WeMo Light Switch by Belkin
About 6 months ago, I installed WeMo light switches in my house. These switches allow you to control your lights a number of new ways:
- Using your Smartphone
- Set to a Timer
- Using your Computer
- Using your Voice with help by the Amazon Echo or other service
- Old fashion way using your finger on the switch
For the most part, they work great. They connect to your home network through your Wifi connection. There are multiple types of WeMo devices. There are light switches, or simple plugs where you can plug in lights, fans or other electronics. They even have a device that allows you to track your energy use real time on your smartphone. If you want to know when your laundry cycle is over, you can have the app notify you.
Installation
I installed the switches myself (although if you are not comfortable working with electricity, you should hire an electrician to do it for you). I turned off the electricity at the breaker, removed my old light switch using a screwdriver and installed the new switch using the easy to follow diagram included in the packaging. Then, I turned on the breaker and connected the switch to the Wifi using the WeMo app as a guide.
Use
We used the WeMo app to program one of our lights to a timer, turning on at sunset and back on at sunrise. Using our Amazon Echo with our lights is fun. We can say, “Alexa, turn on the dining room lights” or at night we can say “Alexa, turn off all the lights downstairs”. This Christmas, we plan to use our WeMo devices to control our Christmas lights, both outside and on our tree.
Price
The prices usually range from $35-50 per device depending on which version that you get. It would be pretty expensive to replace your whole house at once so starting with 1 or 2 and then purchasing more as time goes by can be a smart idea. I purchased mine through Amazon.