Smart home technology has come a long way since the early days of wired, wall-mounted controls. Smart assistants and Wi-Fi allow seamless, near-instant control of lights, blinds, locks, and more — but the technology is still constrained by the need for a power cable.
Even the most elegant design can be damaged if you have to run a conspicuous wire through a wall or floor. On the other hand, there are a number of smart home companies that break the mold by producing devices that don’t require power cables or batteries.
Senic is one of the few companies implementing this technology, and they already produce several pieces of smart home technology that provide new levels of control over your devices.
Part of the reason behind this is the freedom of arrangement. You don’t need to place the switch on the wall or near an outlet to control it if the switch doesn’t need power. Here are a few examples of the best smart home technology that doesn’t need electricity to power it.
The Friends of Hue Smart Switch is a smart switch that only works with Philips Hue lights. Although this limitation is unfortunate, the actual operation of the switch is near perfect. The smart switch comes with an adhesive mount that allows you to place it anywhere, but it can also be placed inside existing System 55 chassis.
Inside the Friends of Hue Smart Switch is a small generator that generates enough power from a single press to broadcast a wireless signal. That signal can turn your lights on and off, trigger specific scenes, and even dim them. You connect Friends of Hue Smart Switch through the Philips Hue app.
A “smart switch” to control your lights can feel like fully developed technology; After all, it’s a switch like your wall switch. The difference is that you can place it anywhere in the house, even on the side of the couch. For quick, simple control of Philips Hue lights, it’s hard to beat this smart switch.
Nuimo Click is very similar to Friends of Hue Smart Switch. It’s a rare piece of smart home technology that powers itself. Instead of just controlling your Philips Hue lights, it can also control your Sonos speakers.
You can change songs, turn up and down the volume, and easily access three of your favorite channels. It has the same controls for Philips Hue lights, allowing you to control brightness, wattage, and access three of your favorite scenes with the touch of a button.
The only part of Nuimo Click that needs power is the Center. Once connected to your network, the Hub can support up to ten Clicks from up to 30 meters away. Like Friends of Hue Switch, Nuimo Click can be placed anywhere or inside existing frames.
The fact that the Nuimo Click requires a hub has a slight downside, as the Friends of Hue Smart Switch doesn’t—and the addition of the hub increases the cost of the device by a large chunk, bringing it to $180. for the Starter. You can purchase additional Nuimo Click devices for $70 each.
Nuimo Click comes in black and white color options. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing smart home technology out there, but it does benefit me for quick control over unnecessary lights all the time.
Nuimo Control does not, strictly speaking, have no power. It requires charging via a micro-USB cable, but a single charge can last three to eight months. Once charged, the device can be placed almost anywhere in the house.
It grants control of up to three groups of smart speakers and smart lights. You can also mix and match groups of controls between lights and smart speakers.
Nuimo Control also has one of the most flexible mounting options of any device. It has a magnetic base and a wall mount that allows you to attach it to any surface. In addition, Nuimo Control has dozens of identification points inside that help you precisely control any smart device in your home.
All of these smart home devices are power-free (or power-free) and provide users with more convenient options for where to place their devices in the home. Senic does this through a type of technology called EnOcean that “harves” energy. It uses the kinetic energy of the push of a button to generate enough power to send a wireless signal.
Although it is not widely used, as EnOcean technology begins to develop, smart home technology has the potential to bring even more convenience over time.
