Smart Plug Uses (Best Ideas For Smart Plugs)

Here you will find some ideas on ways you can utilize smart plugs. This article covers a list containing both common and unique smart plug uses.

If you already own one, you might wonder what else you could use your smart plug with.

Or, you may also be thinking of purchasing one, and it could be that you are questioning if the product itself will be useful enough for your needs to warrant a purchase.

These ideas may help you in both of those situations. Smart plugs are useful for most people, not just the tech-savvy type.

List of smart plug uses

Here is a list of what I think could be useful to various individuals with a smart plug. Some ideas are unique, and others are aimed at everyday users.

You will soon see that smart plugs can be used for many different things.

Not only to have better control over everything but also to provide you with valuable information. A smart plug could also help you save on your power bill if used correctly.

1. Control home office equipment

I like to shut off my home office equipment while I am at work. This ensures all of the devices on standby are powered off and not wasting power.

Some examples of items that are commonly on standby include:

• Computers and computer monitors.
• Printers, scanners, or multi-function devices.
• Desktop speakers.
• UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply).

The same holds true for the entertainment system in my living room.

2. For home theater systems

This is a smart plug usage that is related to the last idea.

If you enjoy an audio system with booming bass and have neighbors or family members that live near you, this might help. 

Hook a smart plug up to the sub-woofer of your home entertainment audio system.

This way, during certain hours, you can have it turned off automatically.

So if you are playing games or watching a movie, your neighbors do not experience droning bass at inappropriate hours.

Some examples of other appliances in your living room that could use power on standby:

• TVs.
• Gaming consoles.
• Set-top boxes.
• Streaming devices.
• Media Extenders.
• DVD Players.

Depending on how technology focussed you are, you might have many devices that could potentially waste power in standby mode.

A smart power strip would be easier to control multiple devices in an area like this.

3. Uses to improve safety

Use a smart plug with all products that have heater elements. Such as woman’s hair gadgets and nail equipment. A clothing iron is another example.

My wife always wonders if she remembered to turn the iron off after leaving the house. 

Now you can make sure all of these devices have been shut off. Simply use a smart plug app to turn them off with a smart plug.

Other devices that create heat or draw lots of power when used:

• Space heaters.
• Curling tongs.
• Electric blankets.
• Counter-top or portable ovens and hot plates.

This use is aimed to help improve your safety at home when used with these or other similar appliances.

4. Smart timer control for kitchen appliances

The slow cooker works magically with a smart plug. It’s a good way to keep quality meals even if you are busy.

My slow cooker does not have a timer built into it. So it is perfect to start it about midday, so your meal isn’t overcooked when you arrive home.

I like to ensure the meat is defrosted first, then leave it in the fridge overnight in a marinade. 

I quickly put the meat into the cooker in the morning before leaving for work. This way, the meat gets to about room temperature by the time the cooker kicks on.

Another kitchen appliance could be your coffee maker. Have your coffee and water preloaded in your coffee maker, and have the smart plug turn on automatically in the morning.

Go straight to your kitchen after waking up and enjoy a hot cup of your favorite morning beverage.

5. Power monitoring for energy usage data

I also run my refrigerator and other freezers off a smart plug. This way, I can tell if they are running efficiently. 

Keep an eye on their energy consumption. If they start drawing excessive power, it is time to check them out. 

It is just a way to avoid potential refrigerator failures and a smart way to keep an eye on my energy bill.

This idea can be applied to other appliances or devices to ensure they use the correct amount of energy by connecting them using smart plugs.

Try it with any devices around the house, from your coffee maker to the TV. Compare what they are using with the manufacturer’s specifications.

So, if you are suffering from a slightly higher bill, you could use one to find the cause and benefit by some cost savings.

Make sure that the model of smart plug you choose has an energy monitoring feature.

6. Control hard-to-access outlets

A smart plug can help avoid some frustration in your life. This will solve that problem if you have one of those ‘awkward to get to’ outlets. It’s the perfect job for smart plugs.

Control those annoying outlets from your smartphone. No more crouching into difficult positions ever again.

Some possible difficult sockets to get to:

• Under or behind the bottom of staircases.
• Behind storage equipment like boxes or containers that are stacked.
• Under or behind desks.
• Behind drawers or cabinets.
• Behind bookshelves.
• Wall sockets are installed close to the ceiling or in high places.

7. Use smart plugs to control older or unique devices

Maybe you have a lamp with a special light bulb that’s difficult to replace with a smart light bulb.

Lights that are hard to convert into smart lights can still be controlled on and off by connecting up to a smart plug.

Another example would be something that does not have a power switch. It can enable you to control it with ease.

Some examples of lamps that cannot be fitted with a smart bulb:

• Sealed bulb lamps.
• Low voltage lamps (12V, for example). Most of the time, they have an external PSU.
• Small fluorescent tube lamps.

8. Power up computers with remote access

If you are like me and work from a computer all day and sometimes forget to complete a specific task, this may help you.

Set up your work computer to startup automatically when power is turned on. This can be done from a single bios setting. You will also need remote access set up. After that, you’re ready to go. 

Power up your smart plug using your smartphone and gain access to your computer remotely.

Yes, you can always leave the computer powered on, but that consumes power. This way, you can turn it on with a smart plug when you want and get that job done without having to travel back to the office.

After you are done, simply turn it off remotely and power it off.

Other examples:

• Powering up media servers in a non-local location.
• Hardware shut down and power up when software restarts aren’t available, or systems have frozen.

9. Charging cycles for batteries not used that often

This is for batteries used in various vehicles that don’t run all the time. 

This is also true for possessions that don’t have their own charging capabilities. For instance, a boat battery. 

After your trip out on the water, hook it up to your trickle charger in your garage, which is plugged into a smart plug. Then you have yourself the ability to keep the battery charging at the intervals that you want.

Simply setup up a daily or weekly schedule to maintain the charging on the battery. The next time you need to take your boat out, your battery is ready to go. 

The same method could be used for a car or bike that stands during a short period in the year or another car, perhaps.

Keeping a battery operational rather than storing it is a fantastic idea.

Some examples of battery maintenance include:

• Boats.
• Motorcycles.
• Quad bikes.
• Jet Skis.

10. Internet availability control

Some people like to turn off their modem or router during the day while no one is home or at night when they sleep. This is fine if you do not need to control anything over WiFi.

So a timer schedule using your smart plug can be set in the device to facilitate your needs. It’s also useful in case you are in a situation where you don’t want some people to access your internet during certain hours.

I would only do it under specific circumstances, as everybody’s situation and lifestyle are different.

11. Faster access to slow-starting devices

Another option is to connect up your media server to a smart plug, so it’s ready when you need it. I have mine turned off during the day. 

When I arrive home from work, it is already powered on for me, and all my media is ready to use when I walk through the door.

The same technique can be applied to other devices that take a few minutes to start.

12. Home aquarium lighting control

This might be useful if you are into fish and have a collection of aquariums, especially with some custom lighting.

You can have them showcase your pretty specimens at the times you choose without having to turn on a series of switches.

In this case, I would recommend smart power strips with multiple outlets on one device instead of individual smart plugs. The individual power sockets can be controlled independently.

13. Smart temperature regulation using an old freezer

If you are a beer brewing person, you might like this one. I have an old chest freezer with a smart plug that turns my freezer on and off at intervals. I can then maintain an excellent brewing temperature for my beer. 

My thoughts are to someday take it a bit further. I could get a thermometer hooked up to a microcontroller that gives it information on whether to turn on or off. 

This will lower the number of temperature fluctuations. I wonder what other things people would need to be kept at specific temperatures?

This is not one of the most common ideas for smart plugs, but useful for those doing some home brewing on a budget.

14. Smart battery maintenance for power tools

If you are anything like me, you have many battery chargers for all your battery-powered tools. I sometimes wonder about the safety surrounding running all those chargers in my garage.

Some of the cheaper or older ones I use don’t have great auto shut-off features when the battery has charged fully. 

You can use one to turn them off at intervals of your choice to more safely regulate charging times for your tool’s batteries by connecting all the chargers to a smart plug.

15. Make your Christmas lights smart

Plug your Christmas lights into a smart plug, and now you can use one to control them on a schedule of your choice. So even if you are away on holiday for a short period, you can have them come on for everyone to enjoy.

Smart plugs can operate all kinds of lights, so you don’t have to be concerned if your lights are old, new, or even of a specific type to use.

16. Control your garden lights

This is perfect if you have garden lights that use an outlet or a timer controlled using an old-fashioned timer plug socket.

Using the schedule feature, outdoor smart plugs allow you to control your outside lights. Additionally, you can use a Wi-Fi smart plug to control your lights using your smartphone to turn them on or off at any time, even if you are away from home.

17. Digital signage control

This bonus tip is most likely to be aimed at business owners. If you use an open sign for your business, it’s great to control it whenever necessary by connecting it to a smart plug.

Sometimes with my kind of business, for example, there is no one around on the premises. On those days, simply use your mobile and power it off.

This could be true for other business signs like special hours or vacancies. I’m sure there are many more uses for smart plugs to control a sign.

Concluding the list of uses for smart plugs

Other usages include operating plug-in air conditioners, heat pumps, or heaters. The same can be applied to desk and floor-standing fans.

You can have them turned on by setting up a timer schedule or turn them on from your smartphone when you leave work. You will arrive home to a more comfortable living space.

I will caution that you be extremely careful if you use portable heating products like space heaters. I recommend having them turned on when you are 100% certain that no other items are within the safety radius of its operation.

This way, you can arrive home with the optimum cooling or heating in action.

There are other smart plug uses in the home that involves using other electronic components like relays, for example. Like creating a DIY garage door opener, for example.

You aren’t limited to controlling smart plugs just with an app. You can also use a voice command through Alexa or Google Home to turn your smart plugs on or off.

I hope you found these ideas for smart plugs useful so that you can improve your life and make things easier for yourself.