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I have at least 4 smart plugs in use, and they are:
1. hooked to my aquarium pump. I say "Alexa fish off" and it turns pump off so when I feed more of the food gets eaten. I have it programmed to turn back on after being off for 30min.
2. hooked to a downstairs bathroom febreze diffuser. It only turns off during night and during the weekday when nobody is home. Makes the cartridge last 3x as long
3. hooked to a heating pad under my dogs bed. I just say "Alexa bed on" or "off". We're gone during day, so this gives the dog a nice warm place to sleep. It's programmed to turn off automatically at night.
4. hooked to a heating tape on an semi-exposed house water supply line. When weather report has temp below 30F it turns on. When outside temp is over 35F it turns off.
5. Main family room I have a Kassa smart light switch. We rarely use the switch, just say "alexa lights on" or off. Or "Lights 20" for 20%
6. hooked to a webcam in my crawlspace looking into the sump pump bucket(to make sure sump is working). Everyone once in a while the camera needs to be rebooted... so I use the smart switch to do that. Previously I'd go to breaker box and flip breaker off/on... but that would cut power to a bunch of things like the TV.
When gone on vacation, I use smart plugs and light switches to turn lights on/off at different times.
I have background lights in a few rooms, corners, they go on timers when it gets dark, I have some on the door I come in, so when I come home at night it's not dark, again on timer, so they aren't on all day and all night.
You can also set them up when you are not home, to pretend you are at home.
I have one on my Nespresso, so it goes on when my morning alarm, I come down and the coffee machines is warm, no need to wait.
I have a couple of them on devices that I need to reboot often (like a media player or an old amazon tv that sometimes doesn't respond). I tell alexa to turn it off and on.
I have them on printers, so I don't need to keep printers on at all the times, I just ask alexa to turn the one I need on for me and then print (color on 1st floor, B/W on main floor. It's not just everything close by).
It still has on/off buttons built into it, so even that wouldn't work. $15 isn't a bad price for 2 smart plugs, and it would look much cleaner. I can think of a few things it would be useful for, we have a wax burner that my wife has connected to a smart plug, and it keeps the accent cabinet from going all the way back on the wall.
Oh, and 2 different lights setup for her makeup. I might have just talked myself into one. 😂😂
If you're wiring this into a circuit that already has a switch, spring for a smart switch.
Smart plugs aren't nearly as clean looking, but they're definitely cheaper and more flexible.
The only unique circumstance I could think of for this is if you have an Airbnb where you don't want guests bypassing the smart plug.
It still has on/off buttons built into it, so even that wouldn't work. $15 isn't a bad price for 2 smart plugs, and it would look much cleaner. I can think of a few things it would be useful for, we have a wax burner that my wife has connected to a smart plug, and it keeps the accent cabinet from going all the way back on the wall.
Oh, and 2 different lights setup for her makeup. I might have just talked myself into one. 😂😂
In for one for my kids lamp outlet, wonder if you can disable the onboard switches? Being able to see the status at least will be a start if she tries to manually turn it back on.
If you're wiring this into a circuit that already has a switch, spring for a smart switch.
Smart plugs aren't nearly as clean looking, but they're definitely cheaper and more flexible.
The only unique circumstance I could think of for this is if you have an Airbnb where you don't want guests bypassing the smart plug.
I could use one in our garage, replacing an outlet by the garage door. The low-voltage power supply for the outdoor lights has been running off a scheduled Wemo smart plug, but that's bulky and vulnerable to getting knocked out of the outlet. Having the smarts in the outlet would reduce the bulk of the external smart plug, and retain the other plug in the outlet for normal use or to separately schedule another plugged in item. Alas, no HomeKit support so this isn't a solution for us.
This is a strange product. If you're wiring this into a circuit that already has a switch, spring for a smart switch. Smart plugs aren't nearly as clean looking, but they're definitely cheaper and more flexible. The only unique circumstance I could think of for this is if you have an Airbnb where you don't want guests bypassing the smart plug.
I agree with @wheretheanykey the main reason people are giving is to reduce bulk from a smart switch. I assume that is valid, just not a mainstream use. Unclear if you can use it outdoors since even outdoors it would be in an waterproof enclosure. I've never seen an wall outlet that said it was outdoor rated.
I agree with @wheretheanykey the main reason people are giving is to reduce bulk from a smart switch. I assume that is valid, just not a mainstream use. Unclear if you can use it outdoors since even outdoors it would be in an waterproof enclosure. I've never seen an wall outlet that said it was outdoor rated.
Perhaps building norms are different where you reside, but every house I've ever been in have plenty of outlets not wired to a switch. This is an installed "permanent" solution versus the plug-in wall warts.
Serious question, what do people use smart plugs for? I use one seasonally for my xmas tree lights but can't really think of another use case for these.
I agree with @wheretheanykey the main reason people are giving is to reduce bulk from a smart switch. I assume that is valid, just not a mainstream use. Unclear if you can use it outdoors since even outdoors it would be in an waterproof enclosure. I've never seen an wall outlet that said it was outdoor rated.
Outdoor outlets need to be GFCI protected and weather rated, in addition to being enclosed.
Serious question, what do people use smart plugs for? I use one seasonally for my xmas tree lights but can't really think of another use case for these.
Outdoor outlets need to be GFCI protected and weather rated, in addition to being enclosed.
I was considering this for outdoors too… the temperature range is not bad, but the high temp of 104 seems a little low if it's in the sun. Everything should be in an enclosure and my GFCIs are wired in series. I am still worried about connecting this downstream on a GFCI… I have had things trip at times when they draw power all the time or some LEDs
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Serious question, what do people use smart plugs for? I use one seasonally for my xmas tree lights but can't really think of another use case for these.
I have background lights in a few rooms, corners, they go on timers when it gets dark, I have some on the door I come in, so when I come home at night it's not dark, again on timer, so they aren't on all day and all night.
You can also set them up when you are not home, to pretend you are at home.
I have one on my Nespresso, so it goes on when my morning alarm, I come down and the coffee machines is warm, no need to wait.
I have a couple of them on devices that I need to reboot often (like a media player or an old amazon tv that sometimes doesn't respond). I tell alexa to turn it off and on.
I have them on printers, so I don't need to keep printers on at all the times, I just ask alexa to turn the one I need on for me and then print (color on 1st floor, B/W on main floor. It's not just everything close by).
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1. hooked to my aquarium pump. I say "Alexa fish off" and it turns pump off so when I feed more of the food gets eaten. I have it programmed to turn back on after being off for 30min.
2. hooked to a downstairs bathroom febreze diffuser. It only turns off during night and during the weekday when nobody is home. Makes the cartridge last 3x as long
3. hooked to a heating pad under my dogs bed. I just say "Alexa bed on" or "off". We're gone during day, so this gives the dog a nice warm place to sleep. It's programmed to turn off automatically at night.
4. hooked to a heating tape on an semi-exposed house water supply line. When weather report has temp below 30F it turns on. When outside temp is over 35F it turns off.
5. Main family room I have a Kassa smart light switch. We rarely use the switch, just say "alexa lights on" or off. Or "Lights 20" for 20%
6. hooked to a webcam in my crawlspace looking into the sump pump bucket(to make sure sump is working). Everyone once in a while the camera needs to be rebooted... so I use the smart switch to do that. Previously I'd go to breaker box and flip breaker off/on... but that would cut power to a bunch of things like the TV.
When gone on vacation, I use smart plugs and light switches to turn lights on/off at different times.
Necessary? NOPE! But convienent.
You can also set them up when you are not home, to pretend you are at home.
I have one on my Nespresso, so it goes on when my morning alarm, I come down and the coffee machines is warm, no need to wait.
I have a couple of them on devices that I need to reboot often (like a media player or an old amazon tv that sometimes doesn't respond). I tell alexa to turn it off and on.
I have them on printers, so I don't need to keep printers on at all the times, I just ask alexa to turn the one I need on for me and then print (color on 1st floor, B/W on main floor. It's not just everything close by).
Oh, and 2 different lights setup for her makeup. I might have just talked myself into one. 😂😂
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If you're wiring this into a circuit that already has a switch, spring for a smart switch.
Smart plugs aren't nearly as clean looking, but they're definitely cheaper and more flexible.
The only unique circumstance I could think of for this is if you have an Airbnb where you don't want guests bypassing the smart plug.
Oh, and 2 different lights setup for her makeup. I might have just talked myself into one. 😂😂
If you're wiring this into a circuit that already has a switch, spring for a smart switch.
Smart plugs aren't nearly as clean looking, but they're definitely cheaper and more flexible.
The only unique circumstance I could think of for this is if you have an Airbnb where you don't want guests bypassing the smart plug.
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If you're wiring this into a circuit that already has a switch, spring for a smart switch.
Smart plugs aren't nearly as clean looking, but they're definitely cheaper and more flexible.
The only unique circumstance I could think of for this is if you have an Airbnb where you don't want guests bypassing the smart plug.
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You can also set them up when you are not home, to pretend you are at home.
I have one on my Nespresso, so it goes on when my morning alarm, I come down and the coffee machines is warm, no need to wait.
I have a couple of them on devices that I need to reboot often (like a media player or an old amazon tv that sometimes doesn't respond). I tell alexa to turn it off and on.
I have them on printers, so I don't need to keep printers on at all the times, I just ask alexa to turn the one I need on for me and then print (color on 1st floor, B/W on main floor. It's not just everything close by).
Join The Conversation
Share your experience with the Slickdeals community
Share information with the community. Please follow our Community Guidelines and be kind!