7 Neat Smart Plug Hacks for the Kitchen & Utility Room

A smart plug lets you remotely turn power on or off to nearly any powered device in your home. Simply plug a smart plug into a wall outlet and then plug the device you want to use remotely into the smart plug. Now, you can turn power on or off via your smart phone, which controls the smart plugs either over your network or through Bluetooth. Smart plugs can also have features such as timers or come in power strips. Here’s how you can make your kitchen and utility room more efficient with smart plugs.

Automate Your Kettle

Most water kettles aren’t smart because they’ve never had to be. But plug yours into a smart plug with a timer and you can wake up to hot water all set for your morning tea.

Automate Your Coffee Maker

Many coffee makers are programmable and have been for a couple of decades. But, if you’re married to an older style (maybe Grandma’s percolator?), you can make it automated by using a smart plug.

Get a Laundry’s Done Notification

Let’s say you don’t want to use your washer or dryer buzzer. If you use a smart plug with a usage alert, you’ll get a notification on your phone when power usage drops below a certain level. This is pretty handy when you’re running your washer or dryer. When they’re done, they’ll stop using so much power, and if you’re using a smart plug with a usage alert, you’ll get a notification.

Monitor Your Power Usage

Some smart plugs come with power monitoring functionality. Basically, you can use an app to see how much power different devices are drawing at any given time. If you’re trying to lower your power bill or if you just want to be a little more green, this is a useful tool.

Put Your Microwave’s Vampire Energy In Check

We’ve previously written about (vampire energy and how you can use smart plugs to cut down on it)[link]. Well, microwaves, particularly old ones, are some of the worst offenders for vampire energy out there. You probably aren’t going to power your microwave on and off every time you want to use it, but you might power it down when you’re gone for the day.

Turn Off (Nearly) Everything When You Leave Home

Never stop in the middle of the street and ask yourself if you’ve remembered to unplug the toaster again. Everything you manage with a smart plug can be turned off remotely with a smart plug.

Voice Control Any Appliance

If you have a home assistant such as Alexa, you can use it to manage any smart plug on your network. Turning anything on and off with your phone is pretty handy; using your voice is a bit of a game changer.