energy

Connected AwoX colour SmartLIGHT a modern day disco ball

Connected smart lights are becoming a lot more commonplace and many models are more than just another pretty white light. Thus is the case of the new smartphone controllable A SmartLIGHT Colour light bulb by AwoX based in Montpellier France, fairly new to the Canadian market. It looks like a regular light bulb, compatible with most common lamps, but since it’s LED, it consumes much less power and not only offers up to 16 million colours including multitude of shades of white, it can also sync to the beat your dance music giving you your own modern day disco ball.

The AwoX SmartLIGHT offers a simple smart solution powered from the AC socket of your lamp, but controlled by your iOS or Android device, pairing easily via SmartBluetooth 4.0. The free SmartCONTROL app you can get from the App Store or Google Play will allow you to control the colours, tones, intensity and more. Read more…at Canoe Tech Blog

Review: Nest Learning Thermostat

We can use Home Automation devices to monitor our homes, keep us secure and turn our lights on and off. So why not use technology to help monitor and control the energy used to heat and cool our homes? The Nest Learning Thermostat can do just that – on its own- via the web and also through an app. Nest isn’t totally new, but the latest version, the 2nd generation model, is certainly much improved and you don’t have to be a geek to make the most of it. Great news if you’re a resident of Alberta, you may have an opportunity to get one free from Direct Energy.

The biggest thing to appreciate is that Nest is more than just a programmable thermostat – setting the device to turn on and off at predetermined times. It knows when you turn it up and knows when you turn it down and even knows when you’re away. It monitors usage and learns your habits, when you want to be toasty warm and when you want it a little cooler. It does this for about a week or so after installation and then it programs itself. When you configure it upon set up, you also give it your postal code, so it knows what the temperature is like outside so it can also learn vis-a-vis your actual environment.