5 dumb devices you can make smart (without replacing them)
Not every device in your home is smart, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still be part of your smart home. There are plenty of stupid devices that you can make smarter with a little help.
Washers and dryers
While you can purchase washers and dryers with smart capabilities, it’s not necessarily necessary. Even dumb washers and dryers can become part of your smart home with the use of a proper smart plug.
As long as your smart plug offers energy monitoring and is suitable for high-wattage appliances, it can measure how much energy your washer or dryer is currently using. You can use this information to determine when your washer or dryer is running and when it’s finished. You can then create an automation to send you an alert, so you never let a load of wet laundry go moldy in the washer again.
It’s not as simple as “high power on, low power off,” because many washing machines stop spinning for a period of time during their cycles, in which case power consumption decreases, even if the cycle is not complete. You’ll need to make sure your automation takes this into account, for example by only sending a notification once power consumption has remained below a set threshold for a specific duration.
Smart plugs aren’t the only way to monitor your washer and dryer. For example, you can use vibration sensors, which can determine when the device vibrates and when it stops.
Fans and extractors
I have a large pedestal fan in my home office that keeps me cool during the summer months. It’s not a smart fan and doesn’t have any wireless connectivity; there is no direct way to add it to my smart home. However, there is a solution.
The fan has an infrared remote control that you can use to turn it on and off, change the fan speed, and determine whether it is static or rotating. With an infrared transmitter, I can send the same signals used by the remote control and add the fan to my smart home. For example, the fan will automatically turn on when the temperature in my office rises above a certain level and turn off when it drops below another threshold.
Even if your fan doesn’t use infrared, if it has a power switch that can stay on all the time, you can use a smart plug to turn it on and off. For extractor fans it’s a little more complicated, but by adding smart relays to hardwired extractor fans you can also control them from your smart home.
Dehumidifiers
Humidity in your home not only increases the risk of mold; it can also make it more expensive to heat your home. An effective solution is a dehumidifier, which can help bring humidity back to optimal levels.
I have a few dehumidifiers that I use in my home to control humidity levels. They both include their own humidity sensors, which can be used to turn the dehumidifier on and off based on humidity levels. However, they have no intelligent abilities.
I was able to make my dehumidifiers smart by adding a smart plug. This allows me to turn the device on and off remotely and opens up many more options. For example, if the power consumption drops before the humidity reaches the set level, I know the water tank must be full. I get an alert on my phone telling me to empty it.
I can also choose to run my dehumidifiers when the cost is lowest. My electricity prices change every half hour and with automation I can have the dehumidifier turn on when the price is low and turn off when it gets too high.
Garage doors
A garage door opener is one of those devices that really makes life easier. Having lived in a house without a house before, I know all too well the pain of having to get out of my car to open the garage door so I can get inside. Being able to press a button and magically open the door never gets old.
However, you can make things even more magical, with the addition of a smart relay or dedicated smart garage door controller. This allows you to control your garage door without having to search for the remote control.
For example, you can automatically open your garage door at the same time every day of the week so you’re ready for the commute. With a motion sensor, you can even open it automatically when you first enter the garage.
Perhaps the most satisfying automation is using geofencing to automatically open the garage door when you approach home. Driving up to your garage to see the door that just finished opening really makes you feel like Batman.
How to set up a smart garage
If you’re working on designing the perfect smart home, there’s one space you may have missed: the garage! Here’s how to set up a smart garage.
Stupid TVs
Smart TVs can be a very useful part of your smart home. If your TV isn’t smart, there’s no need to leave it behind. You can make a stupid TV smart in a few different ways.
One of the simplest is to plug a streaming stick or set-top box into your TV. You’ll often be able to connect them to your smart home system and use them to do things like open specific streaming apps or change the volume.
If your TV uses an infrared remote control, you can also use an infrared transmitter to turn it on and off, control the volume, change channels, etc. With the addition of an energy monitoring smart plug, you can even use your dumb TV to trigger automations, like dimming your lights a little when you turn on the TV, or running your goodnight routine when you turn off the TV after a set time in the evening.
A smart home doesn’t mean replacing everything you own. There are plenty of ways to use dumb devices as part of your smart home without having to pay for smart features. Chances are you already have a few easy wins at home right now.
