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Working with mains power is stupid. Don't do it if you can avoid it, especially if you don't know what you are doing.

You can get a small remote power switch for $100 or so.

Belkin WeMo is only $49 and programmable via IFTTT.

Edit: $45 on Amazon at present.

We've had success with a WeMo and this project: https://github.com/issackelly/wemo which lets you control the WeMo switch from within your local network. A quick python script to query the database for new users followed by calls to on() and off() works great.

There are remote-controlled RF switches for $20 for four. The Raspberry Pi can send RF signalss to these switches. Unfortunately, I don't have an oscilloscope to reverse-engineer the signal for mine, so the most I could manage to do is turn them off (but not on).

That's a very safe way of doing these things. If anyone else knows how I can reverse-engineer the signal, I'd appreciate it (I also want to make the Raspberry Pi open my garage door, same deal).

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