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Showing posts with label home gadget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home gadget. Show all posts

Apr 20, 2020

Travel Gadget Invention Turned Into At Home Gadget


Travel Gadget Invention Turned Into At Home Gadget


This post may contain affiliate links, please read my disclosure here

I was looking to invent a travel gadget that would help out commuters holding their coffees AND phones at the same time and in the same hand. Leaving one hand free to hold on to the rails. While the concept was solid and the initial feedback, from family, was positive, the gadget did not fully hold up once I put a prototype together.
The phone held well, however, the weight of the phone and the holder outweighed the coffee once it was halfway through. The balance was thrown off and it was harder to hold onto the setup from that point on. This made it less of a convenience and therefore no longer helpful.

Sep 7, 2015

How to Make Your Home Ready for Your Departure (Using Home Automation)

Via Modernize

*Guest Post from Kelsey Reaves from modernize.com

How to Make Your Home Ready for Your Departure (Using Home Automation)

When we think of home automation, we think of convenience: the coffee that’s already brewed fresh when we wake up, the window shades that slide down at the touch of a device as day comes to a close. But more importantly, home automation makes us think of safety, safety for when our families are sleeping comfortably in their beds and when no one is in the house at all.

Smart home gadgets allows us to go on vacation without worrying about what could be going wrong at home. As you prepare to leave, here are a few ways you can set up your house and devices to feel more confident. Head over to Modernize for more home ideas and inspiration.

Automate Your Garage Door


Via SmartThings

We’ve all been there. You’re an hour into your flight when a daunting question pops into your head: Did I shut the garage door? By automating your garage door and connecting it to your device, you can avoid the panic that comes when you just can’t remember. You can also avoid the frustration of knowing it’s too late to do anything about it. Home automation systems like SmartThings offer garage door control via a handy sensor and a relay switch. You can check in to make sure you closed it—and in case the unthinkable has happened, you can close the door with the tap of your phone screen.

Install a Smart Thermostat

You don’t want your HVAC system fighting to cool or heat your home when you’re gone for weeks at a time. But you also don’t want to come home to a stuffy or ice-cold house. A regular programmable thermostat could probably do the trick when it comes to your system staying off and kicking in when you want it to. But only a smart thermostat, like the Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat, can let you know what the optimum settings are for energy efficiency and how long it will take for your home to heat up or cool down when you’re on the return journey so that you know when to turn it back on.

Program Your Lights

Most people leave a few lights on when they go on vacation to give the illusion that someone is home. This is great for deterring intruders, but not too great for your energy bill. With light automation systems like Lutron, you can program a vacation setting that will make it look like you’re following your daily routine, turning certain lights on and raising and lowering the shades when needed.

Protect Your Home with a Security System


Via Piper

But if misleading would-be burglars with the lights isn’t quite enough to get rid of your worry while you’re away, you may want a security system that connects directly to your device. Home automation security systems like Piper can help you manage and track the safety of your house and property. Tapping into your home’s video surveillance and receiving security notifications will help you focus on what’s going on around you rather than wringing your knuckles about what’s happening back at the nest.




Sound-off: How do you prepare for your departure? Let us know below

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Jun 7, 2012

Home is ... where travel gadgets come in handy too

I just picked up this gadget. And this time around we are using at our home. It is very convenient as it only takes up one plug (bottom one) and it gives you ability to directly plug in USB cable into the wall without any adapters. So it turns one socket into 5 useful ones. You can have your laptop plugged in, connect any other chargers, and be able to charge your phone or media player at the same time from the same outlet.
My wife really likes this gadget. She has been dreaming of an outlet with USB plugs built in since we started looking to get a new place. While we were not able to have the built in directly in the wall, this is the next best thing. It fits flat against the wall as its depth is only about 1 inch (not counting the plug). This charging station is small enough to take out of the wall at home and pop it into your travel bag.

 Why good to have on a trip And/Or at home:
- Easily charge devices with USB based chargers
- expands one socket into 5
- compact
- easy to install and operate

Want one for your house or your next trip? Check it out on Amazon.com Charging Station with USB Charging Ports

 What do you think? Let us know






Travel Gadgets