How to Turn Almost Anything into a Smart Device

You can do it with smart light bulbs or even smart slow cookers, but here’s how to turn what you already have into smart devices.

While I love my Philips Hue bulbs and enjoy turning them on without having to get up from anywhere and manually turn on the lamp, not everyone wants to spend that much money on this kind of luxury. After all, Philips Hue bulbs can cost up to $60 per bulb.

Besides light bulbs, there may be other appliances and things around your home that you want you to be able to turn on remotely, and there may even be some products that don’t come with a really smart alternative, like space heaters (but this is probably better).

However, if you have some things in your home that you want to control from your smartphone, or simply want to make it easier to control in general, here’s how you can turn almost anything into a smart device without spending a lot of money.

Buy Smart Exit

Perhaps the best way to control a non-smart device or device from your smartphone is to plug it into a smart outlet and you can turn it on or off from your smartphone.

this GE Z-Wave Wireless Lighting Control Duplex Socket It’s a $38 option you can hook up to replace an existing outlet. However, connecting requires a Z-Wave hub to live. Samsung SmartThings hub. It also requires some electrical knowledge as you’ll be plugging in its wires and replacing a traditional socket receptacle.

Perhaps a better option would be to get a smart outlet device that you can plug into an existing outlet that doesn’t require a hub to connect. this $39 Belkin WeMo Key it is a great option. It connects directly to your WiFi network and you can control the output from your smartphone, so plugging in any lamp allows you to turn it on or off from your smartphone from anywhere.

Note that the device you plug in must have a physical on/off switch instead of a digital power button, otherwise it won’t be able to turn on the device. This limits what you can control remotely, but it’s better than nothing.

Similar to the WeMo Switch, but if you want something with two outputs instead of one, $80 ConnectSense Smart Exit is an option to consider, allowing you to independently control two outputs instead of a single output.

Buy Smart Light Switch

If you have lights or other devices wired and connected to a wall light switch, you really can’t use a smart plug to control them from your smartphone. However, you can get a smart light switch.

this $50 Belkin WeMo Light Switch It’s a good option, but will require you to do some wiring work and replace the existing light switch on the wall. However, this is a pretty simple process.

A slightly cheaper option is the GE Z-Wave Wireless Lighting Control On/Off Switch, which costs only $38, but requires connecting to a Z-Wave hub such as the Samsung SmartThings hub, as with the aforementioned GE Z-Wave outlet.

If you don’t want to deal with wiring, key mate, this is a key that you put on top of an existing key to control it remotely. It originally started as an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, but is still in the pre-order phase.

Get Auto On/Off Features

Wouldn’t it be great if you could turn your TV or computer on and off and automatically turn your other accessories on and off? There are some simple products that can make this possible.

this Belkin Conserve Smart AV extension cable It’s a great product that automatically turns other accessories on and off when your main device is powered on and off. Unfortunately, they seem to be discontinued, but you can easily find them on eBay or any other third-party source.

this Belkin Conserve Switch Surge Protector perhaps the best option and has a few cool features that add a bit of cleverness to your otherwise dumb devices.

The surge protector includes two outputs that are always on no matter what, so things you’ll always need, like your router or printer. Then there are six separate outlets, all controlled from a wireless switch, so anything you plug into those outlets can be controlled by the switch.

You can also take Belkin Protect SocketIt puts a timer on anything that can be plugged in and turns off automatically after 30 minutes, 3 hours, or six hours.