The Aliste Blog
Practical guides on smart metering, sub-metering, prepaid billing and home automation for property owners, PG operators and co-living managers.
Smart Switches Explained: How Smart Home Automation Works Without Rewiring
What a smart switch actually is, and the two very different ways to get one.
Access ControlThe Case for Smart Locks in PGs and Rental Properties
Why PG operators and rental owners are switching to keypad, fingerprint, OTP and app-based access.
Access ControlSmart Locks for Your Home: Why Keyless Entry Makes Sense
No spare keys, no lost keys - keypad, fingerprint, OTP, app and face-unlock for your own front door.
Sub-MeteringThe Complete Guide to Smart Sub-Metering for Rentals & PGs
Everything property owners, PG operators and co-living managers need to know about smart sub-metering: how it works, what it costs, and how it changes tenant billing.
Metering BasicsPrepaid vs Postpaid Electricity Meters: Which Is Better?
A practical comparison of prepaid and postpaid electricity metering for landlords, PG operators and co-living managers.
Metering BasicsWhat Is a Sub-Meter and How Does It Work?
What a sub-meter is, how it wires into your existing connection, and how it changes tenant billing.
CostsSmart Meter Installation Cost in India: What to Know
What drives smart and sub-meter installation cost, and how zero-upfront subscription models change the economics.
Landlord TipsHow Landlords Can Stop Chasing Tenants for Electricity Bills
Why manual electricity bill-splitting breaks down at scale, and how prepaid sub-metering removes landlords from tenant collection.
Behavior & SavingsWhy Seeing Your Electricity Usage in Real Time Cuts How Much You Use
The behavioral research - from Oxford's feedback studies to a 600,000-household field experiment - behind visibility and lower electricity use.
Behavior & SavingsDoes Sub-Metering Reduce Electricity Use? What the Research Shows
What peer-reviewed and government studies say about individual metering versus shared, split bills.
Landlord TipsCommon Area Electricity Billing: How to Split Shared Costs Fairly
How PGs and apartments can fairly split electricity for shared kitchens, laundries and corridors by metering common circuits separately.
EngineeringSecuring IoT Communication with MQTT: Encryption, Authentication and Data Integrity
How encryption, per-device authentication, topic-level authorization and payload integrity checks make Aliste's device communication tamper-proof.
EngineeringOAuth2 and RBAC: Why Every Enterprise Dashboard Needs Both
Why token-based authentication and role-based access control are baseline requirements for any enterprise dashboard.
EngineeringHow Aliste Turns a Meter's Relay Back On the Instant a Recharge Clears, Over MQTT
How an MQTT command channel lets a meter's relay close the instant a prepaid recharge clears - no polling, no waiting.
EngineeringHow Time-Based OTP Unlocks an Aliste Smart Lock Without an Internet Connection
How a shared secret and a clock let a smart lock verify a one-time code with no network call, and generate one from anywhere in the world.
EngineeringHow Aliste Ships React Native App Updates Over the Air
How a signed JS bundle, a staged rollout and instant rollback let most app changes reach a phone without app store review - and where that boundary stops.
