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One of the best ways to use smart home devices is to keep your home safe with them. All kinds of gadgets can hook up to your smart home ecosystem to provide you with real-time alerts on what is happening in your home. If you take your smart home setup seriously, you are likely to have some of these options covered already and added to your network.
If you're opting for cameras or alarm systems, those can keep an eye on your home. But many people don't want cameras inside their homes. So, there needs to be other ways to protect where they live with smart home gadgets. Providing peace of mind can also just mean that a smart home gadget can handle one task that keeps things safe, and that's one way that I use my smart plugs.
Using smart plugs with specific devices helps me know when they're on It's just an added piece of securitySmart plugs are some of my favorite smart home gadgets, not only because they are low-tech and low-maintenance devices. It's because you can use them in a lot of different ways. You can use a smart plug to turn a "dumb" device into a smart one by connecting them. No longer do you need to be in front of that device to turn it on. Your smart plug can do that for you.
Smart plugs can connect to your smart home system, like Amazon Alexa in my case, and be controlled via voice commands or an app. You can set up automations through your ecosystem as well as through the devices' mobile app. I prefer the Kasa Matter Smart Plugs because they can monitor energy usage and connect to all kinds of devices, thanks to their Matter protocol capabilities.
Not all smart plugs monitor energy use. It's important to look at the features of smart plugs before you buy them.
No matter what I'm plugging into my smart plugs, I am able to monitor them through the Kasa app and know not only when they are turned on but how much energy they are consuming. It's a helpful bit of information that helps me understand more about my house.
I try and use smart plugs frequently in my home, but I don't use them for every device. If I have a smart device like a smart speaker, a lamp with a smart bulb, or even my smart TV, I just plug them into normal outlets and extension cords. If I'm interested in looking at the energy usage, I can put them into smart plugs, but it's not something I always do. There are certain types of devices I do plug into my smart plug for my own comfort.
One of my favorite automations also protects my home It has changed the way I enjoy my mornings
Credit: Chris Hachey / MakeUseOf
I'm a tea drinker, so I enjoy a nice cup of tea to start my day. I had a kettle that you put on the stove top and heated up for many years. Waiting for the tea to heat up and listening for the whistle of the kettle was a morning ritual. However, as my mornings got busier after I had kids, remembering to put on the tea kettle, waiting for it to whistle, shutting off the stove, and pouring the tea sometimes got lost in the shuffle.
I'd either forget to do it at all or I'd be in the middle of getting my daughter dressed for school when the whistle went off and needing to stop what I'm doing to go shut it off would disrupt an ordeal that is not easy in the first place. Eventually, I opted for an electric kettle, which has worked great.
I realized I could take this new gadget and turn it into a smart one with a useful smart plug. So, part of my nightly ritual when I was cleaning up after dinner was to fill the kettle up, put it on its base, and pull the plunger down. I set up a schedule in the Kasa app to have the smart plug turn on at 7 AM each day, so my tea would heat up when I came down to let the dog out.
It's worked great and I've really enjoyed doing it. But what also gives me peace of mind is knowing that I set another timer to have the smart plug turn off at 7:05 each day. It takes less than 5 minutes to heat the water, so minimizing the amount of time that a heating element is turned on can protect my devices and my kitchen.
Other ways to use smart plugs for safety Some of these are built into the smart plug
Credit: Chris Hachey / MakeUseOf
Smart plugs are versatile and can help you in a lot of different scenarios. The Kasa smart plugs offer overheating protection, so if the device exceeds a specific wattage or is drawing power for a long time, the smart plug can automatically shut off. This also provides users with peace of mind in case there's a malfunction with the device.
Using smart plugs with lights is a genius way to protect your home. You can make it seem like you're home when you really aren't by setting schedules and automations to simulate your presence. This can provide you with safety measures when you're away on vacation.
Many smart plugs will also send you a notification when the Wi-Fi it is connected to is out. This can not only give you a heads-up that your Internet isn't working, but it could also flag that a breaker is tripped.
Smart plugs are versatile and can provide a sense of securityI use smart plugs for different tasks, one of which is to keep my mind at ease. They help set up automations and routines while also letting me know if there's an outage and how much energy my device is using. I can shut them off easily, so I know they aren't using power when I don't want them to.
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