Guide to choosing the best smart wifi plugs 2019
What is the easiest way to change your normal home into a“smart home”? The remote control electrical outlets and the smart wifi outlets are the way to go. Intelligent outputs transform virtually any device or electronic device into an intelligent device. All you need to do is connect the devices you want to control to the smart plugs. Then, through the corresponding application on your smart device you can configure timers, turn lights on or off and more.
Smart plugs: the first step towards a smarter home
A high-tech home does not have to cost a fortune. Smart plugs are an easy and inexpensive way to update appliances, lighting and other common electronic devices in smart home devices that you can control directly from your smart phone. While the installation and use of these plugs is relatively simple, choosing which one is right for you is not an easy task. To help you, we've put together the best smart plugs we've tested, along with some tips to consider when automating your home.
Choose the correct wifi plug
Let's make this clear: whether they are marketed as smart switches, intelligent light points or any variation of them, smart plugs are, in the end, plugs. They connect directly to a wall outlet and have their own outlet that we then use to connect the device we want to automate. You're not winning or losing any plug-in power: you're simply making an existing power outlet smarter by connecting it to your home Wi-Fi network.
With this in mind, the first thing to consider is where you want to place your smart plug. The team of smart home experts at Ideaing us some great options for smart wifi plugs. While most are slender enough to grab along with the other outlet, they do not all work, and the power strips are a completely different story. If you have a feeding band full of people, it is important to consider where the power outlet is. Some, like the iDevices switch, have side sockets. Designs like this can be easier or harder to access depending on the type of power strip you are using and where you are.
What features do you need in your smart plug?
Once you are sure that a smart plug will fit properly in your home, it is important to consider what you can do. Each plug we have tested allows you to use your phone to activate the control, so if you have plugged in a lamp, for example, you can turn it on or off no matter where you are. And most smart plugs also offer some type of programming. If you simply want to turn on the connected coffee machine at the same time every weekday, you can do so with any of the plugs in this list.
Program wifi plug
Scenes (this is the term that is used most often, but may vary) allow you to program several devices to interact with each other. The Aukey Wi-Fi Smart Plug, for example, allows you to program scenes based on conditions such as temperature, humidity, and sunrise and sunset times. Others, such as the TP-Link Smart Wi-Fi Plug Mini, have predefined "absent" scenes for when you're on vacation, turning the devices on and off to make it look like someone is at home. Scene options vary from one plug to another, so it's good to consider what automation options suit your lifestyle.
Save money at home
If you care about the environment or expect to save a few $, look for an outlet that supports energy control. Just keep in mind that the energy data collected is not uniform across all plugs. Some, such as Belkin Wemo Insight, provide a detailed breakdown of how long your device has been running throughout the day, your average daily power-up time , your monthly (estimated) and daily energy costs , and your average power consumption in watts. Others simply give an overview of the hours used over a period of time. And many do not report the use of energy at all.
Apart from the features, the installation and the design of the application are also important factors. Fortunately, almost all the plugs we tested are easy to install; basically, simply connect them and connect them to an application on your phone. The quality of the application, on the other hand, varies. We analyze closely the complementary application of each complement in our reviews, and consider its usability in our rating.
Everything is about the platform
In short, the best smart plug for you is the one that easily interacts with the products you already have. For example, if you have an iPhone, an Apple TV and a Home Pod, you will get the best plug experience compatible with Apple's HomeKit protocol. Similarly, if you already use voice control from Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, make sure you get a plug-in that your voice assistant of your choice supports. Some plugs have native support for Nest products, while others can interact with other smart home devices through IFTTT. We have observed which features are compatible with each of the add-ons in the previous table to help determine which best suits your needs.
Therefore, if you cannot install smart bulbs, or if you do not want to spend a lot of money on a series of new appliances connected to the kitchen, consider connecting the products you already have with an intelligent plug. Whether you just want to prove that you can bring an intelligent home, or be a professional in writing your own IFTTT applets, smart plugs make it easy and affordable to automate almost anything in your home.
