Now if anyone has been around me for longer than 45 seconds, they would know that I am a card carrying vigilante member of the BeyHive. Much to your delight, or chagrin, this post is not about Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter. As a Hive brand ambassador, I was given their smart home products to review. All opinions and awful dad jokes are my own.
As an uber connected, tech savvy millennial, I am constantly in search of ways to use technology work for me. Even as a child, I definitely had dreams of growing up and being able to own my own set of clap on lights, as seen on sitcom TV. What I didn’t account for as a child was not being good at math and science and having to change majors from Industrial Engineering to Marketing, thus delaying my acceleration on the path to affluence. All that to say, millennial life isn’t lucrative as I expected it to be but my desire to control electricity and appliances with minimal effort did not go away.
Enter Hive. Hive provides you with everything you need to control your thermostat, lighting, and appliances, for a super affordable monthly payment. You can choose from three plans, based on the size of your home and electricity needs.
In my Hive package, I received a Hive Hub, 2 Hive Active Lights™, 2 Hive Active Plugs™, 2 Window/Door Sensors™ and a Hive Active Thermostat™. (Similar to the Standard Plan.) All of my Hive products are connected to the Hive app and online dashboard, allowing me to manage my home on the couch or on the go.
So how can you use the Hive products? Let me count the ways.
–Making sure the lights aren’t on all day while at work. I am not a morning person by any means, so I am always rushing out the door to make it to work at a reasonable time. Now, I just usher myself out, lock the door and turn the Hive Active lights off while in one smooth-ish move.
–Switching the light temperature for optimal sleep conditions. So everyone keeps saying that white light is not good for your internal clock and stop staring at your phone before bed and blah blah blah. While I haven’t yet mastered the art of unplugging, I at the very least set my phone to night light. Since the Hive Active Lights allow you to dim your lights and change the temperature from cool to warm, I schedule a “night light” at 10 pm that is a warm temperature and slightly dimmed. That way I can spend an hour reading or doing something relaxing to prep for maximum snoozes. Additionally, I schedule a “morning light” at *mutters optimal wake up time for someone who should be at work somewhere between 8:30 and 8:45* with cool light to trick my brain into think it’s go time. In my feeble, fake scientific backed mind, I think this gives me cues to become a better sleeper and waker with a set routine.
–Making tea/coffee from bed. With the Active Plug™, you can at least get the party started by turning on the kettle or coffee machine with your app.
–Turning on the lights when on vacay. Call me paranoid but this was like one of the first uses I thought of when I installed my lights. Similarly, the window and door sensors are a handy way to sooth my light paranoia from watching way too much Criminal Minds.
–Save money on heating/cooling by setting schedules with the Hive thermostat. Because Texas is too hot to not run the air, but you don’t want the air conditioner on 10 while you’re at work.
-Connect anything you might forget to turn off with the Active Plug™. This is great for heatable objects like irons or hot hair tools flat irons and curling irons. That way you always have the peace of mind that they are off.
–Setting the mood with Hive products in tandem. For instance, you can set your Active Plug™ in tandem with the Door Sensor to greet you at home with some music. Sounds a little cheesy, but who doesn’t want to welcomed with smooth tunes on a record player as soon as they get home?
-Of course, if you insist on being practical, you can also have your light come on once you open the door. It is a smart home after all.
Best of all, the Hive products are easy to install and implement! Literally, I am tech savvy but not handy, so I always advocate for things that don’t take much gumption to set up. To learn more about Hive and their solutions for a smart home, visit their website or check them out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
