The Grid is a smart home guide for normal people. Not engineers. Not influencers chasing the latest $400 gadget. Just folks trying to figure out which smart bulb actually works with their phone, whether that doorbell camera needs a subscription, and how to stop their thermostat from heating an empty house at 3 a.m.
Smart home tech should make life easier. Most of the time, it doesn’t — because the buying advice online is written for the algorithm, not for you. Half the “best of” articles are AI sludge. The other half are paid sponsorships dressed up as reviews. We try to be neither.
What you’ll find here
Every article on The Grid falls into one of three buckets:
- Buying guides — honest comparisons of products in the same category, with a clear “who should buy this” verdict at the end.
- How-tos — step-by-step setup guides for specific devices and integrations (Matter, HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home).
- Explainers — plain-English answers to the questions that show up when you Google smart home tech for the first time.
We focus on US-based readers, mostly homeowners and renters who want their home to do a little more for them without spending a fortune.
Who runs this
The Grid is run by Ash. I’ve been swapping out incandescent bulbs for connected ones since 2019, breaking my own Wi-Fi every other weekend in the process. The lessons here are the ones I wish I’d had when I started.
If you have a question, a correction, or just want to argue about whether HomeKit is worth it, hit the contact page.
How we make money
The Grid uses display advertising (Google AdSense) and, on some buying guides, affiliate links to retailers like Amazon. If you click a link and buy something, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This never changes our recommendations. Every product we suggest is one we’d suggest to a friend, full stop. Read our full affiliate disclosure.