Modular home automation systems like WeMo system from Belkin allow homeowners to create smart homes easily and affordably. However, not all electrical devices can be easily incorporated into a smarthome system especially those that do not come with an electrical plug that you can control with a smart plug. This is where the WeMo Maker comes in.
Hailed by Popular Science as the Innovation of the Year in 2014, the WeMo Maker is the perfect DIYer’s and hobbyist tool. It gives you full control of a wide range of low voltage electrical devices that lacks an electrical plug like a garage door opener, motorized blinds or a ceiling fan for example. It is basically a tiny box with a WiFi antenna that you connect your current non-smart devices to. It does require ripping out the wires and connecting them to the WeMo Maker so some electrical wiring know-how is required although it is fairly simple.
Once connected to the WeMo Maker, you can now control your now smart device with your iPhone or Android phone from anywhere in the world. To fully realize the potential of the WeMo Maker, you can further hack it by adding sensors. For example, a simple magnetic sensor can be added to used to detect if the garage is door is open or close. Together with a little programming and an app like IFTTT, you can now set the WeMo Maker to send you a notification if the garage door is left open for more than 5 minutes.
You can turn devices on and off according to a schedule or create automated rules. With a little more tinkering and additional sensors, you can do fairly complex tasks such as turning on the water sprinkler system only on a hot day or automatically opening the window blinds when the sun rises.
The WeMo Maker can also be integrated with the rest of the smart devices in your home. For example, you can turn on the WeMo LED bulb when the window blinds are closed. The possibilities are endless.
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