Belkin Wemo

[Gabriel1]

I've just ordered a couple of these beauties http://www.belkin.com/us/wemo/wemo-switch from the UK Apple Store.

It's a really cool idea, I can turn lamps, appliances, etc on and off from anywhere in the world.....in addition it has IFTTT technology (if this then that) so you using the accompanying app you can set a lamp to come on at sunset and it checks the web for sunset in your location and pow, zap, wham, it's all done for you.

I'll report back when they have arrived to give a bit of a review.

The Archangel

 

[mrcupu]

a bit too expensive for an auto switch plug hopefully will become less than $20 by this xmas for gift to parents :thumbs:

 

[Gabriel1]

Well these just arrived and I'm pretty impressed so far. I only have them set up to turn lights on, one in the lounge and one in the bedroom but the ease of setup is really good.

Plug into power socket, go to Settings App and look for wifi network starting with WeMoxxx and connect, start the free WeMoApp. After this it's just a matter of giving it a name (and avatar if you want) then inputting your wifi network details. You can then turn the particular socket on and off from wherever you are in the world. You can also set up rules to have it switch on/off automatically.

It's as simple as that!

Just as an aside, I was worried that as they don't have passwords anyone could connect and turn appliances on and off however, once they have connected to your local network they disappear from the available wifi networks so they appear to be completely secure.

Finally, once you set up the first one you can ask it to remember settings for future WeMo's so for the second one I only had to connect to the WeMo in the Settings App then give it a name, it then connected to my wifi network automatically.

The Archangel

 

[Somerled]

Actually, the price is not so bad when you consider the price of some of the other home automation solutions. I can see there are a few lights I would like to have on this in my own home, with as much time as I spend gone. nice to be able to randomly turn on and off lights.

 

[Gabriel1]

Actually, the price is not so bad when you consider the price of some of the other home automation solutions. I can see there are a few lights I would like to have on this in my own home, with as much time as I spend gone. nice to be able to randomly turn on and off lights.

This would be great for my ex.....we would often be heading away on holiday and a few miles down the road she would be wondering if she left the iron on!! What I'd like to see is a similar unit that could be fixed into a standard light socket so that I could control the main lights and the outside light. I'm trying to figure out what other uses it could be sensibly put to other than lights and I can't think of many but even so, it's a useful little tool which is much better than my old timer plugs which are now heading to a junk box in the spare room.

The Archangel

 

[Somerled]

gah, and for the X-mas tree lights. they need an outdoor version as well for all that lighting. Yeah, I have been looking into home automation a lot lately. it just gets expensive, fast. the next big chunk of money I will put into my house will be wood flooring. I was looking at Crestron earlier this week and really want their remote control window shades.

 

[AQ_OC]

The link didn't work for me. ARe you talking about this:

Amazon.com: Belkin WeMo Home Automation Switch for Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch: MP3 Players & Accessories

Does it block both sockets?

 

[Gabriel1]

gah, and for the X-mas tree lights. they need an outdoor version as well for all that lighting. Yeah, I have been looking into home automation a lot lately. it just gets expensive, fast. the next big chunk of money I will put into my house will be wood flooring. I was looking at Crestron earlier this week and really want their remote control window shades.

Christmas tree lights! Why didn't I think of that?

The link didn't work for me. ARe you talking about this:

Amazon.com: Belkin WeMo Home Automation Switch for Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch: MP3 Players & Accessories

Does it block both sockets?

It is quite wide so if your sockets are close together then it will block one when you put it in the other.

The Archangel

 

[AQ_OC]

It is quite wide so if your sockets are close together then it will block one when you put it in the other.

Ours are vertical, one above the other. So, depending on how the prong is set up, it could go in the upper plug and all that stuff at the top is over the socket, and the other plug is free because is below the entire unit. That's how I envision this device being used.

 

[AQ_OC]

ah....found this:

 

[Gabriel1]

Ours are vertical, one above the other. So, depending on how the prong is set up, it could go in the upper plug and all that stuff at the top is over the socket, and the other plug is free because is below the entire unit. That's how I envision this device being used.

I don't know what your plugs look like but there isn't a huge amount of space below it, just looking at mine the bottom of the Wemo is about an inch lower than where the bottom of a UK plug would normally sit......but that might be because of the conversion so that it can take a UK plug?

The Archangel

 

[AQ_OC]

I don't know what your plugs look like but there isn't a huge amount of space below it, just looking at mine the bottom of the Wemo is about an inch lower than where the bottom of a UK plug would normally sit......but that might be because of the conversion so that it can take a UK plug?

The Archangel

I'm going to order one from Amazon...if there is not enough room I will return it. I can see that it might be a bit tricky, but I've been wanting to do this for a long time anyway and your post just pushed me over the edge.

 

[Gabriel1]

I'm going to order one from Amazon...if there is not enough room I will return it. I can see that it might be a bit tricky, but I've been wanting to do this for a long time anyway and your post just pushed me over the edge.

Oh my, I'm feeling responsible now!!

The Archangel

 

[skimonkey]

Well these just arrived and I'm pretty impressed so far. I only have them set up to turn lights on, one in the lounge and one in the bedroom but the ease of setup is really good.

Plug into power socket, go to Settings App and look for wifi network starting with WeMoxxx and connect, start the free WeMoApp. After this it's just a matter of giving it a name (and avatar if you want) then inputting your wifi network details. You can then turn the particular socket on and off from wherever you are in the world. You can also set up rules to have it switch on/off automatically.

It's as simple as that!

Just as an aside, I was worried that as they don't have passwords anyone could connect and turn appliances on and off however, once they have connected to your local network they disappear from the available wifi networks so they appear to be completely secure.

Finally, once you set up the first one you can ask it to remember settings for future WeMo's so for the second one I only had to connect to the WeMo in the Settings App then give it a name, it then connected to my wifi network automatically.

The Archangel

This looks great for many people who may have mobility problems and need assistance like this! This is a great find, Gabe!

BTW...I am the same like your ex...I am usually second doubting myself if I turned off the bathroom Light or curling iron! Would have loved one of those back than!

 

[Gabriel1]

This looks great for many people who may have mobility problems and need assistance like this! This is a great find, Gabe!

BTW...I am the same like your ex...I am usually second doubting myself if I turned off the bathroom Light or curling iron! Would have loved one of those back than!

It's great to be able to turn the lights on before I get home.....I tried today and it worked like a charm!

The Archangel