A smart hub with home automation can be the center of a home security system, it can help prevent accidents in your home, and it can help you save energy. The benefits to a smart hub are not limited to the inside of your house either as a smart hub like Almond, combined with a smart plug, can help make your old sprinkler smart and even help you save you money on your water bill.
The Value of Smart Plugs
In order to control a device from your smartphone, and automate it as part of your smart home, it has to have some in-built connectivity solution like Wi-Fi or Zigbee, and it also has to have some smarts to understand what it is being told to do. Unfortunately, older devices don’t have that functionality, so it is not possible to automate them. This is where a smart plug comes in. You can plug any device into a smart plug and then put the smart plug into the wall socket. Then, as it has wireless connectivity and smart features, you can then use it to get control over your traditional devices and add them to your home automation plans. You won’t have access to all of the functions of that device, but you will have on/off control. For example, if you wanted to control an oven with a smart plug you would have to first set the temperature and cooking method on the oven. Once you have done this, you can turn the oven on and off with your smartphone via the smart plug.
Home Automation Based on the Weather
Your sprinkler may already have a timer and other functionality, but connecting it to a smart hub via a smart plug enables you to boost that further. Firstly, it gives you the ability to turn it on and off from anywhere at any time from your smartphone. This means that when it rains you can decide to turn it off and save water. Secondly, it also gives you the power to automate that process based on the weather. Almond smart hub’s home automation engine enables you to get devices to respond to the weather conditions. For example, you are able to create a home automation rule that if the temperature outside is X then set the thermostat to Y. If you have a retractable roof you could open and close it depending on the weather.
In the case of your sprinkler, you can create an automation rule that turns off your sprinklers if it rains. This will save you water and of course money.
In addition, if you have an Almond smart hub and Amazon Alexa, it also enables you to turn the sprinkler on and off through voice control.
Conclusion
Smart hubs combined with a smart plug make it possible to control older devices from anywhere from a smartphone and add them to your overall smart home plans. You can use them to save water, but also improve home safety by, for example, putting one on a home iron and automating turning it off based on you leaving the home among other things.
If you would like more information on how the Almond smart hub can turn your home into a smart home. For example, help you set up DIY home security, improve home safety, help prevent flooding or simply make your home more fun and convenient, please visit our website or click on any of the links in the article.
