Renters, rejoice! 8 easy smart home upgrades that won’t leave a trace

Renting an apartment or house doesn’t mean you must forgo the convenience of a smart home; in fact, you might be surprised by the possibilities for making your home life easier, all of which can be achieved without drilling or making any lease-breaking modifications to your dwelling. 

I’ve been a serial renter all my adult life, and I’ve been reviewing smart home devices for more than six years. My Brooklyn rental is decked out with smart lights, a video doorbell, security cameras, smart water leak detectors, and more. Yet, I’m confident that when my family picks up stakes for a new abode, we’ll be able to take our smart devices with us, all without leaving a trace.

I’ll be ticking off types of smart devices that are decidedly apartment-friendly, from smart bulbs that you can screw into existing sockets to stick-up video doorbells that don’t require wired power. These smart gadgets are easy to install, and once your lease is up, you can pack them up without putting your security deposit at risk. 

Once you’ve perused our guide, click through to see our top picks for each category. Renters unite! 

Smart lights 

Smart bulbs rank as among the easiest way for renters to begin their smart home journeys. An Edison-style smart bulb can be screwed into a standard light socket, and you can reduce your initial outlay by choosing a bulb that’s controllable via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

Once you’re ready to expand, you can add a smart hub for even greater control (such as a Philips Hue Bridge), while light strips and smart light panels can add atmosphere with simple stick-up installation. 

Renter's pick: Philips Hue White Ambiance A19 (Bluetooth + Zigbee)

Pros

• Having Bluetooth onboard eliminates the need for the $60 (MSRP) Philips Hue Bridge
• Excellent quality of light and smooth-as-silk dimming
• Supremely easy to install and later transfer to Philips Hue Bridge control when you’re ready

Cons

• Without the Philips Hue Bridge, you can’t limit scenes to one or a few bulbs; changes affect all the Bluetooth bulbs you’ve installed
• You can’t assign bulbs to rooms without the Bridge

Best Prices Today: $54.99 at Best BuyNot Available at Adorama

No one does smart lighting better than Signify’s Philips Hue, and adding Bluetooth while keeping Zigbee makes it cheaper and a whole lot easier to get started.

Read our full Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 (Bluetooth + Zigbee) review

Smart plugs 

Want to automate your fans or add smarts to a decorative standing lamp? A smart plug will do the trick.

Just plug a smart plug into an existing wall outlet, and you’ll be able to control any connected device using voice commands (assuming you have smart speakers, which we’re getting to in a moment), put it on a schedule, or add it to a smart automation (such as powering on a lamp when you come home). Some smart plugs will also monitor your energy usage, although our renter’s pick below lacks that option.

Renter's pick: TP-Link Tapo P125M Mini Smart Wi-Fi Plug

Pros

• Matter certification guarantees broad compatibility and easy setup
• We experienced zero operational hiccups
• Physically small and unobtrusive

Cons

• No Thread radio on board
• Extremely basic usage history and no energy-consumption monitoring

Best Prices Today:

This TP-Link Tapo P125M doesn’t do energy monitoring, but the price is right, it’s small, it’s easy to set up, and it’s reliable.

Read our full TP-Link Tapo P125M Mini Smart Wi-Fi Plug review

Smart speakers 

The heart of your smart home, a smart speaker can bring Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri into your apartment, allowing you to control your smart devices, play music, set timers and alarms, and more, all using voice commands.

Some smart speakers can even act as smart hubs, connecting your various smart gadgets (including those that work with Matter) together. Best of all, installation is a snap: just set your new smart speaker on a table, shelf, or other flat surface, and then plug it in. 

Our current favorite smart speaker for most people is the Amazon Echo Dot, but whichever smart ecosystem you choose, we recommend sticking with it for all your other smart speakers–so if you start with Apple’s HomePod mini and you’re ready for more, get another Apple HomePod speaker, not one powered by Alexa or Google Assistant.

Renter's pick: Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen)