Are you using any smart plugs at home, how has the experience been

Renegade

Renegade

Staff member
Luminary
I have been thinking of getting one just out of curiosity or the need to switch something on/off remotely while lazily lying on the bed. Another use case is to switch devices on/off on a schedule.

Which smart plugs are you all using and recommend? How is the build quality and life of these devices? How easy to operate are they and their apps. Do they run zigbee like Phillips Hue or we need a good WiFi mesh system to run them. Do they have compatibility with all voice assistants or Siri as usual does not make the cut. How accurate is their energy monitoring feature?

Lastly are there any plugs which are Matter compatible so that they can all be managed from one place itself or we need to be careful on which ecosystem we are diving into.

Lets pool in with your views and I will try to compile a buying guide using your inputs to help other members.
 
Currently using Tapo and Amazon smart plug.
Amazon has all the functions Tapo has, minus the energy consumption data.
For the price I would recommend Tapo.
Realtime energy consumption. Cumulative daily monthly energy consumption are all there.
I haven't gone deep into the setting and features. But for regular basic needs like schedule on off, voice assistance(not used much), etc all works in both.
Both device connects to 2.4Ghz network easily and has stable connections.
Only one things to look for is that 16A TapoPlug is cheaper than its 6A counterpart.
 
I have used Wipro (16A), Zebronics (16A, 10A) and Amazon (10A). All work fine. Have availed warranty of Wipro after 11 months and it was replaced with a new one.

Most of the smart devices (plugs/lights) (except Amazon) can be controlled by a common app "Smart Life".
 
Tapo seems nice, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to function without internet access. Tested only once, but even connecting to wifi but not connecting to internet did not work.
For now i just connect it via hotspot occasionally with mobile internet. Have no interest in giving it permanent access to wifi network.
 
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Renegade said:
I have been thinking of getting one just out of curiosity or the need to switch something on/off remotely while lazily lying on the bed. Another use case is to switch devices on/off on a schedule.

Which smart plugs are you all using and recommend? How is the build quality and life of these devices? How easy to operate are they and their apps. Do they run zigbee like Phillips Hue or we need a good WiFi mesh system to run them. Do they have compatibility with all voice assistants or Siri as usual does not make the cut. How accurate is their energy monitoring feature?

Lastly are there any plugs which are Matter compatible so that they can all be managed from one place itself or we need to be careful on which ecosystem we are diving into.

Lets pool in with your views and I will try to compile a buying guide using your inputs to help other members.
Click to expand...
again ping @rsaeon , the IOT king . You need to add subtitles for few members like him ..... few are just absolute authority on their subjects
 
Renegade said:
I have been thinking of getting one just out of curiosity or the need to switch something on/off remotely while lazily lying on the bed. Another use case is to switch devices on/off on a schedule.
Click to expand...
This any smart plug can do
Renegade said:
How accurate is their energy monitoring feature?
Click to expand...
Most are crap unless you can find the few that are better.

A Meco power meter is the reference here as it comes lab calibrated OOTB.

When you have both or find reviews featuring both you will know the difference.
 
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+1 for Tp Link Tapo. Fairly accurate in my experience. The only concern I have is TP Link being a Chinese company, I don’t trust it to connect to external servers.
 
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kuduku said:
again ping @rsaeon , the IOT king . You need to add subtitles for few members like him ..... few are just absolute authority on their subjects
Click to expand...

@aasimenator has at least twice as many iot devices than I do, ha

TP-Link's Tapo system is relatively new and is probably the most coherent ecosystem that's available to us here in India but I haven't tried out any of its integrations (Matter or Voice Assistants). I'm using these as a stop-gap until I make my own.

I did some testing in another thread, the Tapo plugs are very accurate: https://techenclave.com/threads/smart-plug.222727/#post-2557040 @blr_p

Sonoff's reliance on the eWelink app is a hindrance as you're logged out after every software update on Android. But if they have access to the internet, they're reliable. They're also the oldest system.

Other members have much more extensive experience with first-party apps and ecosystems, I prefer to put everything either on Tasmota or ESPHome.
 
do any work on HomeAssistant and without internet access? Was thinking of dabbling into IoT but honestly have no idea what to get for HA support and no internet access
 
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altair21 said:
do any work on HomeAssistant and without internet access? Was thinking of dabbling into IoT but honestly have no idea what to get for HA support and no internet access
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For Sonoff's, Tasmotizing supported devices gets you what you are looking for. If you want to remain on stock firmware on Sonoff's, those devices that support what Sonoff calls "LAN mode" does what you want. You will need the Ewelink app and an account too I suppose in this mode. Not sure if HA is supported in LAN mode though.
 
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altair21 said:
do any work on HomeAssistant and without internet access? Was thinking of dabbling into IoT but honestly have no idea what to get for HA support and no internet access
Click to expand...
Most devices are rebranded Tuya plugs, and there is a method and python library called tinytuya which enables offline access and control for Tuya devices. I have a Zebronics plug, which cannot be flashed with tasmota, but works with TinyTuya. It has been working perfectly for the past 3-4 months.
 
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ykumar00 said:
Most devices are rebranded Tuya plugs, and there is a method and python library called tinytuya which enables offline access and control for Tuya devices. I have a Zebronics plug, which cannot be flashed with tasmota, but works with TinyTuya. It has been working perfectly for the past 3-4 months.
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ah damn! exactly what I needed, I'll check it out thanks
 
ykumar00 said:
The process can be a little confusing, look up videos on youtube. It involves creating a tuya developer account and getting a key. But it is one time only, and takes hardly 10 minutes if you're relatively tech savvy.
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I gave it a surface skim, and just had one question, how do you block it from cloud access?I know I can simply block the ip ranges for the cloud and call it a day, but is there a simpler method using the lib?

also can you link your zebronics plug? would love to order one that I know is working for sure before I dabble in it
 
Using Tapo P110 for the last few months
Already using tapo cam, liked their app so bought a tapo smart plug
But the app size seems to be increasing every update
Screenshot 2024-12-05 at 12.24.10 PM.jpg
 
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