With winter approaching where I live in the southern US, I started brainstorming ways I could automate my home's heating with HomeKit. I already have smart thermostats (one from ecobee and a Nest bridged to HomeKit with Starling Home Hub). I like to use a stove in my living room because we have vaulted ceilings, so we lose a lot of heat from the floor vents. While there are a handful of Wi-Fi-based space heaters, none came from HomeKit. As with anything HomeKit related, there is usually a way through Homebridge, so that's what I did. HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and anything related to Apple's smart home framework. I bought the Govee Electric Space Heater because I found a Homebridge plug-in with good reviews and reasonably priced.

Once I got the heater in, I took it out of the box, installed the base (requires a Phillips screwdriver), then downloaded the Govee iPhone app to install it on my Wi-Fi. The app initially connects to the heater via Bluetooth and then walks you through the process of onboarding to your Wi-Fi. The Govee app works well, so even if you're not using Homebridge, it's still a great space heater with Wi-Fi. Since I use the HOOBS box for easy administration and installation of Homebridge, I logged into the portal and searched for a Govee plugin and found a great option. I added the plugin through HOOBS, and all I had to enter was my Govee email and password and the MAC address.

Within minutes, the Govee stove was in HomeKit and appeared as a fan. Unfortunately, HomeKit isn't set up to know what a heater is (something I hope comes in the future), but it's trivial to enable it with HOOBS and Homebridge. Using the Govee Heater in HomeKit The Govee Heater supports three different heating modes (low, medium and high), and the developer of the plug-in has integrated them into the HomeKit configuration. For example, you can choose between three levels to increase the power within the options to enable it. Why use Govee in HomeKit? The Govee app does a great job of letting you control the heating, including setting timers, but I like to use HomeKit automations for as many things as possible. For example, because I use a HomeKit-compatible thermostat, I can build an automation to run the heating for 30 minutes if the temperature in the house drops below 64 degrees.

I can't technically make that work without HomeKit. A big reason I love HomeKit is that I can make devices from different manufacturers work together in the Home app and with Siri and HomeKit automations. General Considerations If you're looking for a way to heat a small area with Wi-Fi and HomeKit, you'll love the Govee Smart Heater paired with HOOBS. While HomeKit does not natively support space heaters in the market, HOOBs has solved this problem. Now that it's gotten colder, I've enjoyed managing our living room heating through HomeKit. FTC: We use auto affiliate links that generate revenue. Lake. Check out Homekit.Blog on YouTube for more Apple news: