Smart homes are pretty amazing. With a few connected devices, you can control everything from your lights to your air conditioning with your voice or an app. And this handy touch screen wall switch does a remarkable job of helping you automate it all in one place. SONOFF developed its NSPanel to work as an all-in-one light hub, and it even lets you control the temperature. Here’s a quick look at it: Let’s go over all the details.
Control every light in your home
Connect to Wi-Fi-enabled lights with SONOFF and control the brightness levels. Change the brightness like a slider, and set a preference so you can use shortcuts later. Aside from controlling brightness and turning your lights on or off, you can also control color temperature. Set a cool, warm or neutral lighting environment depending on what you’re doing.
Get real-time weather updates
Because you can command your outdoor temperature-control devices with SONOFF, it’s important to know the conditions first. Since your SONOFF is connected to the internet, it can pull real-time local weather reports to help you plan your heating and cooling more effectively.
Read and adjust your indoor temperature (and outdoor temperature)
We’ve all come home after a long day to find the house was too hot or too cold. Pre-set your home’s temperature to create a comfortable environment for when you return from work in the evening. You can set the day of the week and the times you want the temperature to change. It’s best to follow the weather for the week and set the air conditioner to kick on before harsh temperatures hit you in the afternoon. It’s always easier to maintain a cool home than to combat major indoor heat.
Control with Alexa and Google Assistant
Alexa and Google Assistant can both integrate with SONOFF. Connect this switch to your smart hub, and simply call out when you want to change the lights or temperature on the thermostat. This even works with Siri Shortcuts and Project Alice so that you can control your lights and temperature your way. Set up commands so that you can call out to your preferred assistant and shut off all the lights in the house as you go to bed. Think of all the time you’ll save.
A few downsides to keep in mind
SONOFF is designed to connect to other SONOFF devices, first and foremost. The list of compatible devices isn’t as extensive as other branded devices, although you’re paying a fraction of the cost. The multilingual settings aren’t complete. They don’t support many languages, so it’s best if English is your primary language at home. The only other major point to keep in mind is power consumption. It runs on 240 volts, up to 480 watts. It can drain a lot of power if you aren’t careful, so be sure you’re optimizing your lights, heating and cooling effectively to offset added costs. You may also like: 11 smart home gadgets you’ll actually use
