The WeMo Smart Outlet (Smart Home Series, Part 5)

The WeMo Alexa-Compatible Smart Outlet,  Part 1
(Smart Home Series, Part 5)
Building a Smart Home with Alexa and WeMo

Learn to Set Up Your Wemo Smart Outlet
And Voice Control It, Using your Amazon Echo or Dot

This is part 5 in a series about building an Alexa-Powered Smart Home without breaking the bank.  It is a continuation of our in-depth course on using Alexa and the Amazon Echo family of devices.  Our last three parts discussed using the Alexa app, discovering all it can do, and setting it up to best work for you. (Links to the previous parts of this series can be found in the sidebar.)  Now, we are going to talk about using Alexa to control third party devices, starting with Smart Outlets.  And today, we're specifically going to talk about the WeMo Family of Smart Outlets. We'll walk you through setting up a WeMo Mini Smart Outlet, and pairing it with Alexa and your Echo device.

What is a Smart Outlet?

Simply put, a Smart Outlet is one that can be controlled remotely.  Early Smart Outlets came with their own remote controls, and using that, you could toggle the outlet state. As technology developed, they through WiFi into the mix. Now, you can still find outlets that come with their own remotes. But they are of little utility in a modern Smart Home.  Today, you want an outlet that can be controlled via WiFi or Cellular Data, from either inside or outside your house. It is this type of Smart Outlet we will be discussing in this post.

So in other words, Smart Outlets add WiFi and Remote control to standard outlets, and by extension, to your existing appliances.  Whatever you plug into a Smart Outlet becomes a Smart Device, capable of being controlled remotely, from your couch, car, or office. And if that device is a WeMo, it means you've added Alexa voice control to that device as well.