Taiwan-headquartered D-Link has brought to India, a suite of products which together update a clichéd old saying for a new, Connected Age: Home sweet, (smart & secure), home! In these days of heightened vulnerability, they offer a nice combo of safety and convenience. All are wireless devices and latch on to your home Wi-Fi network, at the press of a button — so it is literally a dummy’s job to get them up and working. All the devices can be controlled and made to work with each other, by installing the mydlink app (Android or iOS on your smart phone The devices I have tried out are : Wi-Fi Motion Sensor (DCH-S150): which detects motion in or around your home up to 8 metres away and in an arc of 100 degrees. You have to plug the device to an electrical outlet and push a button which detects and links the sensor to your Wi-Fi router. Once active, it sends notifications to your phone if it detects any movement. (Rs 3,749)
Wi-Fi SmartPlug (DSP-W215): controls the power supply to any electrically operated equipment in the home. You can control when heating or cooling kicks in; turn off lamps, TV etc when not in use or have your music system or radio wake you up. The SmartPlug looks like an adapter: It plugs into a wall power socket and you plug your TV, music player or whatever into it. Once you link the plug to your Wi-Fi, mydlink lets you control your device through the app. It can be coupled to the motion sensor so that you don’t get false alarms when your own people are moving around (Rs 3,749)
Cloud Camera (DCS 933L): This is one of a range of wireless cameras priced around Rs 4000. Built-in infra red LEDS ensures that it works even in near darkness. You can control it from your phone, see its images in real time and activate a 4x zoom. Baby Camera (DCS 825): is tailored to watch over baby cots, but I found it was a useful combo of camera, sound and motion sensor. You can set the camera to be triggered by temperature levels, sound levels or movement. It also features 2-way audio so that you can respond if baby cries. (around Rs 10,000) You can mix-n-match these products of course (remember you need one smart plug for every device you need to control) but by my rough reckoning, for an average apartment, ‘smartening’ it will cost you Rs 15,000 or so. Not a big price to pay for peace of mind plus convenience!
India homes get smart: A survey conducted this month by AZ Research Partners, Bengaluru for Schneider Electric India, among owners of apartments and villas costing Rs 50 lakh to Rs 5 crore plus, found high awareness of Smart Home solutions — with security, convenience and energy savings the prime drivers, followed by audio-video entertainment controls. The market for smart homes in India is seen to double in revenue every 3 years, with video doors, IP cameras, motion sensors and gas leak detectors topping the wish list.
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