Skeptics Corner: Brilliant Tech Smart Home Panel

Wink Relay Panel Redux

With a name like Brilliant I hope that they're not overselling.  It is good however to see another company taking the charge in offering a permanent screen-based solution to cover SmartHome needs.   Wink made a SmartHome touchscreen panel several years back which began it's life at about the same price at the 2-switch panel by Brilliant ($300).  But it was no long for this world (as it only worked with Wink).

Versatility and Conflict

Brilliant has seen the light of progress and has made a switch panel with far more features that the Wink panel.  Each panel includes a full screen, switches, sensors and a camera (with a privacy cover).  But it is the back end compatibility with all sorts of SmartHome hardware companies that will (hopefully) allow it to win the day.  Alas, even if you can get past the exorbitant price (starting $249 for the single switch), you may struggle to find this device as applicable in a home full of children who probably love tech at least as much as you do. 

This is probably the first smart-device that will not get broken due to being dropped out of a car seat on to the parking lot blacktop, but it will not go unnoticed in your home.  Its hard enough to keep kids from playing with the light switches that you have explicitly labeled to not be touched (so that the lights stay powered).  This screen absolutely needs to have some kid-proofing, or lock out pin, or something to manage the access it inevitably offers to tiny fingers. A wise person once said, "You've built a great tool, now tell me how it can be abused".

Baring the child-aspect and the cost, I can appreciate the utility of a readily available screen.  I do tend to carry my smartphone with me throughout the house, out of necessity as I run my business from my home.  But I cannot express the aggravation that I've experienced when I have forgotten my phone (or one of them) upstairs.  At one point I put an old tablet downstairs on the TV cabinet so that if i did neglect the phone upstairs I had something down there.  Not everyone is willing to carry their phone with them all over the house, especially into the restroom.  But I'd wager that once the price point comes down that this tool might find a place in many homes that have shifted to Smart.

Smart Light Switch from TP-Link

A Smart Light Switch, without Sacrificing Common Function

Just about everyone wants to change or upgrade the home they live in.  And even the wealthiest people never quite get what they want out of their home(s). But with a simple change, a poorly placed switch can be upgraded to a whole new world of possibility.

Using the TP-Link WiFi Light Switch (HS200), it is possible to effectively move the position of the light switch to the kitchen.  Via Google Home devices, like the Google Home Mini, and their ability to receive commands through voice control, the kitchen light switch can be operated from anywhere in the home. The TP-Link Kasa app can also be used to operate the switches, if voice control is not an option.

... But Why a WiFi Switch?

I've long used SmartThings Home Control with both Zigbee and Z-wave and the mere fact that I already have WiFi devices and coverage in my house bewilders me for their necessity.  I recognize that Z-wave requires less power than WiFi, but for something that is hard-wired for power, (like the HS200) it works just fine.   Power conservation is not the problem at hand.

Convenience an' all that...

Skeptics may question whether it is actually convenient to have a mere single light switch converted to automatic for $40, when a standard switch costs no power to operate and barely $2 to purchase.  But in my experience it is the paradigm shift from single manual to multi-use control that is the key.  Were it my decision, no light switch or power outlet in the world would be singly manual. 

The added function of remote access and / or voice control offers more channels of access to lighting control. A person does not need to physically interact with anything to operate a device.  Using the light switch is as simple as speaking.  

Managed Control

Short of obsession, the level of automation in my home is probably not the same as that of Bill Gates' home, but I'd wager that I have more home automation that 90% people.  Yes, I do this because I enjoy it, which probably exceeds even the level that some geeks put to the task. Digital informational feedback is exciting to me; it seems to offer a modicum of control.  

I see home automation as an inevitability, like the automobile in years past. The more automation we can get from the tools on which we rely, the better our lives can become.  In the 1800's it was common for a person to walk the streets in at dusk and dawn to light and extinguish the street lamps.  Later in the early 1900's, a person stood in the middle of the street to direct traffic.  Through automation these monotonous jobs have been re-allocated to a machine.  

It is a realistic expectation that in the near future many devices will be more automated and connected, offering more precise control and better feedback.  It will be possible to recognize better ways to do work and home activities.  Personal ease will enable even further action beyond that which is today inhibited by too often required manual operations.  The future is bright and Smart devices are leading the way.

Check out the TP-Link WiFi Light Switch HS200 on Amazon: