Summary
Are your holiday lights connected to one of those old-fashioned timer switches or, worse still, manually operated? you’re able to do better with one of the cheapest smart home upgrades available.
Your Festive Decorations Need a Smart Plug
Smart plugsadd remote on-off functionality to any “dumb” device. This makes them especially useful for lighting, particularly the sort of holiday lights you see at Christmas or Halloween.
When you add a smart plug to your setup, you don’t lose any functionality. These plugs connect to the wall socket, and allow you to connect another device, acting like a passthrough. They even have a regular switch on them for toggling them on or off the old-fashioned way.
But the real start of the show is the fact that they connect to other devices like smartphones and smart home hubs. Pick a smart plug that works withyour smart home ecosystem of choiceand you’re good to go. You can even repurpose it for something else when the holidays are over.
While there are “smart” decorative lights now like theGovee Icicle LightsandGovee Christmas String Lights, your regular old decorations probably have plenty of life left in them yet. They might already be stapled to your roof, just waiting for you to flip the switch.
Control and Automate Your Lights with Ease
Most smart plugs will have a dedicated app you can use to control them, but a better option is to integrate them with your smart home ecosystem. This will let you control them using your smartphone or tablet of choice. For example, if you have an iPhone you’ll see your smart plug appear in the Home app.
On top of this, when setting up your smart plug you’ll be able to give it a name. If you have a smart speaker, you’ll be able to say something like “Alexa, turn on the Christmas tree,” and the assistant will take care of your request. This works with Google and Apple smart speakers too.
Better still, you canautomate the entire procedure by setting up routines. Create a rule to turn on the smart plug (and anything that’s connected to it) at a set time of day and turn it off again later. you’re able to get as complex as you like here, but for most of us turning the lights on when it gets dark and off again at night is good enough.
Buying the Right Smart Plug
Depending on your level of holiday cheer and dedication, you might want to buy a few different smart plugs for different devices. The good news is that these are often packs, which will save you some money. Multiple smart plugs let you set individual rules for different decorations too.
For the best all-round compatibility,Matter smart plugswork with all four major smart home platforms (Amazon, Google, Apple, and Samsung or SmartThings). Most smart speakers can act as a hub for this purpose (read more fromAmazon,Apple,Google, andSamsung). TP-Link’sKasa Smart PlugsandTapo Mini Smart Plugsare good examples, each with app control as a backup.
Kasa Smart Plug
The Kasa smart plug works with Matter, Alexa, Google Assistant, and SmartThings—so regardless of the smart home ecosystem you use, these will work great. Add in the fact that they’re small and inexpensive and you have a great smart plug for your home.
Cheaper options exist too. If you’re all-in on Amazon and only need Alexa support, check out theAmazon Basics Smart Plug. Google Home users can grab aGHome Smart Mini Plug, while Apple HomeKit users can grab a two-pack ofMeross Mini Smart Plugs. There are even outdoor versions fromAmazonandMeross.
Amazon Basics Outdoor Smart Plug
It doesn’t come with support for Google Home or Apple HomeKit, but the Amazon Basics Outdoor Smart Plug is a no-frills product that’s easy to use and packed full of features.
Meross Outdoor Smart Plug
The ideal solution for your outdoor space, the meross Outdoor Smart Plug offers seamless voice control with HomeKit, Alexa, and SmartThings, with independent control of both outlets, and robust protection against the elements.
Another option is to pick upHome Depot’s Hubspace Smart Plug(which also supports Google Home and Amazon Alexa). Despite consistently offering low prices,Hubspace devices come with a few drawbacks.
Smart plugs are a great place to start if you haven’t started your smart home journey yet. The next step isplanning your smart home room-by-room.
