We have all been there, the moment when you are halfway to the airport and you can’t remember if you turned some gadget off. Instead of stressing over if you did turn the item off, or worse still needing to turn around and drive home to fix the problem, smart home technology can come to the rescue.
Smart home technology has become increasingly affordable and recently I’ve been looking into ways to make my home run more efficiently and to add features particularly when I’m traveling.
Recently I got the Wemo Smart Plug, which is an adapter you plug into one of your electric sockets. The Wemo Smart Plug lets you control your electronic devices right from your phone. You can plug any electronics inside the Wemo Smart Plug, such as small appliances, fans, or lights.
No matter if you are traveling abroad or relaxing in the comforts of your home you can easily load the Wemo app to control anything plugged into any of your Wemo Smart Plugs. Personally, I’ve used the Wemo to schedule lights near windows to make it appear that I’m home, even when I’m on the other side of the globe.
For example in the Wemo app, you could schedule for your lights to turn on at dusk, and turn off at dawn (it does this based upon your location). Or you can set your light to “away mode” which will randomly turn off and on your lights, which will make it seem like someone is home as the lights aren’t following a strict schedule.
Also within the app, you can simply turn off or on an object. Can’t remember if you turned off the fan or iron in your house? You can check the Wemo app to see which items are on and turn them off with a click of a button.
The Wemo Smart Plug also works with Amazon, Alexa, Apple Home Kit, and Google Assistant. So when you are home you can skip loading the Wemo App, but use your voice instead to issue commands. For example, if you plug all the lights in your living room into Wemo Smart Plugs you could just say “Hey Google turn off the living room lights”.
The Wemo Smart Plug also pairs with Nest Thermostat, which can tell when you are out of the house, and it can tell Wemo to turn off your lights when you depart your home (and likewise to turn them on when you return).
If you are looking for a great gift idea for your friend who loves to travel, or even a gift for yourself the Wemo Smart Plug would be perfect. Available for under $40.00 it gives peace of mind when traveling, that nothing is mistakenly left on, and adds extra safety to a home by making it seem like someone is home even when they are abroad.
Order your Wemo Smart Plug.
How To Setup Wemo Smart Plug
The affordable smart plug is very simple to set up. Simply plug it into the socket, download the Wemo app and follow the instructions.
Select the type of Wemo.
Within the Wemo app, you’ll need to connect your phone to the Wemo wifi. Next, the app will ask you to hold down the button on the Wemo for 5 seconds until it starts flashing two colors.
Holding your phone near the Wemo it will connect to the plug, and you are ready to go!
Within the app, you can then name what the plug controls. Go ahead, you can now hit the button on the app or ask your Alexa or Google Home to turn on off the device (using the name you gave the item.