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Wi-Fi Temperature Sensor (or Thermostat)
Window air conditioners have come a long way over the years, but many of us still stick with our trusty old models. They may not have Wi-Fi, remote access via an app, or built-in temperature sensors, but you can easily get all of these handy features on the cheap with just a few smart home devices.
Convenient smart plug
First off, you need a smart plug, but not just any smart plug. Window air conditioners can require more power than some smart plugs can safely provide. I found this out when my Samsung smart plug repeatedly shut off after the air conditioner had been running for a few minutes.
The solution I found was the $16 Kasa Outdoor Smart Plug. As the name suggests, it’s designed for outdoors, but you can of course use it indoors too. So far, I’ve been able to run my window air conditioner on its highest setting without the smart plug tripping.
Before buying a smart plug, there is one thing you should check: check if your window air conditioner has analog controls. This is important because a smart plug simply switches the power on and off, so it should be able to start up your air conditioner from the last state it was in when you plug it into the outlet without you having to start it manually.
Kasa Outdoor Smart Plug
Indoors or outdoors, this rugged, IP64-rated, weatherproof smart plug works anywhere. It has one 15A outlet and can be programmed to control just about anything.
Wi-Fi Temperature Sensor (or Thermostat)
All you need is a smart plug, and you can turn your air conditioner on and off from an app. But we have a better way than that, and depending on how far along you are in building your smart home, you might already have the second piece of the puzzle.
The idea here is to have your air conditioner automatically turn on when it reaches a certain temperature, and maybe even turn off at a certain temperature. This can be accomplished with a wireless temperature sensor, such as the $39 Govee WiFi Thermometer. Place the sensor in the same room as your air conditioner and you can easily track the temperature.
If you already have a smart thermostat at home, that can act as a temperature sensor. Or you can take a different approach like me. I have an ecobee smart thermostat, and using the SmartThings app, I can use the state of the device as a trigger for automation. So when my whole-house central AC comes on, I can tell my window AC unit to run for 10 minutes to make my bedroom more comfortable.
Govee WiFi Thermometer Hygrometer
Easily monitor real-time temperature and humidity data from anywhere. This WiFi thermometer provides accurate readings. Temperature accuracy is ±0.54℉/±0.3℃, humidity accuracy is ±3%RH.
Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced Edition
$160 $190 Save $30
The ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced is a smart thermostat that lets you control the temperature in your home with just a tap or command from your Apple smartphone.
Set up automation
There are lots of ways to automate this setup. The Google Home app is a popular choice, but it doesn’t have the automation options you need in this case. Instead, you can use the SmartThings app for iPhone or Android. Both the Kasa Smart Plug and Govee Temperature Sensor are SmartThings compatible, no hub required.
Once you have your account set up and signed in, you will need to add devices to your Home, which you can do via the plus icon (+) in the top corner of the Devices tab.
Next, go to the “Routines” tab and tap the plus icon in the corner again. The “If” part of the routine will be your temperature setting and the “Then” part will be turning on/off the smart plug connected to your air conditioner. Here are some examples of routines you can create:
I set mine to automatically turn off after 10 minutes, but you could easily create a second routine to turn your AC off when it reaches a certain temperature. Either way, you’ll save energy by not running your AC all day and night.
Smart home technology isn’t always about buying the latest Wi-Fi enabled gadgets. Adding basic smart features to existing devices can make them even more useful in your daily life.
