Yes, 'toggle' on then off would be great. Alternatively it'd be great to have the Belkin Wemo schedule option of "Turn off after xx minutes yy seconds after turning on". Not sure why TP doesn't offer that (without a $200 router being added!)

IFTTT wouldn't be a good choice if the timing is critical - the internet can introduce delays. It needs to be done locally. $200 does seem like a lot, but since the request was for "any help", AutomationManager does this (and may other things) locally and easily for less than $40 all in (instead of a router you run a low end android device as the controller).

thanks for the replies. I think for the time being I've managed to get round this by using stringify

What is Automation Manager...?

If you click my name in my post above you'll see more info. It's basically a hub/server that runs on android, provides automation and remote access but acts on the devices locally instead of via a cloud (unlike tplink, ifttt, stringify, etc).

Automation manager does seem interesting having looked into it.Any chance you are looking to support energenie products?

I am planning to seek funding for adding new devices - yeelight, lifx, and leviton are the next ones on the list. Energenie isn't there yet - it'll depend whether they'll provide a public local wifi API. The main goal of AutomationManager is to run your home automation by bypassing the manufactures' cloud.