The digital age has brought technology into every facet of our lives and now it's invading our homes. The term 'smart home' isn't referring to the intelligence of the people living in it. Smart homes connect all the tech in your house over Wi-Fi, allowing devices to communicate with each other and allowing you to control the devices through an App or through voice command. For instance, smart devices allow you to adjust the temperature in your house while at work, ask a home speaker to play music or add a task to your to-do list, or see who's knocking at your door in real-time through a smart camera.

As you may have guessed, there are many tech companies in the smart home space, with Apple, Google and Amazon battling to be in the top spot. Do you constantly hear commercials mentioning Siri or Alexa? Siri is Apple's virtual assistant, while Alexa is Amazon's. Google chose not to name their assistant, so if you're looking for a more gender-neutral option, there it is. These virtual assistants are the personalities that you talk to through speakers; they answer questions, provide information, and they can control smart devices throughout your home.

The possibilities of smart devices are becoming endless, as technology advances and consumers are eager to automate more and more of their lives. At the grocery store and can't remember if you're out of eggs? If you have a smart refrigerator, you can view the inside of it through an App and get your answer. Have a vacation home in Florida or Hawaii? Smart technology enables remote monitoring over your home from anywhere in the world, including security systems. You can be monitor your home security in Hawaii from where ever you live.

The list of smart home gadgets just keeps growing; Forbes has put together a list of the coolest ones. You can also purchase a smart power strip to control your regular appliances and improve energy efficiency.

Some of this tech stuff can seem silly, overwhelming or downright unnecessary. We've made it this far without having a smart home, right? An extra carton of eggs isn't the end of the world. While this is true, smart home technology may just make your life easier and make you feel pretty cool around your kids or grandkids. It may also help what's outside of your home. According to 4 Ways a Smart Home Can Promote Green Living, smart homes: reduce energy consumption, reduce fossil fuel use, reduce environmental waste, and use less water. Our world could benefit from all of us making better choices, so perhaps going smart is a move that will make you feel better about yourself.

If you do decide to make the switch to a smart home, you'll want to make sure your Wi-fi can handle it. This article from cNet tells you how to prepare your home in regards to your internet connection. Do this before introducing all your new smart home gear so that you'll be ready to go once you bring your new gadgets on board.