Introducing PlugHub Energy - a smart hub with a built-in control hub

Introducing the #EzloPlugHubEnergy, the first smart plug with a built-in control hub.

Now available for pre-order at an industry-changing price of $39.95.

Learn more: Ezlo Innovation Launches PlugHub Energy | Ezlo Smart Plug

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Brilliant work guys!!! Amazing product!

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Really failing to understand how this could be used. Could you tell people more of the reason why one would want a controller to be accessed through wifi only and inserted in a plug? I am just trying to grasp the concept here.

Its not just wifi, it has zwave as well, its like Ezlo Atom, full zwave and Wifi both but built into a smart plug…

I understand. What I mean is that it is only accessible through wifi. Why would you put a zwave controller in a zwave controlled plug which one can only access by wifi? I am having a hard time understanding how it can be used.

Because of its criticality to the system, a controller should not be relying on wifi alone. If it is, it will be too unreliable for home control and in my mind would become a gadget. That’s not to say there is no market for gadgets but now inserting it into a plug got me completely lost. Because you likely will want to control other devices from that controller and you only need one controller for many plugs, I don’t understand how you plan the network and what application this fills.

maybe i am missing the point…if this device is controlling zwave devices, then the protocol it will communicate is zwave…
if its controlling wifi devices…then it will use wifi…
Controller is not dependent on wifi to control zwave devices…if I set a scene…this goes into the hub/controller and stays there and its executed from there…

Well, it’s a smart home hub in the first place, and a damn affordable one(a regular z-wave plug-in module costs roughly the same). Now imagine that you can add one in every room, and each PlugHub can control z-wave devices in that area. Logic is all stored in locally in each PlugHub, so spotty wifi won’t be an issue, z-wave is meshed so that is covered as well. See where I’m going?

This is just one quick use case.

I have to say that I don’t get it either but I suspect it’s not aimed at us…

C

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I guess right now I see it as an Atom that doesn’t block an outlet but that is outside the context of EzLo’s vision and strategy. One could surmise that low-cost federated hubs/controllers could be a brilliant vision / strategy.

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Hit the nail on the head!
And all those controllers come with a brand promise that they will work with every device the protocols support!

I know it is a zwave controller. My first point is that the fact that it does not have ethernet and only relies on wifi for access is in itself a liability and it is already what ezlo has done with the atom. It is likely not aimed at us but towards the entry level market, people who will have a very small gadgety setup and won’t be really relying on it for anything serious or critical.
My second point was a question and I still don’t understand why you would put a controller on a plug which is something the controller is supposed to control. There is such an asymmetry in numbers: one controller vs multiple devices, that I don’t know how one would implement this. You would only buy one of this plugs, and then multiple other devices? meaning different plugs? Or are you envisioning having all these controllers setting up multiple independent networks which would then be themselves controlled by another master controller?

There is plenty of low cost controller out there already and cost of the controller is really negligible compared to the rest of the home control setup. Making the controller more capable and powerful is more important than making cheap. In the US you can easily get zwave+zigbee controllers for <$50. I would rather pay $200 for a much better controller in my $1000-$2000 setup.

ethernet based controllers are coming…watch this space…
You can have one controller multiple devices…
as well as we are working on getting multiple controllers under one account to operate as one…

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Eloquently put. I’d like to see plugs without controllers at the $30 mark. Otherwise you end up buying a load of controllers you just don’t need…

But your way is better :smiley:
C

So you get multiple plug/hubs setup with multiple Zwave meshes going, all reporting to the same account…via CLOUD. Eliminating any direct association for a device on the opposite side of your house from an originating plug due to the gaps of a true mesh.

I get the business model and it might be successful. Though, this probably isn’t for 95% of those on this forum and more for people wanting to automate a small apartment.

Somehow get the multiple meshes working together free of any internet access and I’ll pay more attention.

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Congratulations on the launch. I guess this is aimed at consumers just getting started in home automation. I’m still waiting on the next improvement to VeraPlus…something with S2 compatibility.

Ok, let me see what we can do :wink:

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Some of us on this forum are already doing just this… It’s called openLuup by @akbooer. We have one central controller coordinating multiple vera controllers without cloud but with a local server.

I happen to have a Blue Iris server going 24/7, so I really should consider this. I do pay attention to the threads on it… just never pulled the trigger yet.

but to give this capability natively built into the hub is more interesting…