Thanks to Sense I see that my always on devices are costing me hundreds of dollars a year. Using a KillAWatt meter I see my “smart TV” is drawing 20 watts when OFF.
That is $30 a year without turning it on for even a minute.
So I am considering a smart plug (I have some dumb Wemos and some no names) to set a schedule. But I know I am gonna be up way past my bedtime watching the World Series and it is going to turn off.
We have an Alexa and a Harmony remote. If I say “turn on TV” the Alexa tells the Harmony Hub to send an on signal.
Is it possible to set a string of events using Alexa where when you say “turn on TV” it powers the smart plug up and tells the Harmony to turn on?
yes it is possible but you have to configure some delays in the process so that the TV is fully on before the harmony sends the turn on signal. I have the same remote and i use it with devices with my samsung smartthings hub but not yet set it to power up the entertainment system first. This is on my list but too busy lately.
I actually found an easy way to do it with any Alexa enabled device (should have looked before posting).
I have some Gosund smart plugs. They were only $30 for four on Amazon. About what a Wemo cost.
https://amzn.to/2PD8vS7
If you enable the Harmony skill and the Gosund (Smart Life it is called) skill you can do what I wanted.
Go to the Alexa app make a routine.
I made a trigger “Alexa watch DVR”. It then turns the smart switch on, waits ten seconds, then send the DVR command to the hub.
You may be better off with a Kasa HS300. The per-outlet cost is around $13 and each outlet will be device-controllable by Sense along with tracking energy usage. An AV rack is a good location to fully exploit that.
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