Everyone has experienced the situation, when you leave the house and notice that you have left all your lights on. It is both wasteful and annoying. And the solution is geofencing technology in smart homes. Think about virtual fences around your apartment which know, when you have crossed the line. Stepping out of the border turns the lights off automatically, requiring no additional actions from you.
What is needed for this is GPS signal communicating with the hub of the smart home devices. Most likely, you have this hub in your house now. Such smart speakers as Amazon Echo or Google Nest Hub are brains, while smart bulbs, such as Philips Hue or LIFX, are connected to the hub with the help of Wi-Fi and Zigbee technologies. After you create a virtual border of 100 to 200 feet from the perimeter of your house, the magic happens.
Sounds complicated? Installation of a smart geofencing system is much simpler than completing the first level of Mario. You only need a smartphone and an application for the smart home. Apple users will like Home application, while Android users should try Google Home or SmartThings app. Enter the appropriate app and open its tab for automation or scenes.
There you will see the opportunity to create a new automation rule or routine. Having selected the type of triggering, you should pick "Location". Application will ask for the permission to use GPS coordinates of your device; you have to give it. After you do, draw a circle on the map, which creates a geofence — an invisible wall protecting you from wasting electricity.
Now you have to specify the actions which happen when you step out of your geofenced area. You should select the action "Leave Location", then select the devices to be controlled — lights. Pick "Lights", choose the appropriate bulbs or just "All Lights", and set their status to "Off". Name your automation rule, for instance, "The Great Escape".
But the real test happens when you try to go for a walk. Leave the house, unlock your car, and drive away, or just go to the store. After about five minutes GPS signal will stop thinking that you are still home and send the information to the Internet, which, in its turn, sends the signal to your hub, turning off your lights immediately.
There are some things which you should keep in mind before implementing this technology. Since GPS works incorrectly in densely-built neighborhoods or cities, there might be some problems with the false exit of the geofence, when the system turns off your lights while you mow your lawn. However, adjusting the geofence size solves the problem easily. You simply need to make the border bigger, forcing you to move farther to trigger the automation.
Moreover, there is the issue of the discharge of the battery due to constantly working GPS signal. Luckily, most of the smartphones handle this problem easily. But if you use an old iPhone or a cheap Android smartphone, it is better to keep the charger nearby.
Besides, you should not forget about the security benefit of this technology. In fact, the dark house may appear as an inhabited one, since the on/off switches of the lights simulate movement in the house. Using geofencing technology, you can create an automation rule "Return", which turns the lights on when you return home. You enter the brightly-lit house, feeling safe having come back home.
Also, you can become more creative with the triggering options. For example, you may program your thermostat to switch into "Eco Mode" when you leave the house. Your robotic vacuum, such as Roomba, can start cleaning when you leave. With the right devices and smart plugs, the opportunities of the geofencing technology are endless. Your house will function as a robot, which cleans after you.
Some may say that such technology is too complicated to implement it. But if you can use Instagram or TikTok, you can use geofencing technology. These interfaces are made especially for people who do not like manuals and use such terms as "When I leave" or "When I arrive". All you need to do is to tap a few screens, and your home will become smarter than your math teacher.
Costs for creation of this system are rather affordable if you already have a smart speaker. Such cheap devices as Wyze or Kasa cost about $10. You do not need to rewire anything in your house and do not have to call an electrician. All you need to do is to install them as usual bulbs and connect to the application. It is an affordable upgrade to your home appliances.
One of the mistakes which many students make is forgetting to charge their smartphones. If the battery is discharged during studying, the system will think that you have not left the house, and it will keep the lights on. Your phone is a key to your smart home, and without it you are only living in an ordinary house.
Moreover, one should keep in mind that using this technology means allowing a big tech company to track your locations. Although it may seem to be a little scary, for most people convenience is more important than their fear of data tracking. But anyway, Google and Apple track everything about you anyway, so you may as well get something for it. At least lights turn off.
I used this technology last summer and saved about twenty dollars per month. It may not seem much, but it accumulates over a year. Moreover, I did not receive texts from my father complaining about the electric bill anymore. The peace of mind itself is worth the $10 spent on installation of this technology.
So, do not live in the dark ages of manually-operated light bulbs. Use geofencing technology and let your phone do the job for you. It is a project, which is simple to perform, but has a great impact on convenience and money saving. You will feel like a genius each time you leave the house. Your friends will be amazed to see your lights obedient to your location. Download that app and build your geofence!
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