Simple Under Cabinet Lighting

Under-cabinet lighting can improve the functionality and look of your kitchen. With today’s LED light strips, installing them is a breeze. The most challenging part is finding the power to conceal your power plug. If you already have a plug inside your cabinets for your microwave or behind your fringe, using an existing outlet makes this a great DIY weekend project. If you have to add power inside a cabinet, you may need additional assistance.

I decided to use some affordable LED lights strips from Amazon. They had good reviews and multiple options on how they could be connected. In total, my kitchen took nine LED light strips. I also purchased three extra lights to use as replacements in the future if any of them go bad. This kit comes in soft white and daylight, so make sure you get the right color to match your existing lights. I also used an extension power plug to join lights over a gap.

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Turn Your Dumb Air Conditioner Into A Smart Air Conditioner

Recently I moved into a house that has a Diakin mini-split system (FTX12NMVJU / RX12NMVJU) in the bonus room. Mini-splits are known for being extremely energy efficient but unfortunately, I was not able to remotely control the unit on a schedule as I did with my Ecobee smart thermostats, so unless I remembered to manually turn the unit off at night, it would run for no reason. Definitely a first-world problem. I research options Diakin offered. From what I could find, the only option to turn the dumb unit into a smart unit was to by a Daikin Wireless Adapter that required taking the unit apart. Not to mention, the wireless unit cost around $165 so I started searching for other options. Read More

Smart Light Switches

Ever wanted to control a light switch on a schedule? What about turning them on when your Wyze camera detects motion?  Smart light switches are great for automating lights on different schedules, voice commands, and other events such as motion from cameras. Most smart switches work with Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT. If you prefer Siri on iOS, make sure you pick one that supports Homekit. Surprisingly they are affordable at around $20. Read More