I am a big fan of home automation. I have iDevices, iHome devices, WeMo devices, and Hue Bulbs. The Zuli Smartplugs have several cool, unique features, but they aren’t perfect just yet.
Note: I get paid commissions for purchases made through any links to Amazon products in this post.
First, to take full advantage of the Zuli plugs, you need to have at least three of them. At that point, you can set up their “Presence” feature and have lights or electronics turn on when you and your iPhone are in the same room with them. The feature also work with Phillips Hue lights, so you can add new rooms without even adding more Zuli plugs.
“Presence" is a feature that you setup after you plug in the three smart plugs. Once they are plugged in, you set up each room by “calibrating” the space. It requires you stand where you want the lights (or other electronic device) to turn on and then turn four times to set up that space and then walk around the room so it knows where the room starts and ends. In theory, once you have everything calibrated, the lights/plug will turn on when you enter the room and turn off at a designated time after you leave the room.
Note: I get paid commissions for purchases made through any links to Amazon products in this post.
First, to take full advantage of the Zuli plugs, you need to have at least three of them. At that point, you can set up their “Presence” feature and have lights or electronics turn on when you and your iPhone are in the same room with them. The feature also work with Phillips Hue lights, so you can add new rooms without even adding more Zuli plugs.
“Presence" is a feature that you setup after you plug in the three smart plugs. Once they are plugged in, you set up each room by “calibrating” the space. It requires you stand where you want the lights (or other electronic device) to turn on and then turn four times to set up that space and then walk around the room so it knows where the room starts and ends. In theory, once you have everything calibrated, the lights/plug will turn on when you enter the room and turn off at a designated time after you leave the room.
When I first got the plugs, I noticed that I couldn’t set up a room with just a Phillips Hue Bulb in it. Therefore, I had to put the Zuli plugs in every room I wanted to use Presence. However, shortly after I received the plugs, they provided an update to fix that problem and now you only need a Hue bulb or a smart plug in a room (assuming you have three Zuli plugs in the home). Another useful feature they added was that you can now setup the plugs to only turn on when the sun is down. Both of these new features were something that made a huge difference in my feelings about these plugs.
Another cool feature is that I now have the ability to dim the lights that I have plugged into the Zuli plugs. Of course, not every single light works with the dimming feature, but I tested it in three different setups and the dimming feature worked in all three. You can also use the iPhone app to directly turn on and off plugs in addition to Hue lights.
As with most smart plugs, you can also setup a schedule for the plug to turn on and off at specific times on certain days of the week or all days of the week. The app also let you name the devices and rooms, so it is easy to distinguish one device from another. You can even choose an icon to make it easier to recognize the device.
As with most smart plugs, you can also setup a schedule for the plug to turn on and off at specific times on certain days of the week or all days of the week. The app also let you name the devices and rooms, so it is easy to distinguish one device from another. You can even choose an icon to make it easier to recognize the device.
The app also has an “Energy” page that shows you the “Energy Usage”, “Est Monthly Cost”, Est Active Time”, and the “Carbon Footprint”. The only issue is that when I set up my lights (using the Zuli Plugs) with “Presence” they give you an option of how long to wait before turning off the lights when you leave a room. The choices were 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes. I didn’t have an option to turn the lights off immediately, so using the automated approach, I would be wasting a minimum of 10 minutes of electricity. As a result, I often still pull out my iPhone to manually turn off the Zuli plugs.
I also had some issues with accuracy of the Presence feature. Sometimes I will walk in the hall outside of my office and the lights will turn on without stepping into the room. I have recalibrated the room, but it is still an issue. Another issue is that the Presence feature will hold onto the last room you were in if you don’t have a Zuli in the new room you are entering (I contacted the company about this problem and they said they are working on the issue).
There are a couple more downsides compared to other smart devices. These plugs can’t be controlled with the Apple Watch because they lack an app, they don’t work with Siri like iDevices, they don’t work with Amazon Echo like the Wemo plugs. For comparison, the Hue bulb work with all three. The Zuli plugs require you to get out your phone and launch the app or push a button on the plug if you want to control them manually.
There are a couple more downsides compared to other smart devices. These plugs can’t be controlled with the Apple Watch because they lack an app, they don’t work with Siri like iDevices, they don’t work with Amazon Echo like the Wemo plugs. For comparison, the Hue bulb work with all three. The Zuli plugs require you to get out your phone and launch the app or push a button on the plug if you want to control them manually.
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Another issue is that they use Bluetooth rather than wifi. This means that you can’t be at work or on vacation and turn off/on the plugs when you are away from home like the other wifi connected smart plugs I own.
All that being said, the Zuli Plugs are almost magical. There is nothing like walking into a dark house and having lights turn on as you pass through rooms. I have one Zuli setup in our sunroom that automatically come on when I pass through the room when I take the pups out at night. In a lot of ways, it feels like I am living in a world from Science Fiction novels I read about as a kid.
Sure, there are still a few minor kinks that need to be worked out, but it refreshing to get a huge app update in the few weeks I have had the plugs. I contacted the company during the first week I owned the plugs and they answered me the next day, so it is obvious that they care. I don’t blame them, this is a product that is worth caring about!
Note: I get paid commissions for purchases made through any links to Amazon products in this post.
All that being said, the Zuli Plugs are almost magical. There is nothing like walking into a dark house and having lights turn on as you pass through rooms. I have one Zuli setup in our sunroom that automatically come on when I pass through the room when I take the pups out at night. In a lot of ways, it feels like I am living in a world from Science Fiction novels I read about as a kid.
Sure, there are still a few minor kinks that need to be worked out, but it refreshing to get a huge app update in the few weeks I have had the plugs. I contacted the company during the first week I owned the plugs and they answered me the next day, so it is obvious that they care. I don’t blame them, this is a product that is worth caring about!
Note: I get paid commissions for purchases made through any links to Amazon products in this post.
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