expiredphoinix | Staff posted Oct 01, 2025 07:06 AM
Item 1 of 4
Item 1 of 4
expiredphoinix | Staff posted Oct 01, 2025 07:06 AM
Prime Members: Kasa Smart Plug Power Strip w/ 6 Smart Outlets & 3 USB Ports
+ Free Shipping$35
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https://github.com/python-kasa/python-kasa
https://www.home-assistant.io/int...ns/tplink/
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I have a OPEN store faux neon sign that is USB powered. Would like it to turn on and off automatically at 9a and 5p store hours.
TIA
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I heard these don't need to talk to the cloud. Is there any truth to it?
If used as provided it does need the cloud. And used it for years that way. But a year ago I got a Green controller that has Home Assistant installed. The device costs around $100. Home Assistant can control a rather broad list of smart home systems purely on your LAN. Beyond Kasa. My Yamaha receiver, my Synology storage systems.
https://www.home-assistant.io/green/
In order to do that, you have to prevent the smart device itself from connecting to any servers outside your local network, aka LAN (home, office, whatever). (Virtually) All modern routers have built-in traffic control mechanisms with which you can control what kinds of networks the devices using them can access.
At its simplest, you can set up a mechanism called MAC-filtering with which the router then, for example, lets your smart devices connect to other local devices (e.g. your machine running Home Assistant, on a mini PC, Raspberry Pi or similar) but it will not let them connect to any remote servers that are not part of your LAN.
So, you'll most likely have to let the smart device connect to its manufacturer's servers once during setup, but after that can run them in local-/LAN-only mode. I've got well over two dozen Kasa devices in our house, and not a single one of them has ever connected to TP-Link's servers after their initial setup. As long as your smart device is supported by your smart home management software (e.g. Home Assistant), I don't see why this one would be different.
Also, once you're going down that networking rabbit hole, start looking into VLANs, as those really are a better way of controlling your smart devices, especially when the number of devices on your network gets bigger and bigger over time.
Quote from lagvoid
my exact use case.
Sorry to be dense, but how is this useful for tool batteries? Why wouldn't you just plug your chargers into a standard power strip?
I don't like leaving chargers on when they aren't actually charging a battery. I also got tired of plugging and unplugging each charger for the various brands Slickdeals made me buy. With this charger, I can press the button to turn on and off each individual charger I'm using. I can also do it through the app on my phone and schedule when to turn it off after x number of hours.
I just got a bunch of Kasa light switches and individual outlets today. Been using Smartthings all these years with other brand of light switches but will replace them with the Kasa ones. Will keep Smartthings hub for now.
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