Using a "smart outlet" for a light timer

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ignatiousR

Member
Is anyone using a smart outlet for a light timer? They look like they might work great for this. You can program on and off times and get energy usage stats. Plus change light schedules and check on things remotely. I haven't used one though so I'm not sure.

How are they as far as user interfaces and reliability?
 
Bugeye

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
ignatiousR said:
Is anyone using a smart outlet for a light timer? They look like they might work great for this. You can program on and off times and get energy usage stats. Plus change light schedules and check on things remotely. I haven't used one though so I'm not sure.

How are they as far as user interfaces and reliability?
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There as good as your internet connection. So if your router goes out a lot, not the best solution. Better for fans and other environmental controls.
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Personally I think it's crazy to use any "smart" options even if you are 100% legal. Everything is tracked and you have no clue who is accessing that data that will have enough personal info for even a basement dweeb to find out the exact location of your grow.

Smart meters track every kilowatt your house uses with timing down to the 100th of a second and any smart device sends it's info so they know what equipment is on or off at any given time. Digital ballasts? Send your info directly to LEO as it's there for the taking. Just that 18/6 or 12/12 cycle is enough to get flagged at some power companies and you won't fool them with 17.5/6.5 timing either. :)

In Alberta where I live we are on the good old analog meters and I could easily increase my power usage 10 fold without any questions as long as the bill is paid on time. I'm also wired for light industrial and have farm status so that helps.

I'm an old fart and very protective of my privacy which the yunguns just don't seem to care about. It's true that if you got nothing to hide then who cares who knows about every minute detail of your life because you post it on social media anyways! :D

When they first brought in Social Security Numbers after WWII vets like my dad fought against that because to them it was just the same as the numbers tattooed on the arms of so many Jewish causalities of Hitler's genocidal march across Europe.

Gov't says no-no it's just to keep track of your deductions from your paycheck to support the social safety net and not anything else. Now when you are needing ID for credit cards etc they ask for your SIN. They don't get it from me unless I just got hired for a job where it's pertinent. The millennials will give it to anyone that asks and it's one of the main things ID thieves need to steal your ID.

And now the cashless society is big on the gov'ts agenda. Hard to hide criminal activities when every transaction is on a database somewhere. The big guys know how to work around that to hide their wealth but you and me are f'ed!

Micro-chipping babies is another new tech being used in NZ or Auz I think. Birth to grave with literally everything you do on record. Not long before the thought police get rockin'.

The war for your freedoms is being lost without even a squeak of protest much less a shot.
 
Nugachino

Nugachino

Well-Known Member
I'm with Old Med on this one. I wouldn't use those WiFi timers. Makes things vulnerable to data hacks or even the functionality of what's being controlled. By that I mean someone could be flicking your lights on and off all day while you're out.
 
Rollinituptoo

Rollinituptoo

Well-Known Member
ignatiousR said:
Is anyone using a smart outlet for a light timer? They look like they might work great for this. You can program on and off times and get energy usage stats. Plus change light schedules and check on things remotely. I haven't used one though so I'm not sure.

How are they as far as user interfaces and reliability?
Click to expand...
Fuck the smart shit. You don't want it to fuck with your light cycles. Alot of smart equipment doesn't have a power redundancy. Therefore if the power goes most of your settings usually go too.. I have read countless times of people opening up their room and it's pitch black when it should be lights on. I stick with a good old manual timer.. I'm also running led so voltage and amps are not an issue.
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Rollinituptoo said:
Fuck the smart shit. You don't want it to fuck with your light cycles. Alot of smart equipment doesn't have a power redundancy. Therefore if the power goes most of your settings usually go too.. I have read countless times of people opening up their room and it's pitch black when it should be lights on. I stick with a good old manual timer.. I'm also running led so voltage and amps are not an issue.
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Those digital timers are a PITA for that and we get a lot of short power failures. I finally got a battery backup unit for my desktop after frying a motherboard so got plenty of time to finish what I'm doing and shut down normally.

I'm still using a manual timer that is for outdoors that I bought new about 16 years ago for $15 at Crappy Tire. 1,850W capacity and it's been running my HIDs up to 3 - 400Watters at a time flawlessly. Have found a couple more at garage sales for around $5 each for when that one finally packs it in. I just plugged a 6 outlet power bar into it so I can get 3 lights going off it plus maybe a fan, 24w and the light rail which is only 9 more watts. All magnetic ballasts too that are around 30 years old and still cranking out the lumens.
 
Nugachino

Nugachino

Well-Known Member
Tyleb173rd said:
There have been times where I've had to reset the smart plug because it lost connection to the wifi signal.
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That's another reason I dont like all these "smart" devices. If the Internet drops out. They're fucking useless. Oh and lets not forget being made redundant due to stupid shit like an operating system not being compatible with the hardware.
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Once N Korea explodes that dumb bomb over the continental US and knocks out half the satellite system and blows the power grid out for a decade you'll have to go plug and unplug your lights in the dark! :D
 
I

ILG

New Member
Micro-chipping babies is another new tech being used in NZ or Auz I think. Birth to grave with literally everything you do on record. Not long before the thought police get rockin'.

The war for your freedoms is being lost without even a squeak of protest much less a shot.[/QUOTE]

@OldMedUser


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^^^^^^^
Just replying to the above, I was searching NZ and came across this, it was quite funny to read, yes we have smart meters for our houses, and I don't agree with that. However, we don't microchip our babies. Just wanted to clear that up for all readers, that's not something we do. We have birth certificates and most humans are tracked in many shapes and forms these days by being given ID numbers but I just wanted it to be known we don't physically microchip babies in NZ
 
I

ignatiousR

Member
I discovered Sonoff wifi relays through another thread. They work great so far. Only need to be connected to wifi to program them and control them through the app manually and revert to the state they are supposed to be in when power is restored after an outage. They have all the privacy shortcomings that people seem to be opposed to. So if you are worried about that I would not recommend them, but otherwise they are working great. Sonoff also has temp and humidity sensors and an interface that you can set up sort of like IFTT. (if humidity reaches x turn on y.. etc.)
 
astonehead

astonehead

Well-Known Member
I’m useing tp link WiFi sockets, work great, don’t lose settings and can set 6 sceduales with 1 minute increments
 
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