According to Statista, the number of smart homes is expected to surpass the 300 million mark at least by 2023. But how much do people know about the smart devices that seem to make life more manageable around the home; well, we must say that there is a major misconception about home automation as many people tend to think that automating the home will have them fork out more on the power bills.
On the contrary, investing in smart home technology is both cost and energy-efficient, at least when compared to the traditional home appliances and electronics. However, you must note that the cost of installing the smart devices can be high upfront, but going forward it will save on the energy used in the home and even add some value in your home if you are thinking of re-selling it later.
Prime smart outlets are an example of the internet of things that will allow you to remotely set timers for when the lights go on and off in your home, they also enable you to remotely turn on the lights and can be integrated with the Amazon Alexa thus enable you to use the voice control feature.
Prime Smart outlets
Smart homeowners can now turn the receptacles in their homes into smart outlets, using the prime smart outlet adapter, later in this article we will highlight some of the incredible things that the smart adapter can do.
Specs
- Watts 1875
- Plug type- Grounded
- Volts 125
- Amps 15
Prime smart outlet application can be downloaded for use with both the android and Apple devices and once you have downloaded it into your device you can use the applications remote control with some of your home appliances, such as the washing machine, the refrigerator, the gas cooker, and the lamps among other features.
The smart outlet can help keep your home safe from intruders who are in the habit of breaking into homes that the owners are not around. The above then means that the application can be used both remotely and when you are not on location. It, therefore, works when you set your home lights to turn on and off randomly, which would then make a person who is outside to think that there is someone in the house.
The smart outlet works best with Wi-Fi giving you the liberty to turn off the electricity and other electronic appliances such as the household lamps. And when you are at home, you don’t even need to use the app remotely to operate the electronic appliances, instead, you will just integrate it with Alexa and you can use the voice commands to turn the lights on and off, including the appliances.
The watts and voltage of the prime smart outlet have been provided above, so if you connect it to a device that has high power like the heater, air conditioner, or the microwave, you might be exposing yourself to danger. Additionally, the Wi-Fi plug can only be incorporated with a 2.4G WI-Fi.
According to Prime, users are advised to be careful with this product because of the chemicals used in their manufactures such as the Di(2-Ethylhexyl)phthalate, which is known to cause reproductive harm, birth defects, and cancer. DnHP is the product used in the making of the smart outlet and is characteristically oily and are added to plastics to help make them flexible.
And although its use has significantly reduced, it is released from the consumer products gradually into the indoor environments given that the smart outlet can only be used indoors. It will then settle on the floor or and other surfaces from where it is used and can also be present in dust and air. And it will, therefore, get into your body through the hand to mouth transfer or by breathing it in air.
For the pregnant mothers, the chemical (DnHP) can move from mother to baby, but with good hygiene, you can avoid it, for example, you can clean the floors regularly or constantly yours and your child’s hands.
Pros
- Can integrate with Amazon Alexa and Google home
- Management is via the Prime application
- Integrates with most home appliances
- Features a compact design that keeps the second outlet free
Cons
- Poses a health hazard because of the chemical DnHP used in its manufacture
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Little known advantages of smart outlets
You might dismiss the smart plug as a device that turns the lights on and off until you integrate it with your phone and can operate your appliances while away from your home. The device can give you information on the amount of energy that the appliance connected to it is using, thus help you to keep tabs on energy consumption in your home. The above however does not apply to all the smart outlets.
Helps manage the standby power
Most people are not aware of this fact but when you leave some of your electronics on standby they tend to consume more power, not individually but when you calculate the cumulative sum of all the appliances that stay on standby.
So when you use the smart outlets, you can easily switch off the appliances from your phone or rather make a schedule where they are turned off when not in use or when you have left the house, by doing this, you save a lot of power which will even reflect on your finances.
Therefore, some of the home electronic devices that consume a lot of energy without your knowledge when left on standby are such as the Wi-Fi modems, the home chargers, laptops, the desktop computers, microwaves, TVs, and DVD players among other things.
Helps in protecting your home
Most people work out of station, or you might want to go overseas for a vacation and the cameras in your home won’t do much to keep the burglars away. So the best way to make people think that there is someone in the house is by integrating your smart plug with a lamp that can be visible from the outside. You will then set the timers and the lights will be switched on at night creating an illusion that there is someone in the house.
Limit screen and play station time
Kids can be notoriously cheeky when it comes to watching TV, using the internet or playing the PS, and getting them off these three things is harder than forcing water out of stone. But with the smart plug, you can come up with an actionable routine, where you could set the power to go off at precise times when the kids are supposed to be doing their homework, eating, or sleeping.
Additionally, with the power switched off at night, you can be sure that no one is hung up on their screens burning the midnight oil in games, TV, and the internet.
Don’t interrupt your sleep while switching off your electric blanket
Getting sleep is not as easy as losing it, some of us even have to listen to the sleep hypnosis sounds or invest in a sound machine before we get into a deep slumber. And even worse is when you have to get up to switch off your electric fan, electric blanket, or even the lights. So to retain your sleep through the night to morning with minimal interruptions, just connect all the above devices to a smart outlet and schedule them to go off an hour or two after you’ve gone to sleep.
Conclusion
Smart outlets are essential for the home in more ways than one, they are fully customizable but it will depend on the brand that you are settling with as some tend to be limited in the number of features. Prime smart outlets offer some of the above features and are easy to use with the prime app.