10 IFTTT Recipes for Lower Utility Bills

The advent of the connected home has made our lives easier and more efficient. Convenience and ease-of-use aside, these technologies have also changed how we manage resources such as water and energy.

With IFTTT (“if this then that”), the ways in which these devices work with one another and other software applications can be easily specified by the average homeowner. This allows for harmony between these devices, and ultimately, a more efficient home.

Below are 10 IFTTT recipes that lend to a more efficient home, and ultimately, savings on your utility bill!


1. Log your electricity usage
Add the total amount of energy used from a WeMo Plug to a Google Calendar or Google Doc so you can better manage your energy use and find where the biggest opportunities to cut back are.
Required device: WeMo Switch

2. Skip watering if it’s too windy
High winds result in quicker evaporation and water not making down to the plants you’re trying to water. Postpone watering your yard when winds are too high.
Required Device: Rachio Iro

3. Turn a device off after it’s been on for “x” minutes
Forget to turn off that light all the time? Wish you could put it on a timed cycle? Put a time limit on any device’s energy use.
Required Device: WeMo Insight Switch

4. Stop AC from running if it’s cool outside
Weather changing quicker than your thermostat can adjust for? Turn off your Air Conditioning if it’s below a certain temperature outside and let mother nature cool your house for you.
Required Device: Nest Thermostat

5. Turn off the lights when I leave the house
Let this recipe make sure all your lights are off when you leave for the day.
Required Device: WeMo Light Switch

6. When UV index rises above 10, turn off the lights
Let the sunshine in! Let this recipe turn off your lights when the sun is shining bright to save energy and get some vitamin D as a bonus.
Required Device: WeMo Switch

7. Delay watering your garden if it’s going to rain
Make sure any rain at all delays your watering schedules with this recipe.
Required Device: Rachio Iro

8. Cut the AC some slack when it gets too hot
When it’s blazing hot out give your AC a break by adjusting up the target temperature a bit. Even just a degree or two can save a lot of energy.
Required Device: Nest Thermostat

9. Turn off my holiday lights when it reaches 1:00 AM
Set your festive holiday decorations to turn off at 1:00 AM so you don’t waste energy all night long. No confusing nobs or dials required!
Required Device: WeMo Insight Switch

10. Track watering in a Google Spreadsheet
Track every time your sprinklers water in a Google Sheet so you know exactly how often they’ve run and where you might be able to cut back.
Required Device: Rachio Iro

Putting the Smart Sprinkler in the Cloud

When discussing the Rachio smart controller, we often say that we’ve taken the brains of the sprinkler controller and placed them in the cloud. This approach allows us to constantly develop and evolve the controller, with intelligence exceeding commercial offerings costing thousands (or even tens of thousands) of dollars. In addition, this allows our users (you!) to view and manage your device(s) from anywhere in the world.

Software folks like to throw around the term “cloud” pretty loosely, but what does it actually mean? According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology:

Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

Ok… how about something a little easier to understand?

...cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of your computer's hard drive (PC Mag).

In other words, the cloud is about remote storage of data versus local storage. A few examples demonstrating this include:

• In real-time, seeing which zones are running, and how much water is being used/saved from your phone or desktop.
• Receiving a notification that a schedule has been skipped versus turning off your controller manually when it rains.
• Switching weather stations on-the-fly via your phone versus installing expensive on-site weather stations or rain gauges.
• Providing your landscaper with shared access to the app versus staying home from work to let them in the garage.

All of this is possible because of the cloud, and we're always looking for ways in which we can develop new features from this functionality.