The power is in your hands

The title might sound like click bait but the truth is, the power is in your hands. Home automation does allow people to turn devices such as smart switches and power points on and off. If you’re using an app then controlling these functions is literally in your hands.

Thats cute, but the truth is turning things on and off is quite a simple function. Add some scheduling and maybe a lights on at sunset scene and its starting to get smarter. But still these are basic home automation tasks. Data is where the true power is.

Take for example the tech giants like Google and Facebook. They can provide you with free services because data is king. These companies know that and use data to direct paid content to users. In fact you may be reading this article because of your interest in home automation or smart home tech.

Data from your home automation products may not make you money like a billion dollar behemoth, but it can help you save money. This is where the power is in your hands.

For example our light switches and power points not only allow you to turn devices on and off using your voice, an app or schedule, they also provide you with data.

Our demo home as been trialing a number energy monitors. One of the products we tested was an Efergy Energy Monitor. It’s a relatively affordable piece of kit. In short it has a circuit clamp/s that measures the electricity on each monitored circuit. You can view live and historical data via an app, an in home meter or online. Its good to see how much you’re using (total) but doesn’t give you details of what is consuming the power.

We also tested a smarter monitoring solution from Smappee. It too uses circuit clamp/s for over all consumption but it employs some very smart tech. Each electrical device in a home has a unique electrical signature. Smappee can detect these signatures, identify the device (from know device types) and give you more detail on appliance use. The Smappee however cannot detect all devices and struggles with items like Air conditioners and TV’s. So you get whole of house consumption and some devices. But not the full picture.

The iSwitchoz range of products fills the gap. Apart from the expected home automation controls you can see real time electricity use of each light switch and power point, you can also see historical use. This is where you can identify exactly whats consuming electricity in your home.

The Tuya Smart or Smart Life app lets you see realtime Current(mA), Power(W), Voltage(V) and Total (KWh). You can drill down into the historical data by selecting a month.

It may be a Playstation thats left on 24x7 in a bedroom or computer in a study. In any event you can see whats drawing the power and take action to reduce your consumption.

It is also great for working out just how much power your drier uses every time you dry a load of clothes. Don’t forget you can set timers like the example in our Smart Auto Off Timer blog. Once you’ve identified something that uses too much power you can use the true value of home automation to your advantage.

Data is why the power is in your hands. Data equals knowledge, that knowledge allows you to make smarter decisions.

NEXT Level idea! Use a smart meter in combination with smart switches and automate (turn off) devices when total household power exceeds a set value.