What you will read in this article:
- What is a smart plug?
- The main features of a smart plug
- How a smart plug could benefit you
Electricity used to be a simple game.
You plug your devices in, use electricity, and pay your bill accordingly at the end of the month.
With consumers looking to slash bills and carbon emissions, things are a little more complicated nowadays.
A device giving consumers a helping hand: the smart plug.
The nifty little thing might look like an ordinary adaptor. However, it’s a device that can work wonders when it comes to reducing excess electricity.
Here, we explain what a smart plug is, its main features, and why it could benefit you.
So, what is a smart plug?
Let’s break it down with a simple example.
You want to plug in a desk lamp in your home.
With a regular plug, the lamp connects to electricity and turns on.
Simple.
Add a smart plug in the mix, and you get the same but with smart functions. These include the ability to:
- Monitor how much electricity the lamp uses
- Schedule when the lamp is turned on and off
What are the main features of a smart plug?
Almost all smart plug models, including those from GivEnergy, include the following features.
Wi-Fi and app connectivity
Allowing you to control your smart plug from anywhere in the world.
Take the GivEnergy smart plug as an example.
You can control via the app or more comprehensive portal.
Or if you prefer, you can also use via Amazon Alexa.
Energy monitoring
Allowing you to monitor how much electricity a particular device is using, and cut down, accordingly.
Once a device is connected to a GivEnergy smart plug, you’ll be able to see how much electricity it’s using in kilowatt hours (kWh).
Time and scheduling
So that your device is only on when you want it to be.
Set a schedule via the GivEnergy app.
Want your desk lamp on or off at certain times? Just set the times you want with a tap.
How could a smart plug benefit you?
In fact, you may want to get multiple smart plugs for your homes, depending on how many devices you want to monitor.
The most obvious benefit?
Saving on your bills.
Those devices – the games console, the TV, the coffee machine – might not use loads of electricity when left on standby mode.
But you don’t need us to tell you, it all adds up.
Research from energy supplier, British Gas in 2019 suggests that households could save £147 on average by switching off devices when not in use.
The costliest devices per year include:
- TVs (£24.61)
- Games consoles (£12.17)
- Computers (£11.22)
- Microwaves (£16.37)
… and more.
With a smart plug, users can monitor how much electricity an individual device is using.
Using too much energy in standby mode?
Schedule the device to only turn on when you need it to.
On the other hand, you may like the convenience of standby and be happy to pay the associated cost.
Up to you.
Other benefits of smart plugs
Convenience
Schedule your devices from the palm of your hand.
Schedule your coffee machine to switch on in the morning, so you can get your early caffeine boost.
Safety
Popped out and worried you left a hazardous device on?
Turn it off remotely via the smart plug.
Or perhaps, you went out and left the lights off.
Turn them on remotely to deter burglars.
Smart plugs for smart energy
Smart plugs work fine by themselves.
However, they work even better in conjunction with battery storage, solar PV panels, EV chargers, etc.
Consider this hypothetical example.
A household installs a home battery, and solar PV panels.
This means they can generate their own electricity and store it for later use.
Occasionally, this is not enough to meet their needs. When this happens, they draw energy from the grid.
They invest in a few smart plugs to monitor some of their devices.
By monitoring energy usage via the GivEnergy app, they find where energy is being wasted and act accordingly.
This means they can rely less on the grid and more on their solar and battery combination.
Start your smart energy journey today
Find out more about what a GivEnergy smart plug could do for you.
Want to go one step further with battery storage? Find an approved GivEnergy installer near you today.
