It doesn't seem all that long ago that watching characters on Star Trek control various functions on the starship Enterprise, from turning on lights to procuring a cup of tea—Earl Grey, Hot—with voice commands seemed oh so sci-fi but now, it's becoming a part of our daily lives, thanks to 'smart home' technology.
I've been curious for a while about the notion of a 'smart home' and although I've largely allowed my Luddite tendencies take precedence in this area—why do I really need everything connected to my wireless network?—but despite my best efforts, I find myself suddenly thrust firmly into the twenty-first century.
It all began last fall when SirusXM offered me a free Google Nest speaker to help me bring SiriusXM into my home. Unlike their previous—and ongoing—offers of a "free" SiriusXM receiver, which required an additional subscription, this device came with literally no strings attached so I accepted. While it's been fun to let the little hockey puck-sized device play music, set timers, give me quick weather updates, etc., all via voice command, it's hardly been a 'daily driver' device for me but that may have just changed.
Since getting the speaker, the notion of smart plugs have seemed like a potential solution to an annoying problem in my house, which has a dearth of overhead lighting. Instead, most of the rooms have a switched outlet into which one is supposed to plug a lamp. That's a nice idea, except that in pretty much every room, the switched outlet is in exactly the wrong place; case in point, the one in my living room is the outlet into which most of my electronics, including my WiFi router are plugged. I can't turn that one off so I've put a cover on the switch to keep it from accidentally being switched. The flip side of this problem is that at night, I must make my way into the living room in the dark to get to a lamp. Enter the smart plug.
The other day, I found a four-pack of Kasa Smart WiFi Mini plugs on Amazon at an attractive price, made all the more attractive by the fact that I had a credit that covered half the cost, so I felt compelled to pull the proverbial trigger. Within a half hour of their arrival, I had all four set up and working—one in the living room and one in each of the bedrooms.
The process included downloading the Kasa app onto my smart phone—which is increasingly becoming the technological center of my life, whether I want it to or not—and then setting up each of the plugs by plugging it in, finding it on my network and giving it a name. Now, I can turn lamps in each of those troublesome rooms on and off with a tap on my phone screen. To double the fun, the Kasa app integrates with the Google Home app so that I can also control those lamps from my Google speaker with a voice command; for instance, if I'm sitting in the living room and want the bedroom lamp on when I get back there to get ready for bed, all I have to do is say "Hey Google, turn on bedroom lamp".
And we thought "The Clapper" was exciting back in the '70s.
UPDATE—I just read an article titled "Smart Home Tech We're Leaving Behind in 2021" and I agree with most of it. Smart appliances—refrigerators, washers, dryers, toilets, etc.—are generally not worth the cost for the benefits they provide. But I have to disagree with the author on smart plugs. It is a technology I would definitely miss if it went away. They have definitely made my life easier with the simple task of turning lamps on and off in rooms where the switched outlets are in illogical locations as mentioned above. They also offer the added convenience of being able to turn on a light remotely when I'm out at night so I don't have to come home to a completely dark house. The only one I'm having trouble with is my bedroom lamp, which is mostly a matter of muscle memory. Because the lamp itself is conveniently located, I still frequently turn it off at the lamp instead of with my iPhone. Fortunately, I've gotten to where I usually instantly recognize my mistake and correct it.
After about six weeks of using these plugs, I'm finding that I mostly control them from the Kasa app on my phone, although I will occasionally turn on the living room lamp with a voice command but I just as often, if not more often, simply use the phone app and even though I can also issue voice commands on my phone via the Google Home app, I never do.
The one thing the article failed to list was smart light bulbs and light sockets. To me, these are more dispensable because they are of more limited application. They only work with lights while a smart plug could conceivably be used with other appliances although the only one I could think of that makes any sense is a coffeemaker but most of those have timers, making remote control somewhat superfluous. It might also be handy to have an extra 'floating' smart plug that could be used for something temporary like a Christmas tree. But for my needs, the four plugs I have address my needs quite nicely.
Another Update--I just added another Google Home device Nest Hub touch screen display. It does everything the Nest Mini does but it adds the convenience of touch controls. It looks like a small tablet mounted on a stand but the stand is actually the speaker. While I like having the option for a touch screen interface, I can't see that it adds any essential functionality over the Nest Mini speaker, it does seem to understand my commands somewhat better I've only had to yell at it once in the four days I've been using it. Perhaps the best part of having the Nest Hub in the living room now is it allowed me to move the Nest Mini into my bedroom so that now I have voice control over my four smart switch-equipped lamps at either end of the house. It's the little things, I guess.
Yet another update--Now that some of my smart plugs are getting a little age on them, they're periodically malfunctioning and showing as 'unavailable' in either the Kasa or Google Home app. Also, my Google Nest Home smart speaker sometimes fails to respond to my voice commands. When either of these things occur, I don't get annoyed, I just give the offending device a reset by unplugging and re-plugging it. That is usually sufficient to return it to working order. If not, or I'm in a hurry, I'll just skip the automation and push the manual button on the side of the smart plug.
I have also added yet another smart plug--a weatherproof outdoor model for two post lamps on my deck. For years, I have been turning them on and off by plugging them in and unplugging them, but no more. Because it's not near either of my Google Home devices voice control is out of the question, and since it's kind of troublesome to dig out my phone to control them remotely, I just find the manual button to be the easiest solution. Because they have proven satisfactory, I have kept to Kasa brand smart plugs to maintain a unified environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment