Controlling your lights, thermostat, and other appliances from across town, the state, or even the country. Sound like something from Star Trek or The Jetsons, right? Well, thanks to Smartphones and a few other gadgets, this is entirely possible in 2014.
The WeMo app screen on Play.
I will admit it, the idea does seem rather frivolous. However, I have already had a situation where it came in handy. One day, not long ago, I was halfway to work, and I wasn't totally sure if I turned my coffee pot. I quickly pulled my phone out and killed the power to it. My phone reported the power was killed, and that was that.
Getting started with Home automation can be pretty easy. For this guide, I will be focusing on the Belkin WeMo Switch. It is the only automation unit that I have used, and it is pretty easy to set up. The unit was pretty easy to find, and was relatively inexpensive, retailing at $50. Although, I am sure slightly more inexpensive prices for the same unit can be found.
The main screen of the app, listing all possible devices.
Set up is overall pretty easy. Plug it in, in my case, plugging in my coffee pot into the unit itself, and then turning the unit on. After that, I downloaded the necessary app for my unit, in this case an app called WeMo, from Play. It is free and rather light.
Opening the app starts the setup. It is as easy as Connecting to your WiFi network and selecting the WeMo device. And then opening up the app. Once the setup is complete, and the device is connected to your home WiFi, it is no longer seen by other devices.
Along with simply controlling the object that is plugged in to the Switch, parameters can be set by a timer for the purposes of say, having a light come on at a certain time of day or night. Similar to the plug in timers for lamps when away from home. Motion sensors, if equipped, can trigger a notification, along with power use at a certain time.
The main conditions screen.
The box is rather deceiving, or at least the one I purchased was. It made no mention of Android compatibility, mentioning only iOS, but aside from a slight connectivity issue on cell networks, which I solved by disconnecting the WeMo from my WiFi and trying again, the set up was flawless.
As of this writing, this device alone has saved me twice of going out of my way to ensure I did not leave an appliance on, and the peace of mind knowing I can kill this at any time.
Now, this is just how you can basically get started. This is all equipment that can be purchased all at once or little by little, giving you, the end user, the flexibility to add at your discretion.
The WeMo app screen on Play.
I will admit it, the idea does seem rather frivolous. However, I have already had a situation where it came in handy. One day, not long ago, I was halfway to work, and I wasn't totally sure if I turned my coffee pot. I quickly pulled my phone out and killed the power to it. My phone reported the power was killed, and that was that.
Getting started with Home automation can be pretty easy. For this guide, I will be focusing on the Belkin WeMo Switch. It is the only automation unit that I have used, and it is pretty easy to set up. The unit was pretty easy to find, and was relatively inexpensive, retailing at $50. Although, I am sure slightly more inexpensive prices for the same unit can be found.
The main screen of the app, listing all possible devices.
Set up is overall pretty easy. Plug it in, in my case, plugging in my coffee pot into the unit itself, and then turning the unit on. After that, I downloaded the necessary app for my unit, in this case an app called WeMo, from Play. It is free and rather light.
Opening the app starts the setup. It is as easy as Connecting to your WiFi network and selecting the WeMo device. And then opening up the app. Once the setup is complete, and the device is connected to your home WiFi, it is no longer seen by other devices.
Along with simply controlling the object that is plugged in to the Switch, parameters can be set by a timer for the purposes of say, having a light come on at a certain time of day or night. Similar to the plug in timers for lamps when away from home. Motion sensors, if equipped, can trigger a notification, along with power use at a certain time.
The main conditions screen.
The box is rather deceiving, or at least the one I purchased was. It made no mention of Android compatibility, mentioning only iOS, but aside from a slight connectivity issue on cell networks, which I solved by disconnecting the WeMo from my WiFi and trying again, the set up was flawless.
As of this writing, this device alone has saved me twice of going out of my way to ensure I did not leave an appliance on, and the peace of mind knowing I can kill this at any time.
Now, this is just how you can basically get started. This is all equipment that can be purchased all at once or little by little, giving you, the end user, the flexibility to add at your discretion.
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