Making My Home a Little Smart

Smartphone, Smart TV, Smart bulb, Smart socket etc. basically, any electrical thing be it big appliances or a simple bulb can have the "Smart" counterpart nowadays. WE ARE INDEED IN THE SMART ERA, era of automation and touch-to-switch where I am a big fan of. I really like the idea of it and because of that, I started my journey in turning my things to "smart".

I started with my basic TV back in 2012 when I was still living with my parents. Smart TV is not that popular here in the Philippines back then but it's soaring in other countries. I don't want to buy a new TV, mine is still working and the Smart TVs back then, for me, doesn't have great features so far, it's still pretty basic so instead, I bought an Android Box. The MXIII Smart TV Box makes your dumb TV into a Smart TV. You just need an extra power socket to plug it in then connect it to your TV via HDMI and you now have yourself a Smart TV with Android OS, just like what you have on your android phones but for TV. I used it until I left my parents house to live with my wife. That's the only "Smart" thing I invested so far.

Now that I no longer live with my parents, I can now start investing more with my vice (HAHAHA). My house, my rules! I bought a new TV, still basic, but I upgrade my android box to the latest one, Xiaomi Mi Box and I'm using it until now. In addition to that, I bought a Smart bulb and a Smart socket which I will feature for my post today.
Here's a quick look of the things:

Smart Socket/Smart Power Strip

Smart Bulb

If you want those item, the pictures are clickable.

Note: If you don't have internet connection at your house, this is not for you.

Smart Socket/Smart Power Strip

I have two of this bad boy, one in the living room and one in the master's bedroom. This thing basically turns anything you plug in it SMART. Your fan, TV, coffee maker, water heater etc. Smart in a way that you can set when to turn them on and off. You can also switch them even if you're away, you just need an internet connection. Here's a quick spec:

Configure the Smart Power Strip

Requirements:

• Internet Connection
• Smart phone (Android/iPhone)
• The Power Strip

1. Download  and install Smart Life App from your App Store. Android or iPhone.
2. Open the Smart Life App. I suggest you register an account.
3. Click the + sign in the upper right corner of the app.
   

   
   

   
4. Select Electrician then Power Strip (Wi-Fi)
   

   
5. Follow the in-app instruction. The LED of the power strip should be blinking fast otherwise it won't be detected. Click on "Confirm indicator rapidly blinking".
   

   
6. The app should be asking you now for your Wi-Fi credentials. The power strip doesn't support 5GHz yet so switch to your 2.5GHz connection then input the password then tap Connect.
   

   
7. If you did everything correctly, the app should detect your power strip and connect it to your Wi-Fi.
   

   
8. You will be brought back the the apps Home page and you will see your power strip there.
   

   

You can rename the power strip and each socket (all 4 of them) to whatever you want but for your convenience, name it depending on what's plugged in it.

Smart Bulb

Aside from the ability to control the on and off of this bulb (that includes scheduling them), the bulb also features different colors. You can also control the brightness and color temperature. Here's a quick spec:

Configuring the Smart Bulb

Requirements and procedure of making the bulb work is just the same as for the power strip except for step 4. For Step 4 please follow this:

Also for step 5, to reset the bulb, you need to turn it off and on, quickly for 3 times. If the reset is successful, the bulb should start blinking.

Setting Up Routines and Scheduling/Automation

I won't be discussing it here but I will show you my current setup. You should explore it yourself to maximize your experience. But if you have any questions or the demand asks for it, I will be dedicating an entire post about it.

You maybe wondering what are those in the picture? Gmorning? Good night!? Wiwi Time?!.  Well, from the tab name Tap-To-Run, this is a routine. The Gmorning routine switches on my living room bulb, fan and TV. Good night! switches off everything in the living room. Wiwi Time is used during the night, when everyone sleeps. I set it up to activate when there is motion detected (cool right?!?).

Here's for scheduling:

Auto On switches on my living room bulb and TV and fan at 5AM every morning (at least one in our house is already awake at this time but don't want voice commanding the house). Auto off turns everything off in the living room at 1:30AM. This is when I forget to activate Good night! routine.

I have tons of routines and automation there and again you have to explore the app yourself to maximize it. I am maximizing it, and I have integrated it with voice commands and motion sensor. YES! if you have an android phone that supports Google Home, you can link it with your Smart Life account and then instead of manually tapping the switch for your appliances, you can just ask your phone, "Hey Google, turn on living room Fan" and be amazed! You can also use it with routines to do things, turn on and off things simultaneously. It's amazing!

Anyway, I will be guiding you in my next post on how to use voice commands in controlling this smart power strip and smart bulb. Followed by the motion sensor (you'll be needing another hardware for this). For now, enjoy controlling your switches and lights using your phone.

Until next post, CIAO!