In this weekly column, hosts Brandon Doyle, Doyle Real Estate Team with RE/MAX Results, and Colton Pratt, project manager, walk through smart-home products and showcase their capabilities while reviewing pros and cons.
Smart outlets can turn any ordinary appliance into a smart one. Simply plug your “dumb” device — like a coffee maker, toaster or blender — into the smart plug and turn it on and off right from your smartphone.
There are so many options, which one is the best one for you? We put the 12 smart plugs available on Amazon to the test and compared speed, size, connectivity, features and, of course, price.
In the video above, we’ll talk through the pros and cons of the following smart plugs.
- Centralite: Zigbee
- Samsung: This Zigbee is great for building your mesh network
- Peanut: Zigbee, requires additional steps to work with SmartThings or Hubitat
- Sylvania: Blocks the top plug when plugged into bottom, Zigbee
- Dome: Doesn’t block plugs, Z-Wave plus, monitors energy, works on all hubs
- Aeotec: Doesn’t block plugs, Z-Wave Plus, monitors energy, works on all hubs
- Fibaro: Z-Wave Plus, monitors energy and includes USB charging port
- Wemo Mini: Doesn’t block plugs, Wi-Fi, Wemo App
- Amazon: Doesn’t block plugs, connects directly via Alexa app and was fastest performing WiFi hub we tested
- TP-Link: – Blocks both plugs in either outlet, uses Wi-Fi and does monitor energy, there is also a rectangle version available as well as a power strip
- Teckin: Doesn’t block plugs, communicates via Wi-Fi using Smart Life App and is the cheapest option but with a very noticeable delay
- Aukey: Doesn’t block plugs, communicates via Wi-Fi using Smart Life app and was the worst performing plug when measuring response time
Brandon Doyle is a Realtor at Doyle Real Estate Team — Re/Max Results in Minneapolis and co-author of Mindset, Methods & Metrics – Winning as a Modern Real Estate Agent. You can follow him on Twitter.
