I played around with a SmartThings hub, a Home Assistant Green box, and my existing Google Home setup for a few weeks prior to writing this. Not because I had to my apartment was already “working”. But I kept encountering…
If you‘ve attempted to access your EPF account in the recent past and you‘ve gotten a blank passbook, received a ‘service unavailable’ message or seen the portal suddenly appear unfamiliar, you don‘t have hallucinations the EPFO quietly re-worked a very…
I‘ve had three separate smart thermostats operating in two different homes in the past two years, and the thing no one tells you up front: the hardware isn‘t really doing much. The value is in how you configure it. That‘s…
Learning using digital tools is now an essential part of learning. Educational institutions, universities, companies, and training institutions are investing heavily in the platforms to provide flexibility, accessibility, and a personalised learning experience. Moving forward with the development of digital…
I didn‘t think a plastic box the size of a spritz of air would really get me to rethink how I live in my apartment. And then I tried the one on my space heater last winter, mostly for fun,…
I have replaced three different smart bulb systems (from three different brands) in my apartment over the last two years and I have learned something every time that the marketing copy failed to remember to mention. Smart lighting has quietly…
A single voice-controlled speaker was just a gimmick once. These days, smart homes are much more than that. What was once just a few disparate bits and pieces connected together has become a network of interconnected devices that control water,…
Solar PV and wind turbines are not the future of renewables, anymore they‘re the now. It‘s a much more complex and fascinating place, and it involves batteries, grid software, and a handful of obstinate engineering challenges that nobody‘s paying much…
Most folks assume smart home technology is about saving time: “Alexa, switch off the lights” or “use my phone to set the garage thermostat.” And that‘s certainly true. But there‘s also a less conspicuous, more compelling narrative taking shape: home…
Most of us are unaware that our homes are sucking down energy 24 If the air conditioning is on when no one is home and lights are on in unoccupied rooms or if the water heater is on during prime…
Most of us assume that if you want to buy something energy efficient you go for the one with the most stars on the label. You‘re right in part, but it‘s much more complex than a sticker on a fridge.…
Water is usually the last thing people will worry about. until it disappears; however the truth is that water scarcity is no longer a long term problem for distant regions and places that previously had abundance of water. The middle…