Fibaro is now shipping its smart power adapter named Wall Plug that monitors power levels and energy usage and also allows any electrical device to be controlled by Z-Wave smart home hubs.
Fibaro is now shipping its smart power adapter named Wall Plug that monitors power levels and energy usage and also allows any electrical device to be controlled by Z-Wave smart home hubs.
Wall Plug will be available in two versions – standard plug and standard plug with additional USB port to provide an independent energy reading.
Users can insert the Wall Plug into any standard outlet and push a button to connect it to a Z-Wave network. Once a device is connected, an LED ring provides a visual cue of the device’s current power load, changing color according to the amount of power being drawn. If the device temperature increases, a purple warning light flashes. The Wall Plug also includes a soft glow setting that can be activated as a night light.
When connected to Fibaro’s Home Center Lite or Home Center 2, users can use the Wall Plug to identify the devices that are using the most energy and set a maximum power limit for each connected device. If power consumption goes beyond the specified amount, the Wall Plug will automatically shut down power to that device.
The system also instantly alerts users of any problems via the Fibaro app, SMS or email and can activate user-defined scenes. There is a feature that allows users to test the Z-Wave network strength indicated by a change in the LED ring’s colors.
Users can also check the current energy consumption of other connected devices throughout the home through the configuration interface of Fibaro’s Home Center 2 or HCL controllers. Using a computer or the Fibaro mobile app, users have access to detailed graphs of historical data, pie charts showing the energy drain of each connected device, and a list of the top five energy consumers in the home, allowing users to make changes to improve efficiency.
Designed and manufactured at Fibaro headquarters in Poland, the Wall Plug with USB is available now for US$59.99. The non-USB version will be available for US$49.99 in April.
Apple HomeKit-compatible plug
The HomeKit-compatible EU WiFi/BLE version of the FIBARO Wall Plug allows the device to communicate directly with Apple’s iCloud without the need for a central smart home unit such as an iPad or Apple TV.
With the HomeKit app, users will have full control over all their devices connected via the Wall Plug. It means that users no longer have to worry about if they’ve left the iron on after they’ve left their home – they can just check if the electrical outlet is on via their smartphone app.
Moreover, the the Wall Plug will notify its users when a connected device, such as a fridge, suddenly stops consuming power, indicating that it may have stopped working.
The Wall Plug is compatible with all other Fibaro smart home devices. For example, It can be set up to cut off the electrical supply to devices in the event that a different smart home system detects flooding.