My $40 smart plug purchase turned out to be a total waste for me

I see a lot of people saying smart plugs changed their life, but I bought a Kasa HS103 to try and save on my electric bill. After a month of turning my lamp and fan on and off from my phone, I checked my usage and it was the same, maybe a dollar less. For me, it just added an extra step to do something I could already do by hand. Has anyone else found these don't really save money like the reviews say?

3 comments

3 Comments

dakota_burns8328d ago

Yeah I saw a thing that said they only help if you're really bad about leaving stuff on all the time... otherwise it's just a convenience thing.

eva46827d ago

Totally. It's like the difference between someone who forgets to turn off every light in the house and someone who is already pretty careful. For the first person, smart plugs can save a real chunk on the electric bill by killing power to lamps and TVs. For the second person, it's more about turning on the coffee maker from bed or having a lamp come on at sunset automatically. The savings are minimal if you're already in the habit of flipping switches.

sandraflores23d ago

I get what you're saying about the savings being minimal for careful people, but that's not the whole picture. Even if you're good about turning stuff off, a lot of devices suck power just by being plugged in, like game consoles or old chargers. A smart plug can completely cut that hidden drain without you having to crawl behind furniture. The convenience stuff is cool, but stopping that constant trickle of power adds up more than people realize.