SAN ANTONIO – If you’re wanting to get into the smart home movement but don’t know where to start, smart bulbs and smart plugs can be an easy and inexpensive place to start.
Syed Abbas has been using smart bulbs and plugs for a few years.
“When I leave home I can just check my app to know that, ‘OK, all the lights are turned off and I’m not using any energy that I don’t need,’” Abbas said
Both smart bulbs and plugs can turn any lamp into a smart lamp that you can control from anywhere using an app, or a smart speaker like Alexa or Google Assistant. But, how do you know if bulbs or plugs are best for your home?
“Smart bulbs are a better choice for lamps that have a lamp shade because the bulbs themselves are kind of ugly looking,” said Dan Wroclawski of Consumer Reports. “Bulbs are also a great choice for fixtures that can’t be plugged in such as overhead light fixtures. If you want lighting that can change color or even color temperature from warm to cool then you would also want a smart bulb.”
After evaluating nearly a dozen smart bulbs, Wroclawski said the TP-Link Kasa Smart Light Bulb Multicolor ($39.99 for a four-pack) and Cree Lighting Connected Max Color Changing {$49.99 for a six-pack) are great budget options.
If you want to dip more than your toe into the smart home trend, smart plugs offer a lot of options.
“With smart plugs you can automate way more than just lighting. You can use them to control any appliance in your home whether it’s a fan or even a coffee maker. They’re also really great for fire safety for devices like space heaters, hair straighteners or hair dryers. If you forget to turn them off, you can do it remotely from your phone even if you’re not home,” Wroclawski said.
He said the GE Cync Indoor ($14.99) was one of the easiest to set up and works with both Alexa and Google Assistant.
The TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Slim (four pack for $49) is also easy to set up and use and it works with Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung assistants.
Some smart plugs even offer energy monitoring, so you can figure out which devices in your home hog the most energy and turn them off when they aren’t in use.