Skip to main content

You don’t need wires or even a smart home hub to use iHome’s new sensors

iHome
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Try as you might, you can’t be home all the time. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be aware of what’s going at home all the time. Here to help is iHome, which on Wednesday, November 15, debuted three battery-powered, hub-free, Wi-Fi connected smart home sensors for a more portable and flexible method of keeping an eye on your loved ones. These new wireless smart home sensors promise to alert users to leaks, motion, and open doors and windows.

As part of the iHome Control line of smart home offerings, the latest sensors work alongside iHome’s SmartPlug solutions. That means if one of these new motion sensors detects movement in a room, it can send a signal to nearby SmartPlugs to turn on the lights, fans, or other appliances. Conversely, should a sensor realize that no one has been in a room for some time, the related SmartPlug can turn off all appliances, helping to ensure that power is only being used when there are actually folks in said room.

Of course, the sensor will also immediately notify folks if a leak is detected, sending a smartphone notification so that immediate action can be taken. Sensors also features an onboard buzzer to alert family members who might be at home.

“We’ve moved into the next generation of smart home. The first phase was about control. This next wave of products goes beyond control and into environmental triggering,” said Gary Schultz, director of business and product development at iHome.

“A truly smart home can now communicate potential costly hazards and vulnerabilities to the homeowner and offer both alerts and the ability to act without manual intervention. Our new wireless smart home sensors and SmartPlugs are hub-less and designed for easy setup, and make it affordable for people to add smart home monitoring and smart home control to any home, condo or apartment.”

Rather than depending on an electrical outlet, iHome’s sensors instead use AA batteries and small footprint form factors that claim to make them easy to mount just about anywhere. And since there’s no need to connect everything to a hub, you can use these sensors independently or in tandem with one another.

The new Motion Sensor, Dual Leak Sensor, and Door/Window Sensor all retail for $30.

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Don’t be left in the dark. Be hurricane-ready with these smart home tools
A person using the GoSun Sport outside.

East Coast living means four full seasons, with many states typically experiencing hot, stormy summers and cold winters -- especially in the Northeast. On top of the regular climatology that goes with this part of the country, East Coasters must also contend with a yearly hurricane window, known as the Atlantic hurricane season.

Lasting most of June through November, hurricanes are notoriously difficult storm systems to track and predict -- and they can be incredibly dangerous. They are responsible for more deaths and destruction than any other weather phenomena -- for example, there were more than 50 hurricane-related disasters, with losses over $1 billion, between 2018 and 2020.

Read more
Don’t sweat rising electric bills: Smart bed covers keep you cool and save money
smart bed covers keep you cool reduce your energy bill eight sleep pro cover feature lifestyle

Do you sleep well at night? According to a lot of studies, roughly half of all Americans feel sleepy during the day -- a firm indicator that their nightly sleep isn't quite as restorative as it should be. Whether it be stress (due to high electric bills, maybe?) or just a lack of comfort, poor sleep quality is nearing alarming levels.

Temperature plays a large role in that. In fact, reaching a proper room temperature is one of the most important factors for achieving high-quality, restful sleep. According to SleepFoundation.org, the ideal temperature for the bedroom is around 65 degrees.

Read more
You shouldn’t be shocked that the HomePod Mini has a hidden sensor
Apple HomePod mini in hand

Am I surprised that the Apple HomePod Mini is hiding a stowaway inside of it? Not really. After a report surfaced recently about how Apple’s latest smart speaker has a sensor tucked away inside of it to measure temperature and humidity, it’s natural to speculate on the reason why it's there in the first place -- and more importantly, why it's not active. This comes as no shock to me, mainly because the HomePod Mini isn’t the first (and won't be the last) smart home gadget to hide away inactive sensors.
Inactive sensors are common
Temperature and humidity sensors are used for a number of purposes. In the case of the HomePod Mini, one would suspect that it could be used to monitor if the speaker is overheating. However, since it’s actually positioned away from the main components of the speaker, it leads one to assume that it could be used to monitor the ambient temperature and humidity of where it’s placed. This brings me to the point about inactive sensors -- they’re more common than you think.

The example that first comes to mind are the various inactive sensors in some of LIFX’s smart light bulbs. These sensors were deliberately placed in its products, mainly to future-proof its product line. In one example I was shown during a meeting at CES 2020, an accelerometer embedded inside one of its light bulbs allowed me to turn the bulb on or off with a subtle tap of the lamp -- while another sensor, an ambient light sensor, could be accessed to intelligently turn the bulb on or off at sunrise and sunset.

Read more