The range of smart home devices – networked lamps, thermostats, smoke detectors, security cameras and so on – is large. The problem can be getting them to work together.

That’s because each smart home system supports only one or at most a few specific wireless standards. Some providers of smart home systems have wireless standards that will work only with their devices or the devices of companies they’ve partnered with.

For that reason, you should check before buying devices from different manufacturers that they can be combined in the same system, advises German consumer advice centre Verbraucherzentrale Rheinland-Pfalz.

Closed systems limit the choice of components – but, on the other hand, compliant devices can usually be incorporated without any problems.

Before you commit yourself to a manufacturer, you should make sure that it makes all the products you want in your networked home.

It’s always recommended to look closely at the details before signing up to any smart home system, the consumer experts say. Some vendors require regular subscription fees for using their platforms and apps, and those costs can be well hidden.

You should also be aware of your data privacy when buying smart home devices. Apps sometimes want to collect significantly more data than should be necessary and providers aren’t always transparent about where sensitive user data is stored. – dpa