Check Out Oakter Smart Home Kit

The internet of things era is upon us, with Apple, Amazon and Google each vying for a piece of your smart home pie. Try to shop around for smart home components — you know, to switch on the geyser or lights as you wake up and start up the air conditioner as you’re pulling up into the driveway — and you’ll soon realise how expensive and fragmented the market still is. Yet, the charm of getting basic home automation in undeniable, and that’s where Noida-based Oakter comes in.

For as little as Rs 5,699, Oakter sets you up with a basic smart home kit, which includes a hub to control a range of smart plugs, the latter serving as smart adapters to control power to any connected device or appliance. The somewhat pricier Smart Home Kit (Rs 11,999) I looked at included the Oakter Hub, one 6amp and 16amp Leaf plug each, a 25 amp air conditioner smart box, along with a wireless remote to control these devices for when the smartphone isn’t within reach. Of these, only the AC box requires the help of an electrician for installation, which means that the rest of the kit is pretty much plug-and-play and doesn't need an advanced degree in electrical engineering!

To get the system up and running, all you need to do is download the Oakter app from the Android/iOS app store and use the app to connect the hub to the wireless network and connect to each of the Leaf plugs.

The Oakter Hub can control up to 50 Leaf plugs, and once you pair your smartphone to the hub, you can access the Hub and control the connected appliances on the go. You can even set schedules and time delays for each appliance, so that the geyser in the master bathroom can be switched on at 7am each day and turned off after say 20 minutes of use. With each additional 6amp Leaf plug setting you back by only Rs 1620, Oakter makes a compelling proposition for folks looking to set up their ‘somewhat-smart’ home without breaking the bank. The only discernible downside is that the Leaf plugs are a tad boxy and occupy a fair bit of space, so they’re not suited for cramped environments.