One of the most common home automation devices that we tend to buy is a smart plug. We can use it to control devices remotely, schedule turning it off and on, and sometimes we even buy it to save energy. However, in this article we are going to talk about why a smart plug does not save as much electricity as we might think. We are going to explain what consumption you will always have.
Ghost consumption, a problem with smart plugs
It is clear that with a smart plug we can configure certain devices and use less electricity . For example, we can program an air conditioner to turn on or off and thus prevent it from being on for longer than necessary. We can also turn off any other device that we have at home connected through this plug.
In those cases, for something like turning off an appliance, it can be useful and save energy. However, it must be borne in mind that smart plugs are going to have a phantom consumption just like a television in Stand By and other similar devices. After all, it is a device more connected to the network and to be able to control it remotely, it will have to emit a signal.
Therefore, a smart plug is not going to save as much electricity as we can imagine in many cases. If, for example, you use it to disconnect a television and it is not on Stand By, think that this smart plug will also be consuming even if we think not. It will be contributing to the phantom consumption of the house.
In these specific cases, to save as much as possible on the electricity bill, what is best is to completely turn off the electricity devices and this can only be done manually. A plug of this type, even if it is little, will always have a consumption.
Similar in bulbs with Wi-Fi
We can say that something similar happens with Wi-Fi smart bulbs . It is true that they are very useful to be able to turn them on and off remotely from the mobile, even without having to be at home, but they are one more device that we are going to have connected and that will also mean consumption.
An off smart bulb will be consuming, even if it is very little. Why is this happening? After all, it is a device more connected to Wi-Fi and that will respond to your commands when you turn it on from your mobile or speak to a device with Alexa or Google Home. That is going to need you to have some constant consumption.
However, we are talking about a minimum consumption. Turned off smart bulbs are not going to represent a significant part of your electricity bill. But of course, if you have many bulbs of this type, in the end the sum of all of them does make a significant amount.
In short, as you can see, smart plugs are very useful, but they are not so useful if you want to save on your electricity bill. They are devices that will inevitably be consuming to stay connected to the network.
