I have been working in the technology field for longer that I care to say, but let's just say north of 20 years! One of the most awesome developments that I have seen over that time has been the ability to reach out and touch something that you are not physically near or physically connected to. For example, without going too geek on you, having a server that needs to have some upgrades done that have to be done from the physical console/screen...but the server is located a few thousand miles away in our L.A. Office. Some years back, I would need to arrange to have someone in that office to be in front of the server and perform the upgrade as I direct them step by step. Time-consuming and inefficient, but necessary.
However, as time moved forward, we began using remote access tools, allowing me to connect to that server and perform all of the functions required, from the comfort of our New York HQ. On a similar scale, this same base of technology allows us to see and hear who is at our doorbell and communicate with them, as if we are right there, even if we are laying on a sun-drenched beach in the Caribbean. Heck, you can woof like a vicious dog and watch people jump with fear. Of course, never do that to your neighbor...especially those that hold grudges...I'm just saying!
In keeping with the thought of that remote reach out and touch technology, the market has quite a few players now with smart home devices, such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and others. One of the players in this Smart Home niche is a company called Hubitat, and they have a very unique twist on this market, with their "Elevation" Smart home hub. It is a centralized "hub", as its name suggests, which acts as the control center for all of your home devices that you choose or will choose to connect in your home.
I recently had the pleasure of testing out the Hubitat Elevation, and based on what I found as a result, from Set-up and Testing on through General Usage, this could just be what you were looking for or maybe something you did not even realize existed...something to help you keep on top of the safety of your home, as well as your gadgets and possibly even your energy efficiency.
The Hubitat Elevation hub came very well wrapped and secured in a box about 2.5 times the size of the actual device, and when I saw the physical hub, I was surprised at how small it was. I was trying to figure where it would go and how will I be able to have it in a secure location (it's advantageous to keep something that can possibly control the power and security of your home in a tamper-free location). However, the device fit's literally in the palm of your hand, so finding a place with a power source nearby was incredibly easier than I had imagined.
The Hubitat needs to be connected into your Router via an Ethernet cable (an RJ-45), so after you plug in the power to your Hubitat, you have a few choices: connect the cable to the Hubitat and the router, get a longer RJ-45 cable in your local shop and run the cable through a ceiling or floor, if need be, or have a network drop (or a patch panel with a network wall outlet). The latter might be a little much for folks, so the first two options work fine.
Once the Hubitat is connected up physically, the next step is where you get it recognized to make it active. From your computer that is on the same exact network as the Hubitat (the computer and Hubitat must both be connected to the same router), you access the Hubitat portal website (where you should see the device icon), sign up, enter some basic information, and name your device. Activation is that simple. There are no tricks, changes to make on your router, with your ISP. No headaches. Just a simple and straightforward way to get your Hubitat Elevation online, alive, and kicking.
Now, the benefit of using this device, as we discussed, is all about remote administration, and the first piece I added to my Hubitat family is the Centralite Smart Outlet. The way I found it best to add this outlet was to download in the Google Play Store the App, "Hubitat Dashboard". Once I downloaded the App and logged into it with the credentials I set up when activating earlier, I saw the Hubitat Elevation on the Dashboard. At this point, I simply selected to Add a Device, and the Smart Outlet is by Centralize, but also can be selected as Zigbee, which I did. Once that Smart Outlet showed up, I saw there was a toggle option....basically, on and off. I have a tester bulb that has a prong to plug into an outlet for testing power (but you could easily plug in a radio with the volume on), and now the bulb was on, indicating power to it, but the Smart Outlet has a small blue light indicating it is on, as well. When I clicked the toggle on the app on my phone to turn the Smart Outlet "Off", the Bulb went out! When I clicked, "On", it went on! I had my security camera pointed at the outlet, and I went food shopping, and while I was out, I planned on testing the Smart Outlet from a different network (not on my Home Wi-Fi), and on a split screen on my phone, using the Hubitat Dashboard on the top section of the split screen, I was able to Toggle the Outlet on and off and the Bulb went on and off and I watched it from my security camera app on the bottom split screen. Cool! Why cool? This means I can control my lights and anything else I want to control from anywhere in the world. I had the capability to add more Smart Outlets and control literally every device in my home, possibly even my thermostat to conserve energy and lower my bills, if I wanted to!
The next device I tested was the Centralite Micro Door Sensor, which had the same type of set up. This device is akin to the old "open circuit", that signals when it is opened. When setting this up, which required connecting both parts of the sensor to an internal door in my home (just for testing). the parts have to be lined up precisely, so they can open and close without friction, and allow the circuit to be opened. Once I had this set up, I created an alert to be notified upon the circuit being opened, and I had a friend randomly open the door and write down the exact times it was opened, while I went to a location away from my Home Wi-Fi. The times the door was opened corresponded exactly to the times I received the alerts, which meant there was no delay in the relay of the alerts, and no latency. This is fantastic and once it is used on an entry door, it can prove incredibly valuable. If you have a cleaning service or workers in your home while you are away and you close doors to the bedrooms or other rooms you do not want anyone to have access to, you can add one of these to each of those doors and be immediately notified if they were opened.
There are infinite applications and ways in which you can use the Hubitat Elevation, along with the Smart Outlet and Micro-Door Sensors. Not only are they intuitive to use and to set up, but they work precisely as they are supposed to, and can provide you the ease and comfort of usage from anywhere in the world, and provide you with the security that you would come to expect from such a device. I know that the Hubitat team are working on new applications and further ways to use the Elevation and family of devices, and I cannot wait to see what additional ways that I can make my life easier, safer, and at the same time, have fun doing so!
Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes - Rent to Own Homes, since 2002
"Located at the Corner of Technology and Real Estate"
Rent to Own Homes and Real Estate Blog for HomeRun Homes: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com
TAGS: #Hubitat #Elevation #SmartOutlet #Micro-Sensor #Smart #Centralite #Zigbee #Dashboard #Security #Remote #App
