We are living in the era of smart homes. Every day more and more people purchase home appliances and appliances for their homes. The latest trend in this industry is to have a smart plug for all our devices to save power consumption and time.
You have probably heard about the amazing benefits of smart plugs, but do you know how they work? Smart plugs can turn almost any electrical device into a smart device. With these devices, you can manage your energy consumption and avoid overloading the electricity grid with excess power consumption.
Since the release of its first Echo smart speaker in 2017, Amazon has been one of the most prominent names in smart home devices. Apart from speakers with built-in voice assistant Alexa, the brand also offers a selection of home security cameras that work in tandem with its smart speakers and a smart plug.
Everything you need to know about the Amazon Smart Plug is right here.
What is a Smart Plug?
A smart plug is a device that plugs into an electrical outlet and allows connectivity to power devices through the internet. You can just think of it as another way to use your mobile or other gadgets, without relying on cables or batteries. This will make your life simpler by not having hassle when you want to work from home today but need the lights turned off in some rooms before bedtime tomorrow.
The Amazon Smart Plug
From an Amazon webpage on its smart home devices, it is clear that the company believes the Internet of Things (IoT) is the next big trend in technology, and the proliferation of home devices is paving the way for the way we connect our gadgets to the world around us.
One of the Amazon products for which this is an intention is the Amazon SmartPlug. This allows you to connect to any electricity plug and turn it on or off using only your voice. In this way, you could turn on your lights when you get home or have your kettle start boiling before you get up.
It also connects to Alexa and, like many of the Amazon smart speakers, it supports hands-free wake-up voice control. While you could just speak “Alexa, turn on the kettle”, this will have a small problem.
Amazon Smart Plug
Features
- Add voice control to your appliances with plug – The Amazon Smart Plug collaborates with Alexa to add voice control to any socket.
- Frustration-Free Setup – Setup takes only a few minutes: plug it in, launch the Alexa app, and begin using your voice.
- Power State retention -Ensures that in the event of a power interruption, your appliance returns to its previous state (on/off).
- Make your home smart – Use your voice to operate your phone charger, lamps, kettle, and other appliances, or use the Alexa app to control your TV while you’re gone.
- No additional app required – Create routines and schedules using the Alexa app.
How Smart Plug works?
Smart socket plugs are designed to make life easier by giving you control over electrical appliances and appliances connected to your home WiFi network from your smartphone, tablet, or computer.
Once you have the device connected to your home WiFi network you can schedule timers for your smartplugs to turn your appliances on and off at certain times of the day, based on the times that you normally use them.
Users can also integrate their smart home devices, such as Philips Hue smart bulbs or Honeywell thermostats, into their smart wi-fi plug’s settings, by using the IFTTT app or Siri voice assistants, or google assistant. IFTTT is Amazon’s smart home service which allows you to set up workflows, customized to the unique needs of your smart home device.
Read Also: 5 Best Smart Lighting System India
What can you do with the Amazon Smart Plug?
While its competitors don’t offer the same level of integration, the SmartPlug is still a relatively simple device to use. Simply plug it in, connect it to your Wi-Fi, and then you can control the connected devices by using the same Amazon Alexa app that you use for your other devices.
What makes the Amazon Smart Plug different?
A smartplug works a lot like any other connected device. You can plug it in and either turn it on or off, using your phone or remote control. There’s no need to configure anything.
As well as the option to turn devices on or off, there’s a whole host of other features that the smartplug can do. It can switch connected lights on and off, turning on or off individual lamps and LED strips within your home.
Turn electronics on or off from anywhere
Devices like smart plugs can make your home more energy efficient by automatically turning them on or off when you leave the house. This could potentially save you money on energy usage, as you could be using less energy to power your device when you aren’t using it.
Amazon sells its line of smart-plugs alongside a range of other smart devices. Our favorite model, the Amazon Smart Plug Mini, is the best gadget for anyone looking to buy in the smart home market. This small smart plug has an energy monitoring system and allows you to turn things on and off from anywhere with Alexa built-in, letting you quickly control your lights from your phone, or make sure your washing machine doesn’t shut off at the wrong time.
Schedule when to turn electronics on or off
Pick and control timers
Watch or listen to your home
And the Amazon Smart Plug is the perfect way to introduce smart appliances to your home with Alexa’s help.
The Amazon Smart Plug allows you to automate some of the most basic home appliances. This means you can make appliances like coffee machine, ac, geyser, fridges, or laundry machines turn on and off at specific times. You can control these devices using a smartphone app, Amazon Alexa, or even with a manual button on the appliance itself.
Save energy and reduce your electric bill
The Amazon Smart Plug is the latest addition to Amazon’s smart home products and the firm says it will make your home more energy-efficient. Thanks to voice command technology, it can control an array of smart appliances ( large appliances or small appliances ), switches, and lights, and will be able to set schedules when you’re out, for example, so that they are switched off. You can also use it to turn off certain gadgets such as lamps, or lights you’re not using.
It also has a range of Alexa skills so you can make simple commands such as turning on the lights or heating system or asking it to play a podcast.
Simple to set up and use
Design of Amazon Smart Plug, in India
This plug looks similar to the Google Home and Apple HomePod smart speakers with its rounded rectangular shape and bright color LED display on the front. Like those devices, the Amazon smart plug can act as a speaker and a power outlet simultaneously, as well as control other smart home devices like lights, switches, and cameras.
It can be easily set up using Alexa smart app on iPhone or android.
As mentioned earlier, the device is compatible with both Alexa and Google Home. Both platforms provide the same functionality for controlling this device.
You just need to say, “Alexa, turn on the office light,” or “OK Google, turn on the office light.
Technical Details
Performance of Amazon Smart Plug, in India
Even with the full range of smart-plugs on offer with Amazon, the company’s smart plug is perhaps the best smart plug to buy in terms of performance, especially when comparing it with the competition.
Its design is black and white with blue LEDs. Amazon has made smart-plugs available in different sizes and it has an LED indicator on the plug itself. It connects to your home Wi-Fi network and has a USB port to recharge the power banks of your smart speakers and smart bulbs. It has a 20A power outlet with 20 LEDs to display status and an on/off switch.
PROS
- Looks quite elegant
- 10 A socket so can be used anywhere (trust me it is better to have a 10 Amp wi-fi smart plug socket than a 16 Amp wifi smart plug socket)
- Easy to Use and Setup
- No hub required
CONS
- Keeps disconnecting for no reason ( even when kept to the side of wifi)
- No monitoring is available like other IoT switches
- A bit overpriced
Read Also: Best Smart Home Hubs in India
Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQs )
1. What is the benefit of an Amazon Smart Plug?
• Save money on your energy bills.
• Use less power than a traditional power plug.
• Easy setup with voice assistance.
• No more time wasted switching outlets.
2. Which is better: wireless or hardwired smart plugs?
3. Is there any downside to using a smart plug, or can you only use it for its intended purpose (powering electronics)?
4. What does a Alexa smart plug do?
5. Should I buy the Amazon smart plug?
6. Why would I need an Amazon smart plug?
7. What makes Alexa a useful smart home device?
ii) Alexa is helpful by providing you with personalized advice and suggestions for recipes, movies, TV shows, and music if you ask her.
iii) It can help make a daily routine run smoothly.
8. Does Google work with Amazon Smart Plug?
9. Can I turn my TV on with Alexa smart plug?
10. Does Amazon Smart Plug need internet?
11. Can you turn on Amazon smart plug away from home?
12. How do I connect my Amazon smart plug to WiFi?
2. Tap Plugs.
3. Tap your Smart Plug.
4. Tap the Gear icon.
5. Tap Change next to the Wi-Fi network.
6. Tap Next.
7. Hold the Smart Plug button down until the LED flashes red and blue, then tap Next in the Alexa app.
13. What to consider when buying a smart plug or smart switch?
– The advantage of using these kinds of devices is that they can be controlled almost anywhere – WiFi range can vary depending on devices plugged in at the same time and maybe limited by your internet speed; with competing apps such as Amazon
14. What is a smart plug good for?
It plugs into a standard power outlet and can be used with any appliance that has a standard plug – the possibilities are endless. Smart plugs can also be used to track how much energy an appliance consumes. Some smart plugs, however, allow you to add the energy cost and calculate a monetary value for this energy usage as well.
Conclusion
The tech giant has integrated several smart home devices into its own Echo devices to ensure you don’t need to spend more money to connect to the internet to control your home. The Smart Plug is part of this ecosystem.
It is slightly more expensive than an affordable smart-plug like the TP-Link Smart Plug Mini but has better tech than other smart-plugs on the market, including a dimmable digital code and a more powerful power adapter. You can use it with Amazon Echo devices for hands-free automation and control, making it a must-have for all your smart home devices.
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