Amazon’s Tapo Smart Plugs give you total control of electricity usage as the cost of living continues to rise, with users saying the gadgets have helped reduce bills ‘significantly’
Shoppers worried about rising energy costs over winter may want to consider an Amazon gadget that helps you stay on top of your bills. The retail giant stocks a range of Tapo smart plugs, which allow you to control electronic devices remotely so you can keep costs down.
The devices are currently reduced in Amazon’s Black Friday sale, with a four-pack available for £26.59, almost half the usual £47.99. The Tapo twin-pack is also on offer at £15.49 – down from £23.99 – while a single smart plug is down to £9.99 from £16.99.
The Tapo Smart Plugs ensure you maintain total control of plugged-in devices, whether that’s a TV, lamp or electric heater, allowing you to switch them on or off from your smartphone via the free Tapo app or with voice control. With this, you can ensure devices aren’t draining power unnecessarily so you don’t pay more than you need to as energy costs rise.
READ MORE: Amazon’s Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 deal offers huge 60% discount for Black Friday
READ MORE: Amazon’s entire Fire TV Stick range reduced up to £25 in Black Friday sale
The Tapo app also lets you monitor your spend with daily reports, allowing you to save on your bills by using appliances at times of day when electricity is cheaper. The smart plugs have a schedule and timer function allowing you to automatically turn electronics on and off according to a pre-set schedule or set countdown timer to activate them as needed.
They are said to work with any Wi-Fi router without the need for a separate hub, while the space-saving design means they can fit into any standard socket without blocking adjacent ones. The Tapo plugs also boast an ‘Away Mode’ feature, which can be used to turn lights on and off to give the impression that someone is home when you’re out of the house.
The Tapo Smart Plug four-pack has racked up more than 2,300 five-star reviews and is currently the best-selling product in Amazon’s Smart and Remote Controlled Plugs category. More than 3,000 shoppers have snapped one up in the past month, with users hailing them as ‘easy to use’ and ‘very accurate’ when monitoring energy usage.
One impressed shopper said: “My electricity bills were through the roof last year and I was intrigued how much I was spending daily. The plugs are easy to sync and set up. I have economy seven heating and it supports that too whilst adding your electricity day rates. It has been a game changer and pushed me to replace my heaters. I have rubbish/expensive storing heaters that I don’t use so I was temporarily using a fan heater. Big mistake [as] it was costing £1 an hour. My new electric radiators are less than 30p per hour. The app is fantastic, I use the schedules on my heaters and timers for my electric dryer. They are life changing if you’re struggling with electricity bills.”
Another said: “Great device, it linked up to all my other smart home devices seamlessly. I haven’t had a single problem yet. I currently use the smart plugs for temperature and humidity control in my room. There’s no light coming off the plug itself, and it’s just absolutely spot on. If you care about energy usage, it’s very accurate in monitoring the energy usage of each plug to give you a better idea how much energy you are using.”
A third happy customer said: “Amazing. Cannot believe how much money has been saved by managing my devices better. Moving to a smart home has been worth it and I’m already seeing the benefits as it’s cut my bills significantly. The app is great and it is all very easy to use. I would also recommend downloading the free ‘watt’ app also as this links to Tapo and shows the consumption so much better, with other features too.”
However, it’s worth noting the Tapo smart plugs do not support Apple Home, as one reviewer wrote: “While the Tapo App has many features and is more user-friendly than Apple Home, not supporting Apple Home means you have to create an Apple shortcut for each device and function separately in order to use the Siri voice control feature.”
Elsewhere, Debenhams also offers a range of smart plugs, many of which are on sale for Black Friday. The ValueLights 2-Pack Smart Plugs are currently reduced to £18.39, down from £22.99, while the ENER-J Smart Wi-Fi Twin Wall Sockets are £36, a third off the usual £54.
