Smart plugs are an interesting item in the world of smart home devices. They have the potential to become extremely useful, but there are some major questions that need to be answered before you can plug a smart plug into every socket in your home. Smart plug technology is facing off against one of the … Read more
We’re in the middle of a smart home technology boom. Everyone is racing to bring new products to the market. Not all of these are just cut-cost clones of name brand products. Companies are releasing products designed to fill both high-end and emerging markets. Ethernet connected doorbells, that may or may not offer the simplicity … Read more
Ring cameras and Ring doorbells are great for crime prevention and parcel deliveries because they record in full HD and record audio. However this also means that they can be misused to invade neighbor’s privacy. As a result, this video explores some of the things you can do to protect your neighbor’s privacy when installing … Read more
If you’ve been into smart home technology or the Internet of Things for a while, odds are you’ve thought about being an early adopter for a new bit of tech. Being an early adopter is exciting. You get to try out a cutting edge technology before it gains widespread appeal, but it does have its … Read more
Smart plugs are great (or so the marketing says…) – they can easily be used to turn household devices and appliances on/off via your voice, a phone app, automated schedules, and more. Awesome. Unless, of course, you want to control a device which has an electric or mechanical switch – like the red switch below: … Read more
I have been on a bit of a smart lighting journey over the past year. I originally disliked the idea of smart lighting, before buying a couple of smart lights here and there – and really liking them. I now have a range of smart lights, including a homemade ZigBee lightstrip and a Philips Hue … Read more
One of the best features that IoT has brought to the smart home is lighting control. There’s nothing like having an automatic wakeup call from your lights or being able to switch between relaxing evenings or parties with friends at the flip of a switch. Smart home technology is here to make our day-to-day lives … Read more
Move aside WiFi: much like the Zigbee protocol, Z-Wave is an alternative way to control your smart home devices. It operates on a mesh network, doesn’t require a lot of power to function, and is constantly growing its network of brands that are compatible with it. One of Z-Wave’s best features, is that it operates … Read more
I remember when I installed my first LIFX bulb: it was my first full-RGB (color) smart bulb, in-fact. So naturally I jumped into the ‘Effects’ section of the app and I played around with all the different effects: Visualizer syncs the bulb to music which is pretty cool, however color cycle is my favorite: it … Read more
In today’s connected world, there are many ways for devices to interact with one another. While most people opt for the more popular options like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, there are alternatives. One such alternative is designed specifically for home automation: Zigbee. Zigbee is a wireless technology much like Wi-Fi, that allows several smart devices to … Read more