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  • Lezmaka - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    Belkin is charging $50 for the light switch and $60 for the outlet switch ($8.49 and $5 cheaper on amazon)? At prices like that the only way I can see myself buying one is if there's something I really really need to be able control remotely.
  • V900 - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    What exactly, is the usage scenario of a remote controlled outlet?!?

    Yeah, you can measure how much power is used, something thats easily done with a regular outlet, but besides that?!?

    Considering that you could just get a "smart" remote controlled appliance, and plug it into a regular outlet, this just screams solution in search of a problem.
  • beginner99 - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    Yeah. Don't see that either. For me I see potential in the light-switch and motion sensor. Turn-on light when entering room, turn off when leaving. But then I doubt this will work that way and reliably especially if more than 1 person is involved. So the sensor would need to track how many people are in the room. It's unclear if this is possible.

    The Wemo Switch may work as well if you have a floor lamp plugged into an standard outlet (not controlled by the rooms light switch).
  • Daniel Egger - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    > Turn-on light when entering room, turn off when leaving. But then I doubt this will work that way and reliably especially if more than 1 person is involved.

    Why wouldn't it? But that still gets annoying very quickly for areas where you spend lots of time in and it doesn't combine well with dimming which is more of a feature you'd want to have in a living area.
  • V900 - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    Has anyone, anywhere the past 100 years ever reached a level of laziness so monumental, that pressing a switch right by the door, becomes a task so arduous and troublesome that it's best left to technology?

    Personally I prefer natural light, and don't turn on the lights until it's necessary. I doubt I'm the only one, so now your light switch also has to monitor light levels, and whether it's cloudy.

    Unless of course I just got up, in which case, full on lights right as I enter a room is the last thing I want. So a rules based system would also have to have rule for this.

    Idk. I hate to be a Luddite, but I suspect that for most people the trouble and effort they'd have to
    put into it far surpasses the benefits.
  • Hyper72 - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    I would tend to agree, though for myself I'm not most people; A broken neck puts me in a group of users most pleased with WeMo light switches I can control from my phone, just as I control my thermostats.
  • beginner99 - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    I agree mostly but there are cases where it helps like the floor lamp plugged into a socket not linked to the light switch. Or at my GF place the light switch if you enter the apartment is not next to the door but on the opposite wall to the left about 6 feet from the door. So you have to kind of fiddle around in the dark to put on the light or when leaving first open door, then walk back to turn light off or else your completely in the dark. Here a motion sensor would be great help.
  • jeffkibuule - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    You should create simpler rules than that. Light on around sunset, light off whenever you usually go to bed (12am-ish for me). And even if you aren't there, it acts as a super cheap theft deterrent.
  • Daniel Egger - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    lol, right...
  • cbgoding - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    I use one to remotely reboot my slingbox, which for whatever reason locks up every month or two.
  • bznotins - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    Yup, I can remotely reboot my home media server which locks-up from time to time. I can also use it to monitor power consumption of said server to see if there are any processes using up power unnecessarily.
  • CynicalPhred - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    I use one on my wife and my electric blankets. As the blankets come on at full setting when power is "restored" (not what I'd call a safety feature but hey, useful in my circumstances) it's great to be able to turn on the blankets 10 minutes before bed time using my phone.
  • olafgarten - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    Your wife needs an electrical power source?
  • MobiusPizza - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    No offense to OP, but can't resist :)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/16/ja...
  • Lord of the Bored - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    I've wondered that since I was a child in a house full of X10 modules. I never saw that a remote-control outlet was particularly useful. Maybe before electronics had standby modes and wireless remote controls, where the device plugged in would just turn on when you fired the outlet, but... that would be a long time ago
  • CoryS - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    I use one at my wifes bathroom outlet which turns off after 15 minutes of inactivity in the room. She always forgets to turn off the curling iron. I also use one to control the compressor on a chest freezer with beer kegs in it (zigbee temp sensor inside)
  • name99 - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    I THINK the value is in things like
    - did I leave the iron plugged in?
    - did I switch off the space heater when I left the house?
    - did I leave that lamp on, so my burglar camera can see the living room?

    All of these are nice to have, but the existing offerings are all crazy expensive and kinda lousy in how they actually work. For example, with the space heater or lamp the usage model kinda sucks. The normal way to operate these is to use the switch on the heater or lamp, which is conveniently placed at usage level. But to get the benefit of remote control, you have to ALWAYS ignore that convenient switch and grope around on the floor to switch the power socket on or off.

    I don't know how to do better. But that doesn't change the fact that these existing usage models generally suck, and that doesn't look like it will change until the integration moves higher up stack (ie the LAMP has the internet knowledge, not the socket). Of course that's not going to work out well until the prices fall SUBSTANTIALLY and the specs unify to a single spec...
  • sluflyer06 - Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - link

    Easy. My 90lb espresso machine takes 30-40 minutes to stabilize and I needed a way to both set schedules to have it turn on before I wake up and to be able to turn it on remotely if I'm out and about and want to have it hot and ready when I get home. These units do not have any kind of smart interface or computerization and nor will they ever, they are very mechanical in nature so solutions like the Insight switch are amazing.
  • Craig69 - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link

    I don't consider this a solution for general home users. It takes some tech savvy just to get this thing to work correctly. (It will not work with the latest Java version for example. I have had issues with Firefox so use Chrome.) I implemented at home to fully understand its functionality and limitations but deploy it at commercial sites. It allows me to control equipment remotely and avoid a truck roll. One customer site visit will pay for four of these devices. The outlet being installed in the wall eliminates someone from easily unplugging the device. I turn off the indicator light so it looks like a normal outlet. Someone unplugs or turns off the computer and I know it immediately. I don't need to call someone to turn off the computer to force a reset if all else fails. I have never used the light controller so I can't comment on its functionality. Great device in a commercial environment.
  • V900 - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    Well ok, I guess lamps and light switches could be controlled through a "smart" outlet...

    But since an led light usually uses around 5 watt an hour, how many decades do you need to keep the light on before a 50$ light switch and 2-300$ total solution pays for itself?
  • Daniel Egger - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    > But since an led light usually uses around 5 watt an hour

    Well that depends on your LED lighting, 5W will yield around 400lm which is equal to around 40W of incandescent lighting which is not really much unless you're talking cozy reading lamp. For my ambient living room lighting alone I have 2 PSUs with combined 210W output and running all channels at full brightness (which is crazily bright) they use around 130W. In addition I have 26W of Living Colors for accent lighting and another 12W lighting my bar.

    > how many decades do you need to keep the light on before a 50$ light switch and 2-300$ total solution pays for itself

    How would it *ever* pay for itself? Those solutions increase power consumption and do not offer any savings whatsoever: if I need my lights they're on, if I don't they're off -- it doesn't get simpler than that.
  • V900 - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    HOLY CRAP that's a lotta lights and wattage you got there!

    I think my whole living room is lit with 10-12 watts or so. Then again, in Europe power can easily cost ten times of what it costs in North America. Especially the parts of NA that get their power from nuclear power plants or through hydro electric means.

    And even in Europe with high power costs, LED bulbs has made conserving the lights and power sorta meaningless. Even when you pay 1-2$ pr kilowatts, forgetting to turn off the lights costs a lot less when your lightbulbs use 5-10 times less power.
  • Daniel Egger - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    > HOLY CRAP that's a lotta lights and wattage you got there!

    Yes, but a regular nighttime light scene only takes around 40W in total which is not much. Even the 200W halogen uplight I had a couple of years ago took 120W at the darkest dimm setting while only lighting a fraction of the area. Heck, even the projector over my head is using almost 200W right now.

    > I think my whole living room is lit with 10-12 watts or so.

    You must have a small living room or prefer candlelight setups. ;) As I said my bar has 4 downlights with 3W each (80lm/W) and is by far the best LED light I've ever seen, very halogen-like -- I totally love that beautiful setup and it's easily as good and bright as the 4x20W halogen downlights which are installed next to them in the kitchen. But it's not even remotely possible to light the whole living room just with those...
  • malcolmh - Wednesday, April 29, 2015 - link

    "$1-$2 per kilowatts"? Not sure where you get that assumption from.

    Here in the UK I'm paying £0.0945 / kWh, which is about 15 cents US. My plan also has a £0.25/day flat rate standing charge, but since that's a flat rate it's not really relevant here.

    I also can't see the point of these devices though. /Maybe/ if you integrated them to a whole-room voice activation system, that worked as reliably as the video promoting Amazon Echo...
  • ganeshts - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    Couple of examples:

    Vacation mode : You are out on vacation, but need to make your house look occupied to the outside world - If you could randomly turn on/off lights at night remotely / set such a schedule, that would be a deterrent against would-be burglars.

    Home Theater setting : If it is night and you are starting to watch a movie on your TV, slowly dim and then switch off the lights.

    Energy sensing outlets can help you determine what devices consume the most power and how you can optimize their usage. Check out reviews of smart outlets on Amazon - there are plenty of usage models. I do agree that they need to come down in cost - which is where the InWall outlets come into play - they don't really have that much premium over the generic outlets that are installed in the walls.
  • steven75 - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    "they don't really have that much premium over the generic outlets that are installed in the walls."

    I beg to differ. $59 vs about $1.50 for a duplex outlet at the local hardware store is a massive premium.

    I like the idea of this stuff very much, it's just that the price needs to be lower by a factor of about 10.
  • ganeshts - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    You are right.. I was having the dimmer switches in mind when I wrote that:

    http://www.homedepot.com/b/Electrical-Dimmers-Swit...

    The minimum is around $22 - the good ones around $30 ; There is a premium of around $30, but that is still less than the ~$60 premium for the outlets.
  • Daniel Egger - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    > Vacation mode : You are out on vacation, but need to make your house look occupied to the outside world - If you could randomly turn on/off lights at night remotely / set such a schedule, that would be a deterrent against would-be burglars.

    Right, because burglars are utterly stupid; they don't notice that the car is absent for weeks but are easily fooled by randomly flicked lights (because that's what people do, rather than say turn it on on demand and depending on the sunset). Not to mention that the best protection against burglars here are roller shutters which tend to counter the idea of making light inside for the outsider to see.

    > Energy sensing outlets can help you determine what devices consume the most power and how you can optimize their usage.

    You'll only have to do that once per device. There's no point in doing it constantly; it's a huge waste of energy without any information gain.
  • V900 - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    Actually, today's modern burglar doesn't have to sit in a parked car for hours to do surveillance on a potential house to burglarize.

    (I actually doubt they've ever done that, though that is the whole logic behind setting your lights on timers. No matter if we're talking about 3$ manual dollar store timers or 50$ Belkin internet timers.)

    Even today's poorly equipped burglar can go on Facebook to see whether the owners are home, or if the whole family is in the Dominican Republic for two weeks.

    And the 70$ Android handset put an end to the good old "What kinda burglar brings their smartphone to work?!?" argument.
  • Daniel Egger - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    > Actually, today's modern burglar doesn't have to sit in a parked car for hours to do surveillance on a potential house to burglarize.

    My point exactly. Even though I don't use Facebook et al, it's quite easy to spot -- just by driving by -- whether we're at home. Hm, maybe I should switch my parking spots every now and then to create the illusion I'm at home. ;)
  • metayoshi - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link

    Wow. I'm surprised you guys are actually reviewing these products.

    I have one of those WeMo Switches myself (not the light switch and not the Insight, just the plain switch that has a power outlet). It's actually very convenient for me as I wanted a way to turn on and off my bedroom light without needing to walk in the dark, so I just found one of these at Best Buy, and I've been happy with it ever since. I originally thought I wouldn't use the remote features, but I actually have when, for example, both my girlfriend and I are out late, and we need to turn on the light for the cats.

    However, I also agree that the Android app is sometimes inconsistent. Upon opening the app, sometimes my phone takes a while to connect to it, or it just doesn't find the WeMo switch at all. One thing I know is that the switch that I got is 2.4 GHz WiFi only, and my phone connects to my WiFi on the 5 GHz band, so I think it sometimes gets confused and doesn't connect right away. A close and re-opening of the app usually fixes that problem. Also, firmware updates are kind of annoying since the WeMo device has to power cycle itself, and it always reboots into a power off state, so doing a firmware update in the middle of the night when the light is still on is inconvenient.

    Other than those annoyances though, I'm very happy with it. I can turn off the lights without fearing I might trip on something on my way to the bed or on my way to the light switch, and I can turn on the lights for the cats when I'm not home and it's getting dark. I don't think the products are for everybody, but I like my simple use case of it. I don't see myself getting anything fancier than the simple power outlet at the moment, but what I have was a worthwhile investment for me.
  • Byte - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    I've been using a Belkin switch for about 2 years now and it needs to be repaired every quarter or so from bugs and updates can make it forget pairing. I use it to turn on the AC at work half an hour before I get in as it takes that long to cool the place down and really helps. But other than that fringe scenario, i really don't see much use in these switches.
  • olafgarten - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    Ubiquiti Products are really good, I use to use ruckus access points, but decided to give the unifi stuff a try, they outperformed the ruckus ones while still costing a fifth of the price.
  • SunLord - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    I'd personally would love it if you guys reviews a wink based system given it's large product selection from multiple vendors
  • bznotins - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    I've been using the 3-plug mPower for a couple of years now (bought it back when AT did the first review) and it works great. Will have to investigate the light switches!
  • zodiacfml - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    I still don't know what these things try to solve. They seem added complexity for little benefit.

    I'd rather have a review of LED lighting.

    I'm still thinking....but nothing came, but could be an opportunity for the first great idea though.
  • toyotabedzrock - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    If they used a different type of relay they could eliminate the power drain.
  • toyotabedzrock - Tuesday, April 28, 2015 - link

    You should look at firmware updates, how hard will they be for end users?
  • ganeshts - Wednesday, April 29, 2015 - link

    That is a good point. I will add it to the comparison table in future reviews.

    Usually, the mobile apps handle the firmware updates after prompting the user - it is mostly a seamless operation (at least as far as the two product lines discussed here are concerned). The web UI for the Ubiquiti devices also allow the upgrade - that aspect is not a dumbed down procedure like what Belkin has done - but it should be familiar to anyone who has upgraded their router or NAS firmware.
  • Azurael - Wednesday, April 29, 2015 - link

    Yum. Belkin network hardware. Sure to need rebooting several times a week and randomly refuse to talk to the device you're using at any given moment. Then, a 6 months later when massive security holes are uncovered in it, they'll refuse to update the firmware on the grounds of obsolescence. And it'll probably be full of holes in the first place (I love the way you can't actually disable WPS on most of the Belkin routers I've encountered. They often have a toggle in the management interface, but it does NOTHING!)

    Theire router hardware is okay when it's running something like OpenWRT or DD-WRT but I can't say I'd go out of my way to give money to them.
  • aryonoco - Thursday, April 30, 2015 - link

    Fiddly gimmicks. Solutions waiting for a problem.

    I am not a technophobe. I build my own PCs, run my own NAS, run custom firmware on my router, etc. But I can't, for the life of me, figure out why I need "smart" lights and "smart" power outlets.

    Maybe I'm getting old, but as far as I'm concerned, Ganesh and AnandTech are wasting their time reviewing these toys.

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