I’ve been using four WeMo Switch modules in my house for a few months now, and they work great for turning lights on and off on a program and for letting me manually control them from anywhere I have internet connectivity. Belkin isn’t resting on their laurels, though, and they have announced the WeMo Insight Switch, a new version that will also allow you to monitor energy usage. (It also looks smaller than the original Switch.) You’ll be able to see how much energy a device has consumed, tell if your kids are playing video games when they should be doing homework, or even get a notification when the washer has finished the cycle – all from your iOS or Android device. Belkin says the Insight Switch is “perfect to pair with space heaters, wall A/C units, TVs, washers, dryers, fans, or lights”, so you can see if you turned off the heater before you left home and turn it off, or turn it on five minutes before you get home, for example. You’ll be able to monitor which appliances are used most often, get notifications, and manually control the device from your smartphone. Of course, it will have all the programming features of the original Switch, too. The Insight Switch is coming soon, and it will be $59.99. You can sign up at Belkin’s site to be notifiied when the Insight Switch is available.
