Geo-fencing (using a defined geographic area to trigger some type of action) is often an important part of smart home systems, and is included in many smart thermostats. Looking to buy a smart thermostat? 5 nest alternatives looking to buy a smart thermostat? 5 Nest Alternatives When it comes to controlling the temperature in your home, the Nest Smart Thermostat is king, but there are plenty of options out there. Here are 5 to consider if you're looking to buy. Read More and Smart Locks Forgotten Keys:5 Smart Locks You Can Unlock With Your Phone Forgotten Keys:5 Smart Locks You Can Unlock With Your Phone Here are 5 different locks you can unlock with your phone. Read more . But Zuli is taking geofencing to the next level, and her new plugs show us some of the potential of what a smart home can really do.
Smart plugs are released all the time. The big players like WeMo, SmartThings, and Insteon have all released smart plugs, and there are plenty of others available from smaller manufacturers. It is already difficult to choose the right one for you. Which smart plug is the best for you? Which smart plug is the best for you? Even if you're not into the whole smart home automation trend, you should still get some smart plugs. They are one of the easiest smart home products to use. Read more.
So what makes the Zuli smart plug different? Two things:ease of use and highly specific geofencing.
One of the annoying things about smart plugs is that they are usually not cheap in design. If you look at these six alternatives to WeMo 6 smart plugs that aren't Belkin. 6 Smart Plugs That Aren't Belkin WeMo Read More They may not work in all outlets, take up two outlet spaces instead of one, or need to be installed instead of a regular outlet.
The Zuli is small, fits a single outlet, and just plugs in – no electrical experience required. It doesn't get much simpler. There is no smart home hub. Which smart home automation hub is best for you? Which Smart Hub for Home Automation is Best for You? For a while, people thought the idea was nothing more than a gimmick, but recent product launches have shown that smart home automation is starting to deliver on its promises. Read More required, either; uses Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) to communicate with your phone.
Learn more or buy the Zuli connector from zuli.io
When you use a single Zuli plug, it behaves like most smart plugs:you can control it from your iPhone, turn it on or off, or dim a dimmable light bulb. But when you use three or more Zuli smart plugs, you can take advantage of what really sets these plugs apart:a mesh network. Which Smart Hub for home automation is best for you? Which Smart Hub for Home Automation is Best for You? For a while, people thought the idea was nothing more than a gimmick, but recent product launches have shown that smart home automation is starting to deliver on its promises. Read more that allows geofencing in the home..
Most other geofencing products will do something when you leave your house or the area immediately around you; This is useful, but not particularly impressive. That's a pretty big area. Zuli, on the other hand, geofences specific rooms in your home, so it can automatically turn off the lights when you leave the kitchen, turn on the TV when you walk into your living room, or turn on the fan when you walk into your basement—the possibilities are almost infinite.
And there is support for multiple users as well. If your preferences are different from those of your spouse or children, you can ensure that when you enter a room it is set to your preferences (at the moment the first person in the room can control it, but Zuli is the one who controls it). controls). working in a hierarchy system).
The Zuli system also includes energy scheduling and monitoring, giving you more control and more information. And at $55 for a single plug or $150 for a pack of three, it's comparable to most other smart plugs.
So what can you do with geofencing at home? First of all, you can save a lot of energy and make your smart home more efficient 5 Smart Hacks to Save Electricity in Your Smart Home 5 Smart Hacks to Save Electricity in Your Smart Home The trick to saving electricity is to know where most of your Power is consumed. Read more . Turning off appliances and lights when you leave the room, without having to do anything at all, will make it easier to reduce power consumption and accidentally leave things on.
The ability to customize each room's conditions to suit your tastes without taking any action is very appealing, as is turning on a set of lights and dimming them to your preference, turning on a fan or stereo, and turning on the kettle. or the morning coffee is easily done with the Zuli smart plug.
Geofencing can even make your home safer:by turning off the iron, oven, or heater when you leave the room, you can reduce the chances of starting a fire or burning someone (interestingly, geofencing is have used in other ways to increase privacy and security How you can use Geofencing to improve your privacy and security How you can use Geofencing to improve your privacy and security Geofencing uses GPS to define geographic boundaries and can be very helpful in managing your personal security. .
Because the Zuli is still in the pre-order phase, we have yet to see how well it performs; but if you do well and become popular, you can expect your usefulness to increase even more. Integration with IFTTT would allow you to set your geofencing triggers only when certain conditions exist, or integrate other devices in the works.
And because there are so many big players looking to improve their position in the smart home market, there's a good chance Zuli will be bought by a bigger company (Logitech, for example, has shown quite a bit of interest in the company). And if it does, the technology used to create the home geofence can be integrated with a larger smart home system.
Zuli's smart plug may look like any other smart plug, but it's a big step toward making your home a whole lot smarter, and could signal a shift in the smart home arena toward even more granular customization. It's an exciting time in the smart home industry, and Zuli appears to be a leader in advancing smart homes.
What would you do with geofencing at home? What would you like to see use this technology or integrate with the Zuli system? Or are you still not sold on the idea of smart plugs? Share your thoughts below!
