IFTTT is an app and web portal that you may or may not have heard of, but if you haven't or you don't yet use it, you should start. The service works on the basic statement: If This Then That and there are numerous smarthome systems, products and devices that are compatible with it, as well as social media, fitness trackers and various other apps.

In short, the idea is that you create recipes within the IFTTT app or on the website that join elements of your life together and make something happen, based on something else having happened, or taking place. For example, your heating coming on when the sun sets. You can read all about IFTTT and how to create a recipe in our IFTTT explained feature.

There are countless recipes that you can create, whether it be having your Philips Hue lights flash when you receive a Facebook notification, or something simpler like automatically saving all Gmail attachments to Dropbox. In this feature however, we are looking at how IFTTT can help make your home life smarter and simpler so here are ten recipes to start you off.

Keep in mind that these are just a snippet of the possibilities of IFTTT and its compatible products and there are hundreds more recipes out there so let us know in the comments if there are any you have already discovered that you love.

1. If Current Condition Changes To Cloudy, Then Enable A Quick Action

The Honeywell Single Zone Thermostat and Honeywell Evohome are both compatible with IFTTT and users can choose from various existing recipes, or create their own.

This particular recipe is useful for those that live in countries with temperamental weather conditions. It's all well and good when the sun is shining, but when cloud appears, sometimes some extra warmth is needed. This recipe will detect the weather conditions and enable a quick action on your Single Zone Thermostat.

2. Set To Away And Turn Your Philips Hue Bulbs Off

This recipe links heating and lighting, but requires you in this instance to have Google's Nest Smart Learning Thermostat and Philips Hue connected lights. You could also set this kind of recipe up if you had Honeywell and Belkin's WeMo Switch for example, or a combination of other compatible devices.

It does exactly what you would expect, when you turn your Nest thermostat into Away mode, your lights will all turn off. Perfect for the holiday season.

3. When I Arrive At Home, Turn On My Lights

For those that have a Belkin WeMo Motion Sensor and Philips Hue lighting, this clever little recipe will make sure you walk in to your house and never have to fumble for the light switch again.

If after 30 minutes of silence motion is detected by the WeMo motion sensor, your lights will turn on automatically. Could also be useful if you need to go downstairs in the middle of the night for a drink of water or pop to the toilet, depending on where you place your sensor or sensors.

4. When I Wake Up, Turn My Lights On

This recipe connects the Jawbone Up24 fitness tracker to Belkin's WeMo Switch and like the others, requires you to have both these products of this recipe to work. You should be able to recreate a recipe with a different activity tracker however, with Misfit and Fitbit both offering devices that are compatible.

In this instance, as Jawbone Up24 detects your sleep like many other activity trackers do, it will then trigger the Belkin WeMo Switch to turn on the light plugged into the Switch.

5. Sun's Out, Heating Off!

Chances are if the sun is out, you don't want to be sitting in a warm house, or coming home to a warm house. This recipe is linked to Honeywell's Evohome smart heating system.

The recipe will act as an automatic trigger for Evohome to select "heating off" as the summer approaches, or a sunny period is taking place.

6. Fitbit Sleep Logging Turns On Coffee Machine

Just like recipe number four listed above, this particular recipe links a fitness tracker to a smart home device. In this case, rather than Jawbone it is Fitbit. 

You may need to open the Fitbit app for this recipe to trigger, but when you wake up, the recipe will automatically turn on the Belkin WeMo plug that your coffee machine is plugged into. You could also make it turn on an iron or another device however so this recipe can easily be customised.

7. If I Add A Photo To Instagram, Then Change My Lights To Match Its Colours

This recipe links social media platform Instagram to Philips Hue smart lighting and it does exactly as you would guess - changes your lighting to reflect the colours within the image you have just uploaded.

It's possible to do this within the Philips Hue app alone, but this is a more fun way to do it. Upload a picture of a sunset when you get home and see your living room turn into a mix of lovely warm colours to recreate the tones.

8. Alarm Clock Phone Call

Most of us have missed an alarm in our lives, whether we forgot to set one or we slept through it and woke up sometime after we should have done in blind panic. This recipe aims to cure that by offering you a hotel-style wake-up call.

You can change the wake up time to whatever time suits you and when that time arrives, you will get a call to wake you up. You just have to remember to add the recipe in the first place.

9. Turn My Sprinklers Off With WeMo Maker If It Rains

Belkin's WeMo Maker is a device that allows you to control low-voltage electronic devices using your smartphone or tablet and it can connect to nearly any device controlled with a DC switch, such as a sprinkler.

This recipe is to ensure your garden doesn't end up a giant puddle and prevents you wasting water by switching your sprinkler system off via the WeMo Maker, when rain is forecast.

10. If Motion Is Detected In My Homeboy Location, Turn My Philips Hue Bulbs Red

Finally, this recipe requires you to have a Homeboy smart home camera and Philips Hue connected bulbs, but as we have mentioned previously, a recipe similar could be created with other compatible products.

As you can probably guess, this recipe will turn your Hue bulbs red if motion is detected by your Homeboy camera so it could act as a great deterrent if you have an intrusion.