Do Smart Plugs Work Away From Home?

A smart plug phone app on top of a person on a train.

When talking about the benefits of smart plugs, I usually give the example of being able to turn your slow cooker on from work, so that you come home to a perfect meal. This relies on a key benefit of smart plugs: being able to turn them on and off whilst you’re away from your … Read more

Can Smart Plugs Be Used To Dim Lights?

A side lamp with an Amazon Echo Dot in-front of it

When you plug a device into a smart plug, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the device itself isn’t suddenly smart. And by that I mean that it’s still the same old device, merely plugged into a smart plug which can turn it on or off. A standard light – even one which supports dimming … Read more

Smart Plugs: The Surge Protection & Power Strip Guide

Close-up shot of a surge protected UK 'extension cable' (power strip) using SurgeGuard technology, made by Masterplug.

Smart plugs are plugged into your wall sockets, and then you plug devices into them. The smart plug’s power can then be controlled with your smartphone app (or Amazon Echo/Google Home), meaning that you can turn the plugged-in device on/off with ease. But these plugs typically control just a single device, and often don’t have … Read more