Smart plugs are an easy, budget-friendly way to upgrade your home. Here are a few clever ways to use them for automation.
Remember The Clapper? The plug-in staple may have made for a catchy jingle in the 1980s, but it could also be considered as a primitive ancestor of today’s smart plug — that is, if you can say anything from a few decades ago is primitive. Smart plugs offer greater convenience than The Clapper ever did, letting you control your devices from an app on your phone, your voice, or a schedule.
There are many ways to use smart plugs to automate your home, including turning dumb devices into smart ones, using them to strengthen your home’s security, or letting them bring more convenience to your life. Beyond using a smart plug for an old table lamp, you can also use them strategically to save on your utility bills, monitor your energy consumption, or enhance your home’s fire safety.1. Deter would-be intruders
You can use a smart plug to automate lights when you’re out of town so that they switch on each night to make it appear as if someone’s home. Many people also use them to control outdoor lights on a schedule, ensuring their home’s exterior is well-lit for safety. Enhancing home security is a popular use for smart plugs. However, there are more ways to use them beyond the obvious.
A smart plug can lock down your garage door opener, so you can cut power to it during the night or whenever you’re away. This strategy could prevent a thief from using an entry code or a stolen remote to enter your home. If you have a compatible motion sensor, you can set an automation with your smart plug to turn on a light whenever the sensor detects motion. 2. Create a motion-activated lighting setup
I added motion-activated lighting to my bathroom without using a motion sensor wall switch so that my lights come on as soon as I enter. Instead of using a dedicated motion sensor connected to the light, I have an Echo Dot on the way into the bathroom, which has an occupancy sensor that turns on my lights through Alexa when someone walks in. You can do the same with any smart plug, Alexa, and an Echo Dot, which also serves as a smart speaker and platform to communicate with the voice assistant, not just an occupancy sensor.
When someone enters the bathroom, Alexa on my Echo Dot says, « Hello, gorgeous », and turns on the lights. The lights are set up with a smart switch, but you can do the same with a smart plug and a lamp. Additionally, you can also add a time for the light to stay on or an automation for the plug to switch off when people are not present. I keep my bathroom lights on for 15 minutes at a time, which ensures they always switch off, and I don’t have to walk around my house turning off all the lights my kids have left on.
