Are smart plugs actually useful?

Smart plugs are the cheapest entry into home automation and the most likely to end up in a drawer. The difference is whether you bought one for a specific recurring annoyance or because it was inexpensive.

Safety

Step by step

1. Use them for scheduling lamps.Lights on before you get home in winter, off at bedtime, and a varied pattern while away. This is the clearest genuine use and the one people keep using after the novelty passes.
2. Use one to measure running costs.Models with energy monitoring show what a specific appliance actually costs. Moving it around the house for a week each is genuinely informative and often surprising.
3. Use them for awkward switches.A socket behind furniture, under a bed or at the back of a cupboard. Being able to switch it from a phone is a real improvement over moving the wardrobe.
4. Use them to make old things controllable.A lamp, a fan, a radio, Christmas lights. Anything with a mechanical switch left in the on position becomes voice- and schedule-controllable for very little.
5. Check the load rating carefully.Many are rated at 10A or 13A, and some considerably less. A heater, kettle, iron or tumble dryer may exceed it. Running a plug near its limit continuously is where they fail.
6. Never use one for something that must not run unattended.Heaters, hair straighteners, irons, cookers. A schedule or a mis-tapped app switching one on in an empty house is a fire risk, not an inconvenience.
7. Understand what happens without internet.Most keep their physical button and their schedule, but lose app and voice control. Some cloud-only models lose the schedule too. Check before buying if that matters.
8. Check the physical size.Many block the adjacent socket on a double outlet. That is the most common practical complaint, and slimmer models exist.
9. Prefer local control where you can.Plugs supporting a local standard such as Matter, or working with a local hub, keep working if the manufacturer's service goes away — which does happen.
10. Think about the account and the data.Most require an account and report usage to the manufacturer. Energy monitoring data says a great deal about when a house is occupied. Worth a moment's consideration.
11. Buy from a reputable brand.This is a mains-voltage device in a socket. Look for proper safety marking and a named manufacturer, and buy from a reputable retailer.
12. Start with one.Buy one for a specific annoyance and see whether you keep using it after a month. That answers the question better than any review.

Tips

• The energy monitoring feature is often the most useful part and the least advertised. One plug moved around the house teaches you more than a smart meter display.
• A plug that keeps its schedule locally is worth paying a little more for — it keeps working when the broadband is down.
• Check whether it needs 2.4GHz wifi. Many do, and a router set to a single combined network name occasionally causes setup problems.

Common mistakes

• Using a smart plug with a heater — Many are rated below a heater's load, and a heater switching on unattended is a fire risk regardless of the rating. Neither is worth the convenience.
• Buying several before using one — Most people find one or two genuine uses and put the rest in a drawer. Start with the specific annoyance you have.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask