulbs you have, the more remote controls you will have!

Not a serious option if you really want to embrace smart lighting, but good fun, especially for children's bedrooms.

LED strip by LEDSmart 

From £14.99, ledsmart.co.uk

Instead of conventional looking bulbs, strips of LED lights make a fun alternative, enabling you to place the lights in recesses and under cupboards and units to dramatic effect.

Although the strips cannot be controlled with your smartphone or tablet, they do come with a dedicated remote control. Strips can be joined together if you want to illuminate a large area, such as a piece of decking.

LIFX 17W wi-fi LED intelligent light bulb

£79.99, johnlewis.com

Nearly £80 is clearly a lot to spend on a single light bulb, but the LIFX system has proved to be very popular, not least because it connects automatically to your wifi network. The bulb's colour can be controlled by your iOS or Android device and, with a very low power consumption, it is estimated the bulb will pay for itself after four to five years of use.

TIP: If you have dimmer switches for halogen lights, they'll need to be changed before you install LED bulbs - your existing dimmers will send too much current to the LEDs and break them.  

From smart fridges to clever cookers... Gadgets that are as brainy as you are! 

There has been a lot of talk recently about 'the internet of things'. At first, this phrase seems almost meaningless, but it does, in fact, refer to the anticipated scenario in which many of our household appliances, such as boilers, washing machines, ovens and even sofas, are connected to the internet.

There are many advantages of this. Boilers can automatically send reports to engineers if they are running inefficiently, or need a part replacing. If food in your fridge is running low, it can be automatically added to a shopping list on your smartphone.

Door locks can be activated remotely in order to let in someone who has forgotten their keys. Ovens can be turned down from, say, the office, if you are running late.

There are some who follow such technological developments with scepticism, claiming that such devices will never catch on, and that people will not embrace smart appliances.

Yet the truth is that these smart appliances are already here — or nearly here — and are steadily gaining in popularity.

So, what should we be looking out for?

Hotting up: The smart AEG AT7800 toaster makes burnt toast a thing of the past

WASHING MACHINES THAT FIX THEMSELVES 

Some smart washing machines are already on the market in Britain. They may cost a lot of money but, like so many technologies, the prices will inevitably come down.

Look out for the Samsung WF12F9E6P4W 12 kg 1,400rpm wifi Ecobubble™ Washing Machine, at £1,359 from littlewoods.com.

Although more than £1,000 is a lot to spend on a washing machine, you certainly get what you pay for. The machine has a massive load of 12 kg, which means, according to Samsung, you can wash 60 shirts at once.

As well as having an A+++ energy rating, what makes this machine really special is that it can be controlled with an app on your iPhone or Android smartphone.

The app can also detect and diagnose any problems with the machine and suggest solutions — thereby saving you having to call out an engineer at often vast expense.

If the Samsung is outside of your budget, consider the LG F14A8FDA at £548 from tesco.com. On the surface, the LG is a good, solid washing-machine, which can wash a mid- sized load of 9 kg. However, it also comes equipped with a feature that LG calls Smart Diagnosis.

If, for some reason, the machine is not working, simply hold your smartphone up to the washer, and you will be told what the problem is and how to fix it.

If you can't fix it yourself, the app can send all the details to the engineer, making any call-out far quicker and, therefore, cheaper!

OVENS THAT KNOW WHEN THE FOOD IS DONE 

The market for smart ovens is starting to heat up in the U.S. Leading the pack is GE Appliances with its Profile range of ovens, which feature a technology called Brillion, enabling you to control the oven from your smartphone.

This means you can preheat your oven as you head home, get it to alert you when, say, your baking is ready and, of course, control the oven from the living room, or even when you've gone out and have been delayed.

Taste of the future: The iGrill barbecue thermometer

The entry level model is the GE Profile PK7000DFWW built-in single convection oven, which costs £1,300 and features a self-steam cleaning option.

If you're keen to embrace smart cooking, but can't wait for a smart oven, then consider the iGrill BBQ thermometer (£34.99, lakeland.co.uk).

If you're grilling a steak on a barbecue, you want to know when it's properly cooked. The iGrill consists of a probe, which you insert into the food.

This connects to a Bluetooth hub, which transmits the exact temperature of the steak to your smartphone, so it can send you an alert when it hits the right temperature — handy if you're distracted sorting out other parts of the meal.

If barbecues are beyond you, then have a look at the AEG AT7800 toaster (£84.83, electricshopping.com), which makes burnt toast history. If you want to see how brown the toast is, you can lift it to check but, cleverly, the toaster knows to pause the timer while you do so.

And a temperature sensor inside knows that the second round of toast needs a shorter cooking time than the first, because of latent heat in the machine.

FRIDGES THAT WRITE YOUR SHOPPING LIST 

before any food even goes onto the barbecue, or into the oven, it needs to be stored in the fridge — so why not a smart fridge?

Smart fridges have actually been around for a long time, but they have never caught on. The thinking behind them is logical: simply swipe products' barcodes into and out of the fridge as you use them — and your fridge will automatically update your electronic shopping list on your smartphone.

The problem is that very few of us are organised enough to do that. Besides, many foods, such as fruit and vegetables, don't have a barcode, so you have to manually tell the fridge what you're using, which is just a non-starter.

One smart appliance that does look more likely to catch on, however, is the smart boiler.

TEASMADE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

While your robots do all the hard work, you can sit back with a cuppa or a cocktail. Naturally, there are smart, connected ways to do this!

Try the iKettle (£99.99, firebox.com), pictured. It connects with a smartphone and wifi network, so when the smartphone alarm goes off, it will ask if you want to boil the kettle while you laze in bed.

It'll alert you when it's done, so it's ready to pour when you get to the kitchen. And when you get home from work, it'll politely ask again if you need a brew. It all comes in a chic, stainless steel body with an LED-backlit control panel.

Or, if you are looking for something stronger, try The Perfect Drink (£59.99, firebox.com). Hi-tech cocktail-making is the result with this app and scales combination. Place the drink or cocktail shaker on the scale and connect the scales to a smartphone or tablet.

Read the recipe in the app then, as you add ingredients, the virtual glass on screen fills up. If you add too much of one ingredient, it automatically adjusts what you need for others.

Earlier this year, Worcester Bosch and British Gas joined forces to produce such a device that can directly report any faults to an engineer.

According to British Gas, the technology is so smart, it can anticipate a breakdown, and the first thing you will know about it is when the engineer phones to tell you! The smart boiler will even work in tandem with new, smart thermostats produced by the likes of Nest (see previous page) in order to really maximise efficiency and economy.

Another technology that looks shortly to change is the humble door lock. In the U.S., there are several companies making locks that can connect to your home wi-fi and, as a result, be controlled by your smartphone.

Among them is the Kevo (£229, amazon.co.uk), produced by Kwikset, which looks like an ordinary Yale lock, and does, in fact, take a normal, physical key.

However, the Kevo can detect when the owner is approaching, and the door will automatically unlock. And, if your children have locked themselves out, you can unlock the door from anywhere in the world to let them in.

The Kevo also has the ability to issue guests with a time-limited pass to their smartphones, so they will be able to let themselves in and out of your home.

ROBOTS TO CLEAN YOUR HOME 

Finally, when you're in your house, you'll want to spend time enjoying all those new gadgets you've bought — and not have to do any household chores.

Thankfully, help is now at hand with a new range of robots that can vacuum and mop the floor for you!

The market leader is iRobot, which makes the Roomba vacuum cleaner for £379.99 (irobot.co.uk). This intelligently learns its way around your house, and can even negotiate obstacles.

And for the kitchen floor, try the Scooba (£649.99), which actually sweeps, pre-soaks, scrubs and then squeegees your floors, and promises to get rid of 99.3 per cent of bacteria.

Clever cleaning: The iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner intelligently learns its way around your house

What all of these devices have in common is the fact that they are relatively expensive. However, they are no more expensive than a high-quality TV or computer, and they should save you a lot of time — and, indeed, in the case of smart boilers, help to reduce your energy bills.

The next stage is for all these devices to talk to each other, and many companies, such as Cisco, Bosch and LG, are developing what is called an 'Open Standard for the Smart Homes of the Future'. Essentially, this means that all of the devices in your home should be able to connect to and understand each other, just like when, say, you connect your smartphone to your car via Bluetooth.

Even if the appliances can all talk to each other, the biggest question will always be: will the devices — some day — be able to talk to you?

TIP: Make sure your children can't control your smart appliances by setting up a separate wifi network on your router that only you can access, then link your devices to that.

GADGETS TO KEEP YOU FIT AND HEALTHY 

 

Fitbit Aria bathroom scales

£79, johnlewis.com

These scales are wifi enabled so every measurement made is automatically saved to a smartphone app or Fitbit's private website so you can track your weight over time. The scales also send a tiny, imperceptible electric current through your bare feet to measure your fat content (not suitable for pacemaker-wearers), will tell you your BMI rating and record data for up to eight people.

TomTom Multi-Sport watch

£249.99, amazon.co.uk

The exercise-monitoring watch from satnav company TomTom is great for recording your running, using GPS to do so accurately. If you're outside, it calculates everything based on the satellites; while if you're on a running machine, it measures distance through movement only. The watch also features a heart rate monitor. It's easy to use and is exceptionally accurate.

Withings Aura sleep aid

£249.95, withings.com

Monitor your sleep with this two-part system. One sensor goes under your mattress and monitors your body movements, breathing cycles and heart rate, while the bedroom environment monitor checks if your room is dark enough, what the temperature is and how much noise pollution is evident. A dimming LED works with sound programs to help you relax and fall asleep. 

LifeSpan TR1200-DT5 treadmill desk

£1,499, gymworld.co.uk

This isn't cheap, but could save you time and make you fitter, especially as several reports now say sitting for long periods is bad for us. A treadmill desk means you walk as you work, so you are exercising while you type — and more than just the fingers. The desk is height adjustable and there are padded armrests. By walking at just 2mph, you can burn 150 calories an hour.

Oral-B Pro 6000 toothbrush

£114.99, boots.com

Just what you need: a connected toothbrush. It oscillates, rotates and pulsates at 48,000 times a minute and links to a smartphone by Bluetooth. The phone app records brushing activity and analyses how well you're cleaning your teeth. It knows when you're brushing too hard and encourages you to make sure you spend time on all parts of your mouth, including your tongue.

Withings smart blood pressure monitor

£69.95, withings.com

There are plenty of gadgets to measure your heart rate, but few calculate your blood pressure. Strap the fluorescent green sleeve round your arm (it's important to get it the right way round!) and connect your smartphone by Bluetooth. Then set it to work and it'll work out your blood pressure, displaying the results on screen. You can keep track of your results over a period of time, which is useful.