Even the most tech mad among us still has a few “dumb” appliances around the house.
Maybe you feel that they’re a key part of the interior design, maybe they’re heirlooms or antiques, or perhaps you simply can’t afford to replace them with a smart successor just yet, but with Eve Energy, you won’t have to!
The Eve to HomeKit’s Adam in your own personal Eden, the Eve Energy promises to take your already sleek, streamlined smart home, make it even more efficient, and give you even more control!
And all this comes in the form of a single plug — Amazing, right?
So, to answer the question of what Eve Energy is directly, it’s a super advanced, thread-enabled smart plug, but my guess is you’re looking for a bit more information, so in this post, I’m going to be telling you all there is to know about this intelligent little plug.
How Does Eve Energy Work?
There are a million and one smart plugs out there at the minute, so why should we care about the Eve Energy plug?
Well, for starters, it’s not just a smart plug — It’s also a router node equipped with Thread technology.
What Is Thread & How Does It Work?
For the uninitiated, Thread is a new radio protocol similar to Bluetooth and Zigbee. It’s built on an IP-based mesh blueprint that enhances connectivity, leading to a far more reliable product.
What’s more, each individual Thread-enabled device acts as a discrete hub, which facilitates a stronger link between them, eliminates potential points of failure, and more efficient inter-device communication.
And it does all this while using less power than its predecessors, too, which has two epic real-life implications.
First, your power consumption will be ever so slightly reduced, saving you pennies on every energy bill moving forward, and secondly, it will prolong the life of battery-operated smart devices such as small sensors and door locks.
You can kind of think of Thread as a universal language that connects devices regardless of vendor and ecosystem… sort of like the USB of wireless connectivity.
Yet, in some respects, Thread-enabled devices act similarly to Wi-Fi extenders (although they themselves don’t connect to Wi-Fi).
What I mean by this is that any electrical powered Thread-enabled devices will receive a signal and then echo it at full power. The result?
Distance between our smart devices and our HomeKit hub is no longer a factor when mapping out our smart home networks.
No matter how large your property is and no matter how sprawling your smart device array is throughout, they’ll all boast top-notch connections.
Putting the icing on the connectivity cake, as Thread devices are authenticated before gaining access to the network, as well as the fact that all messages sent via Thread are end-to-end encrypted, it’s a much more secure wireless protocol than all other available options.
What Does The Eve Energy Smart Plug Actually Do?
Newfangled tech aside, the core functionality of the Eve Energy is pretty consistent with any other smart plug — You can plug “dumb” appliances into it to make them smart, giving you control over them via a smart home app or voice commands.
However, there are a few fancy extras to look forward to when you invest in an Eve Energy smart plug. Let’s take a closer look at them, shall we?
Energy Monitoring
Perhaps my favorite Eve Energy feature is energy reporting.
Not only will the Eve Energy smart plug monitor the inserted appliance’s energy consumption in real-time, but will keep a comprehensive record of appliance energy usage over time.
This means you can type a few basic details surrounding your energy rates into the Eve app, and the Eve Energy smart plug will deliver projected monthly and annual costs of running your appliance.
Autonomous Scheduling
Granted, automations aren’t exactly an Eve Energy exclusive in the smart plug market, but the Eve app allows for much more advanced scheduling than any other smart plug you can buy (more on this later).
Child Lock
The Eve Energy smart plug is all about facilitating remote control of smart devices, but there is a simple on/off switch on the plug enclosure if you choose to do things the old-fashioned way from time to time, and seeing as it’s fitted with a child lock, there’s no way curious kids could turn your plug on or off.
LED Toggle
I appreciate a good LED indicator as much as the next tech-nut, but you know what I like even more?
An LED indicator you can toggle off to save energy or achieve perfect darkness in a room, and that’s exactly what the Eve Energy smart plug allows you to do via the Eve app.
It’s only a very small addition, but it’s an example of just how much thought the folks over at Eve have put into their latest foray into the smart plug market.
How Does Eve Energy Connect?
One of the best things about the Eve Energy smart plug is how effortlessly it integrates with your existing smart home network.
To kick things off, download the Eve companion app, insert the Eve Energy smart plug into an outlet, wait for the power indicator LED to light up green, then head for the Eve app settings menu.
Tap “Add Accessory” and you’ll be taken through the standard HomeKit connection process that involves scanning the QR code on the device… that’s literally it.
Once connected to HomeKit, it will make connections with all other Thread devices automatically, saving you a grueling job.
With setup taken care of, you can now control your Eve Energy smart plug in any of three ways…
- <li “=”” dir=” ltr” on-unit=”” —=”” the=”” switch=”” on=”” body=”” of=”” smart=”” plug=”” permits=”” basic=”” off=”” control,=”” just=”” like=”” a=”” standard=”” wall=”” outlet.=”” lili=””>HomeKit — You have access to most of the Eve Energy smart plug features on the Home app, weaving it seamlessly into your primary smart home mainframe so you can operate it with ultimate ease.