7 Neat Smart Plug Hacks for the Backyard

Smart plugs are devices that let you turn nearly any device on or off remotely. They plug into your wall outlets and then you plug your devices into your smart plugs. Then, you can power said smart plugs on or off via your phone, which connects to your smart plugs either via your Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth. Importantly for outdoor usage, some smart plugs are water resistant and made for the outside. They may also have other features, such as timers. Here’s how you can automate nearly everything in your backyard with smart plugs.

Automate Your Sprinklers

Water or stop watering the lawn by plugging that sucker into a smart plug. As a bonus, you can leave home while watering is happening and turn it off while you’re away without rushing back—so long as you get the kind of smart plug you can use remotely.

Touch Screen Garden Irrigation

If you have an irrigation system, all you need to do is plug your water pump into a smart plug and now you can operate your irrigation system from your phone.

Run Your Pool Pump

You probably don’t run your pool pump 24/7, but you probably also don’t want to run in and out twice a day to turn your pool pump on and off. Operate it from your phone instead.

Stop Overcharging

Smart devices like phones don’t overcharge anymore—they know when they’re full and drain a bit. Other devices do overcharge through. For example, lawn mowers can overcharge. You avoid this by unplugging when time’s up—or automate it by using a smart plug.

Activate Garden Lights

You can make your garden that much nicer with a dedicated lighting system, and what better way to operate it than via your phone?

Similarly, your other outdoor areas deserve good lighting. You can set up a swanky lighting system for your porch, fire pit area, outdoor kitchen, and more, and control it all via your smartphone.

Create Two-Factor Authentication for Your Garage Door

How can someone break into your garage? Well, they might swipe your garage door opener from your car. Or they might just hack into it. Or if they’re clever they can use a universal garage door opener.

Fortunately, there’s a pretty easy way for you to stop this problem: plug your garage door opener into a smart plug. Now, when you want your garage door to remain closed, you simply cut the power to your garage door.

If you’re really paranoid (or, as we like to describe ourselves, enthusiastic about home security), you can power your garage door on and off every single time you use it. Or, a more reasonable option would be to keep it powered down when you’re at work or late at night with a smart plug with a timer.

Automate Christmas Decorations

Want to light up the neighbourhood, but not after 11PM? Turn everything off by automating things with smart plugs. Works inside or outside!