What is a Smart Plug?

Controlled by an app, a smart plug lets you turn on and off any appliance that plugs into a standard wall socket.  Combined with other smart home devices, you can schedule your devices to turn on and off at certain times of the day or even control them with the sound of your voice.  The benefits of having devices plugged in to a smart plug are numerous.

How Can Smart Plugs Save Me Money?

Having a device connected to a smart plug gives you the ability to control it remotely, or by setting a schedule.  Do you, or your family members, frequently leave lights on when no one is in the house?  If so, you can set the house to power down these devices after everyone has usually left for the day or you can control them remotely from your smart phone.  Do you want to turn lights on after dusk so you don’t have to come home to a dark house?  All you have to do is create a routine that turns on your selected devices at sunset.  You can even have another routine that turns them off at sunrise.

With all of these possibilities, your home can become more efficient and use less power over the course of a year than it would otherwise.

What Makes Smart Plugs ‘Smart’?

A smart plug is like a power adapter – it fits between your power socket and the appliance you wish to plug in. At its most basic level, it simply turns things on and off. But, when connected to a smart home system, it can do much more.  They are considered ‘smart’ because they let you control your appliances from an app on your phone from anywhere.

Some smart plugs also go one step further and collect information about how much energy the appliance connected through it is using. This is an incredibly useful feature for the energy-conscious consumer who is looking to cut costs on their energy bill.

How Do You Control a Smart Plug?

Most smart plugs communicate (using your home’s Wi-Fi network) to a central control hub. Then, the hub uses your Wi-Fi to send information to an app on your phone.  This requires your home to have a constant connection to the Internet in order to function properly.

Brands We Recommend

Amazon Alexa Google Assistant Leviton Lutron

Schedule a Consultation

If you are ready to see how installing smart plugs can help in your home or business, please schedule a consult so we can come out and help you decide which plugs we can make smarter.

CCOC Rick
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Minimize Your Utility Bills – Part 3: Smart Plugs
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