Tristan Perry 
Amazon regularly do bundle offers on smart devices, such as smart plugs with an Echo or Echo Dot. But why are they often included as a bundle – can you effectively use smart plugs with an Amazon Echo? Whilst you probably won’t want to plug your Echo into a smart plug (unless you have privacy … Read more
I live in a town called Cwmbran, but yet when I ask my Echo device for “the weather today”, I get the weather forecast for Caerphilly – somewhere I haven’t lived in over 3 years. Why?! Equally, the weather forecast I get from Alexa (who use AccuWeather) seems to contradict the one I get from … Read more
An enclosed light is a housing which is completely sealed off, such that any light must shine out of the partially see-through exterior surface (usually glass or translucent plastic). Enclosed light fixtures are good where you want light to shine mainly downwards, without any ‘being wasted’ out of the side or top – bathrooms and … Read more
Ring’s range of doorbells and cameras work by only recording when motion is detected (or the doorbell is pressed). This saves electric use or battery power, bringing down the costs of running your device. It also saves Ring money in cloud storage fees! But what happens if you live in an area with lots of … Read more
I am a big fan of using white noise and relaxation noises as a sleep aid, and so I wanted to shoot a quick video to showcase the 15 different commands you can issue to Google Home to play sleep sounds (without any separate subscription or installing a third party skill): Video Transcript Hey YouTube, … Read more
A lot of smart locks happily advertise that they can be easily installed as they are fully compatible with cylinder-type deadbolts. Whilst a lot of Americans doors use these type of door lock, its increasingly common to see multipoint locks used instead. Can these be used with smart locks, then, or are multipoint locks incompatible? … Read more
Keen gardeners and botanists are often seen in movies with a bunch of red lights perched over their precious plants, to help them grow. Since smart bulbs can emit red light, can you use them for your plants? A lot of ‘off the shelf’ smart bulbs are not ideal for plant growth, but some smart … Read more
ecobee, the Canadian smart device manufacturer best known for their line of smart thermostats, unveiled a HVAC air filter subscription service in April 2020. You get regular shipments to ensure you change them, along with reminders on your smart thermostat. But are they worth it? ecobee’s HVAC air filters are good quality and it’s very … Read more
People sometimes think that in order to have a fully smart lighting system, you need to buy smart lights and also smart bulbs. But this isn’t always correct. In-fact it’s sometimes better to either have smart lights, or to have smart bulbs – not both. Having just smart switches means that you still get lots … Read more
I recently came across the ‘Introducing Amazon Echo’ meme on YouTube, and I noticed that none had been created for Firefly – my favourite TV show which was cancelled (too soon…) by Fox. Hence I created I light-hearted Firefly edition for this Amazon Echo meme, using voiceovers mainly from the Firefly TV show, but also … Read more