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Smart plugs offer you the convenience of controlling your wall power outlets from a mobile app.
What’s more, you have remote control of your wall outlets if you have a smart hub installed in your residential space.
You can also be sure to schedule your electronics such as a TV and smart bulbs to turn on/off depending on your chosen settings. Therefore, smart plugs are essential for any smart home.
But there is the question of whether you can use a smart plug outside the house. You might want to charge your smartphone or tablet from the wall outlet outside the house.
You might also want to plug in your Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller into a smart plug outside the house, but you’re wondering whether the smart plug can handle the outdoor environment.
Yes, you can use a smart plug outside the house, provided the manufacturer also recommends outdoor usage. Smart plugs for outdoor use are usually rugged and water-resistant.
If you have a waterproof and rugged smart plug, you can use it outside because it can withstand water elements in the outside environment.
How Do You Control A Smart Plug?
Your meross smart outdoor plug works fine since it is weather resistant. The main weather element that affects most electronic devices is water or moisture in the air.
But you can be sure that your outdoor smart plugs from the meross brand and other brands will handle splashes of water and dust just fine since they are weatherproof.
Besides being weather resistant, the meross smart plug and other similar waterproof smart plugs allow you to control them via different control devices.
You can control the plug by issuing a voice command, thanks to voice control devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Smart plugs for outdoor spaces also work with Smartthings hub for remote control.
If you have Kasa TP link Smart Outdoor Plug, you can connect it to your home’s Wi-Fi network and control it remotely.
You can switch on/off the connected electronic devices from miles away. The Kasa smart plug for outdoor use has an IP64 rating for its incredible waterproof performance.
With such a rating, dust and water elements will not affect your smart plug’s performance and functioning.
Therefore, you can control your smart outdoor plug remotely if you have connected it to a smart hub via a long range Wi-Fi network. You can also control it by issuing a voice command.
But you will need a voice assistant device like Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Assistant for controlling it by voice.
Do Outdoor Smart Plugs Monitor Energy Consumption?
All smart plugs consume a portion of your household’s energy supply. But their energy consumption is minimal if you don’t plug in any electronic devices. The devices you plug into your smart plug will consume a significant amount of energy.
Fortunately, smart plugs like Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug monitor the energy consumption by the connected devices. You can determine the energy you intend to use when using a given electronic device.
The energy monitoring feature is essential in keeping the energy consumption within acceptable limits.
But you will have to buy a smart plug with this feature to keep your energy consumption within the levels you deem fit.
How to use your smart plug outside
A smart outdoor plug will come in handy if you’re planning to power the following accessories:
Pool Filter Pumps
- The Hayward Super Pump Single-Speed 1.5 Pool Pump sets the industry standard for efficiency and dependability and is part of the world’s best-selling medium-head pump family
- Heavy-duty, high-performance motor and airflow ventilation provide quieter, cooler, more efficient operation
- Extra-large debris basket provides added leaf-holding capacity for less frequent maintenance
A filter pump for your swimming pool works to remove dirt and other debris from the pool water. But it is going to need electric power to function. You can power your filter pump from a smart plug that is designed for an outdoor space.
However, you will ensure the filter pump’s electrical rating doesn’t exceed the smart plug’s rating.
This is essential to ensure you don’t overload the smart plug and cause malfunction. With a smart plug supplying power to your pool filter pump, you can be sure to control the filtration of your pool remotely.
You can turn on/off the filter pump and get it ready in time.
Outdoor Lighting
- Dimmable compatible and energy saving patio string lights: G40 backyard lights come with 25 glass bulbs and 1 spare bulb. 1.5 inch light bulbs have E12 or C7 candelabra socket base, 5W per bulb, warm white dimmable string light help you to save more electricity bid.
- Connectable and portable outdoor lights: 25 hanging sockets, 6 inch lead with male plug, 12 inch spacing between bulbs, 6 inch tail with female connector, total length 25 feet.
- Safety and durable: UL certified deck lights is built with weatherproof technology, which can withstand extreme temperatures, rain, wind, and damp climates.
You can transform your home’s outdoor space by installing smart lights. You can also power the smart lights from a smart plug to allow you to turn them on/off from your smartphone.
Since a smart plug can connect to your home’s Wi-Fi network, you can control the smart lighting remotely via IFTTT.
Smart Lawn Sprinkler controller
- 5-STAR RATINGS. Amazon’s most- and highest-rated Wi-Fi sprinkler controller.
- Avoid watering in the rain. Exclusive weather intelligence automatically skips unnecessary watering with features like rain skip, wind skip, freeze skip, and more.
- Control from anywhere with the easy-to-use app. Run sprinklers, view upcoming schedules, and observe your estimated outdoor water usage.
There are plenty of smart sprinkler controllers on the market. Rachio Wi-Fi Smart Lawn Sprinkler Controller is one of the incredible devices out on the market for controlling your lawn sprinkler.
You can power the sprinkler controller from a smart plug. But you will make sure the smart plug is designed for the outdoor space.
When you connect a lawn sprinkler controller to a smart plug, you control the sprinkler remotely and monitor its energy use.
There are plenty of devices that you could power from a smart plug.
If you use a device in the outdoor space, you want to ensure you power it from a smart plug designed for the outdoor space.
What other devices could you power from a smart plug?
A smart plug for the outdoor space has endless applications. There are plenty of devices that you could power from your smart outdoor plug. They include:
- Hand tools
- Christmas tree lighting
- Security lights
- Path lights
The list could be endless! If you have electrical appliances for use in the outdoor space, you can plug them into a smart outdoor plug.
You can be sure the appliance is off after switching the smart plug off.
You can transform your living space into a smart home only by using a smart plug and connecting your high-ticket electronics to the smart plug.
How to care for your smart plug for outdoor use
If you have a smart Wi Fi outdoor plug, you want to care for it to function correctly and have an extended service life. Your smart plug already has an IP rating to tell you how much bad weather it can withstand.
But this doesn’t mean you have to plug it anyhow. You can plug the smart plug with the sockets facing down. This will prevent water from getting into the sockets and causing short-circuiting.
Positioning the smart plug with the sockets facing down also offers additional protection, although minimal!
You may also put the smart plug for the outdoor space in a SOCKiTBOX. The SOCKiTBOX protects the smart plug from excess rain and offers excellent electrical safety.
The box will tightly seal the smart plug inside for all the benefits we have already mentioned. Choose a SOCKiTBOX and protect your smart outdoor plug.
Final Thoughts
You can use the smart plug outside if it is designed for the outdoor space. You should invest in smart plugs for outdoor use since they are weatherproof and can handle extreme weather conditions outside the house.
However, you will ensure you don’t overload the smart plug since this will damage it.
If you wondered whether you could use your smart plug outside, we hope you now have the answer. Only plug a smart plug for use outside into the wall outlet outside the house.
An indoor smart plug will not handle the extreme weather conditions outside and will not function for a long time.
