Connected Home

22 Aug: Best Buy’s Tech Home: Where Smart Things Live

It’s time you went on a smart home tour. Let Best Buy be your guide.

It’s our 50^th anniversary, and we’re rolling out the welcome mat to Tech Home at Minnesota’s Mall of America to help celebrate Best Buy’s role of bringing the latest technology to you.

Tech Home is a hands-on display of all things smart home, seamlessly connecting devices and appliances in a kitchen, living room, bedroom, office space and entryway. It includes top options for Wi-Fi, security, comfort and organization — including gadgets from Samsung Smart Things, NETGEAR, Canon, Philips Hue, Qualcomm Technologies and more.

By Suzanne Hilker Sustainability

16 Aug: Meet the Next Generation of Sustainability Innovators

With a footprint of 1,400 stores, energy use is an important topic for Best Buy. This summer, we brought in a fresh perspective to help take our carbon reduction to the next level.

Meet Nitin Raviprasad, a graduate student in Engineering Management from Duke University and Best Buy’s first Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps Fellow. Each year, Climate Corps matches more than 120 graduate students with organizations across the country working on energy efficiency projects.

Q: What motivated you to apply for Climate Corps?

By Best Buy Company News

27 May: High-Tech Appliances Are Here to Help

We’ve all been there. You’re standing at the grocery store, wondering if you need milk. How about eggs? You don’t buy any, only to get home and realize you needed both.

If only you could have a way to check what’s in the fridge while you’re standing in the store aisle. Well, today’s technology-enabled appliances can help with just that.

Take the Samsung Family Hub refrigerator, for instance. It has three built-in cameras that give you an inside view when you open an app on your smartphone.

By John Vomhof Jr. Company News

09 May: It’s a Seller’s Market. Can Connected Home Technology Help You Cash In?

Connected home products, such as smart thermostats and security cameras, can help you simplify tasks, save money on your utility bills and make you feel safer and more comfortable.

And they might even help you sell your home faster.

According to a recent survey by Coldwell Banker Real Estate, nearly half of Americans either own smart home technology or plan to invest in it in 2016. So it’s no wonder many of the homeowners polled said they’re willing to pay extra to “smart stage” their homes before selling.

By Natalie Albers Company News

03 May: The One Thing Saving This Mom’s Sanity? Technology

Parenting books? Yoga? Coffee and a cozy blanket? They all sound great, but they’re not how I, as a mom of three, keep it together while trying to keep it all together.

In the marathon-and-sprint circuit of parenting, technology is the one thing saving my sanity amid a calendar packed with work, school, sports, volunteering, friend time and family time.

Hear me out. I know I’m blogging for a technology retailer, but I’m also a real mom with real stuff to juggle.

By Suzanne Hilker Company News Sustainability

18 Apr: An Earth Month Memo from Your Smart House

Pssst. It’s me, your smart house. Just wanted to give you an update of what’s going on at home. The bus is almost here, and I’m busy getting ready for the kids.

Your smart thermostat just kicked in, making the house the perfect temperature. I’ll make sure your kids don’t mess with it, too.

The sprinkler system is not running because it rained this morning. You know I don’t like to waste water.

I have a feeling that new gaming system is using too much energy, but I’ll let you know for sure because I’m monitoring it.

By Best Buy Company News

15 Mar: Appliance Trends: Connected and Colorful

Smart appliances are getting smarter, and we’re not just talking washers, dryers and refrigerators.

Want a coffee maker that tells you when to buy more beans? Need a blender to tell you the exact nutritional information of your smoothies? How about an air purifier that lets you see the process?

All those innovations — and more — were on display at the International Home & Housewares Show last week in Chicago. Best Buy’s appliance merchandising team, which handles one of the company’s fastest-growing categories, was there.

By Brynn Albrecht Sustainability

08 Mar: It’s Getting Hot in Here: How Rising Temperatures Affect Best Buy

February was hot, hot, hot. In fact, it was the hottest recorded month in history, according to newly released data. That news follows NASA’s announcement that 2015 was the hottest year ever.

Why does this matter to Best Buy? To start, rising temps lead to rising energy costs. And as temperatures rise, there’s more extreme weather, such as floods, droughts and hurricanes. These events affect our employees, customers and the environment. In 2015, extreme weather impacted nearly half of our locations – forcing closures and, in some cases, damaging merchandise.

By John Vomhof Jr. Company News Technology

08 Jan: 5 Ways Your Smart Home Is About to Get Even Smarter

Smart home technology is no longer the new kid on the block at CES. In fact, this year’s displays make it clear this category is growing up fast.

From thermostats and light bulbs to door locks and security cameras, homeowners have access to more connected products than ever before. And smartphone apps make it easy to control all of those so-called “Internet of Things” devices, whether you’re in the living room or on the go.

The Consumer Technology Association, the group that runs CES, expects sales of connected home products to increase 21 percent in 2016, to 8.9 million units sold.

By Suzanne Hilker Company News Sustainability

07 Jan: Look Who’s Talking Sustainable Solutions at CES

Thousands of techies from around the world have been drooling over drones and swooning over self-driving cars since CES 2016 kicked off in Las Vegas earlier this week.

But for Best Buy, the conversations will go beyond the latest and greatest consumer electronics. We’ll also be at CES to explore the less-visible sides of tech innovation: finding sustainable solutions for our business and our customers.

On Jan. 8, Laura Bishop, vice president of Public Affairs & Sustainability at Best Buy, will sit on a panel to discuss the opportunities the entire industry faces as we aspire to be responsible manufacturers and retailers.

By John Vomhof Jr. Company News Technology

31 Dec: Best Buy at CES: Watching Trends, Eyeing Tech’s Future

CES 2016 kicks off Jan. 6 in Las Vegas, with more than 170,000 people coming from around the world to see the latest and greatest in consumer electronics — from TVs and smart home devices to 3-D printing and autonomous cars.

Best Buy will be there, as it is every year, to meet with tech manufacturers and check out the coolest new products about to hit the market. We also have a team of people who will be scouring CES 2016 to find the emerging technology that‘s still years away from landing on our shelves.

By Suzanne Hilker Sustainability

12 Jan: A Smart Home is also a Sustainable Home

Not only do Connected Home products make your life easier and provide peace of mind, they provide additional environmental benefits, turning your smart home into a sustainable one. Automating your home’s temperature, lighting and other appliances reduces wasted energy when you are not home and saves you money in the process. Going one step further, you can monitor and start conserving water when irrigating your lawn.

Smart Thermostats
They save energy and money by not heating or cooling an empty house.

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