Keeping an eye on fridge supplies
Smarter Fridge Cam From €55, smarter.am ★★★
The Department of the Environment tells us that on average, every household in Ireland is responsible for 117kg of food waste per year. The cost of this per family is between €400 and €1,000. As always, there’s a tech solution. The Fridge Cam from Smarter is a smart home device aimed at helping families cut down on food waste as well as shopping smarter.
This new version of the Fridge Cam is a neat size at only 7cms across and 4cms deep. It’s rechargeable, via a USB socket, and needs to be charged up for six hours before use.
It connects via Wi-Fi to your home network and to do this you’ll need to download the free Smarter AM app. An important consideration is that the Fridge Cam and many smart home devices like it need to use the 2.4Ghz band, which many newer home broadband routers do not have enabled by default.
Once connected, I needed to position the camera in my fridge. It’s crucial that you get this right, as you need it where it can capture the entire contents. I found the best spot to be on the milk rack, angled down 30 degrees.
The Fridge Cam works by capturing an image every time the fridge is closed. When you’re out of the house at the supermarket, you can then view the picture to see what you need.
It also allows you to set up an inventory of what’s in your fridge, while the best-before dates can be noted if something needs to be used. Also, the app can be trained to track items in your fridge, so if they are removed and used they get added to your shopping list.
UK supermarkets have started to provide integration with the app allowing for automated scanning, and it would be wonderful to see Irish supermarkets following suit.
While the Fridge Cam is not just a gimmick, it isn’t hugely smart. However, for the price and ease of use it is useful, even if just to check that you have milk at home.
THE APP CAN BE TRAINED TO TRACK ITEMS IN YOUR FRIDGE SO COOL: The Fridge Cam will take a picture every time you close the door