Amazon introduces its Dash Button to order much needed goods. But there are alternatives. Two of them are bt.tn and flic.
bt.tn and flic are just what the name suggests: connected push buttons that can trigger actions. Together with IFTTT they can trigger a growing number of services. Relating to the connectivity bt.tn and flic differ.
The bt.tn has built-in internet connectivity and needs no smartphones or apps to pair with. Flic uses a Bluetooth low energy connection to an Android or iOS smart phone and the flic app for network connection.
These offers are interesting to experiment with. But, we can build such an IoT Button by yourself and save a lot of money.
D1 mini combined with an 1-Button shield is one solution. You can buy both for $ 4.99 from Aliexpress.
IFTTT offers channels for bt.tn and flic. IFTTT’s Maker Channel allows you to connect IFTTT to your personal projects like this IoT Button.
This time my IoT Button sends a Twitter Direct Message after pressing it. It’s a starting point to test the mechanism.
The configuration of IFTTT is well documented and should be no problem.
For a door contact application step-by-step instructions for IFTTT setup are in my book “IoT Node for les than 15 $”.
This time I work on reducing power consumption to get a battery-powered solution.
CK NodeMCU 
The button press doesn’t trigger a time sensitive event though, does it?
I’m working on a similar application, where I want to use the button press as a light switch for Smart Light Bulbs. Problem is, if I put it into deep sleep and start it back up, it still takes around 3s until the command to the bulb is actually sent (Establishing connection to WLAN takes up the majority here). 3s are quite annoying when you enter a dark room and expect light as soon as you press the button.
Do you have any suggestions for me to reduce the power consumption in my case?
The general concept is to mount it where the actual light switch is… I thought about drawing power from the actual light switch, but I’m unsure whether that’s a good idea.
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You should avoid to go to deep sleep. If you stay connected then you will have no startup time and the switch is working immediately.
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