A smart home your
parents can actually use.
Most smart homes assume everyone lives on their phone. Lumos starts from the switch on the wall: your parents touch it the way they always have, ask Alexa if they like, and you keep an eye on the geyser and AC from wherever you are.
Lumos smart switches by meshams work like normal switches by touch, even without Wi-Fi, switch on and off by voice with Alexa or Google Home, and let family members in another city check and switch the home from the meshams app.
Nothing new to learn
A Lumos panel sits in the same place as the old switchboard, and each key does the same job: one light, one fan, one socket. A light touch on the glass switches it. It doesn't depend on the internet, so it works the same on a day the Wi-Fi is down.
For anyone who doesn't want to get up, there's voice. Alexa and Google Home switch each key on and off.
"Everyone has been very much accustomed to using remotes. The voice assistants also help any elderly in the family who is not that tech-savvy. They can just ask Alexa or Google."
You can check from anywhere
The meshams app can hold more than one home. Your parent makes an invite code in their app, you enter it in yours, and their home sits next to your own: every room, every key, on or off.
"When you're late and rushing to work, sometimes you forget you had to switch off the geyser. In those moments you can go to the mobile app and check whether the geyser is on."
- Invite codes have 6 characters and work for 24 hours.
- Switch any key in their home from your phone, in any city.
- A geyser goes on the Single Switch 16A, made for heavy loads.
A few things that look after themselves
The geyser switches itself off
A Multi timed action switches the geyser on at a set time and off after the minutes you choose.
Smart geyser switch →The fan follows the room
With a meshams sensor in the room, the fan comes on when it gets warmer than the level you set, and goes off when it cools.
Smart fan regulator →A power cut changes nothing
When the power comes back, every key returns to how it was. Nobody has to walk round resetting switches.
Power cuts →The AC can be switched on from your phone too, through the SkyWalker IR remote in the app, so the room is cool before anyone walks in.
Safe to have around
No meshams product has a camera, so there is nothing in your parents' home that records them. Only people they invite can control the home from the app. More on smart home security.
Lumos fits the existing switch boxes and needs a neutral wire in the box. Most homes built after 2010 have one; in an older house an electrician may need to bring one in first.
Kanishk on smart homes for parents. The full conversation is on our podcast page.
Smart home for parents: your questions.
Do my parents need a smartphone to use it?
No. A Lumos panel works like a normal switch: a light touch on the glass turns a light or fan on or off, and it keeps working even when the Wi-Fi is down. The app and voice are extras, not requirements.
Can I control my parents' home from another city?
Yes. Your parent (or whoever set up their home) makes a 6-character invite code in the meshams app, and you enter it in "Join a home". One account can hold several homes, so you switch between yours and theirs in a tap.
What if they forget the geyser on?
Open the app from wherever you are, see whether it is on, and switch it off. You can also set a Multi timed action so the geyser switches itself off after the minutes you choose. The geyser goes on the Single Switch 16A, made for heavy loads.
Can they switch things on and off by voice?
Yes, with Alexa or Google Home: "Alexa, turn off the bedroom light." Voice switches each key on and off; the fan speed is set on the panel or in the app.
What happens in a power cut?
When the power comes back, every key returns to the state it was in, so nobody has to go round resetting switches.