This smart plug I tested is great for the most important thing – save me energy and money

Smart plug Stay one of the best ways to get started with a smart homeAffordable small device that can connect to a standard outlet and start magical action. Part of its magic is automatic scheduling and remote app control, but one of the most valuable smart plug features is that it allows you to monitor the power usage of your device.

Emporia already has a place Smart Plug List Perfect option for energy management. So when the energy devices company unveiled a new model, I was eager to test it and see how it held up. What I found was a very user-friendly app full of ways to monitor energy usage and save electricity. How does this work?

Eyes on electricity

Smart plug Easy setup and excellentand the Emporia indoor plugs are no exception. Plug in (the small LED light shines when active), download the app and connect to your Wi-Fi network. The Emporia process is comfortable to streamline, taking only a few minutes from start to finish.

Once you have given the name of the smart plug, you can control it directly through the app or set up automatic schedules. With Schedule you can either name a device at a specific time and turn it on or off, or use Emporia’s proposed daylight cycle. If manual control is required, the buttons on the side of the plug act as on/off switches. The plug also works with Alexa and Google’s Voice Assistant/Gemini.

Such options are common and make smart plugs a general recommendation for small home lamps, decorative devices. tv set,fan, Humidifier and so on. Just watch the specifications of the amplifiers and volts. Emporia’s latest models are rated at a continuous usage of 15A Max/10A.

However, the impressive part of Emporia’s smart plug remains the energy management service.

Plugins to Emporia

Home Energy is more expensive than it takes years: discovered in winter 2024 in our CNET survey The Energy Bill was burdening 62% of the US adult finances. How to save energy (Like a smart thermostat) It can help you more than ever – that’s why Emporia’s energy monitoring options stand out so well.

Select the Graph option in the Home menu to display the device’s power usage in both current watts and peak kilowatts during the month’s highest usage period. You can also revert the graph to hours or days (week, month, etc.) to monitor for inconsistencies. Essentially, you’ll have access to all the information you need when your device is cutting off energy, changing seasons, and when energy usage appears suspiciously high for no reason. The interface is clean and very easy to understand.

I tested both the small fountain and the plug Small space heater. Luckily, the fountain consumes little power – barely even watts, space heater Naturally, it was an energy pig in use – something I’d like to minimize. You can also use charts like this to see if some devices (such as entertainment systems) use an incredible amount of electricity when in standby mode, or if there is something that explains the energy usage spikes at a particular point in the day. The secret to playing with thermostats That should be off limits.

However, Emporia’s energy management options are expanding from there. I was happy to see that the scheduling option includes an “Off Peak Time” option that turns on the device during the typical low activity hours of the grid. Many utilities charge high to use electricity during peak times, so setting certain devices to operate only off-peak hours will make it easier to automatically save money around your car.

Emporia can go further if you have other Emporia devices. addition Emporia Vue Energy Monitor Electrical panels allow for easier peak demand management and more direct energy targets to be set. Adding compatible solar panels gives you the option of which electric devices will acquire excess solar energy and which to shut down. But this is a lot more effort, so it’s great to see how much a bit of a smart plug can achieve on its own.

Final Thoughts

Emporia’s latest smart plugs are user-friendly and you can easily set up your home electronics to save money for you. It’s cheap – you can get 4 packs to manage several devices around your home for $35 at a time.

The only caveat I noticed is that the smart plug is slightly bulky. It sticks out a little from the side of my outlet. This is not necessarily a concern, but in small spaces, the plug may not have enough space or may get in the way of other large adapter connections.

As energy savings become more and more important, smart plugs have entered a new heyday around the home, continuing to be an example of how useful Emporia’s models can be.