Elgato Eve Energy

HomeKit control of dumb devices

£45 FROM Elgato, elgato.com FEATURES Bluetooth 4.0, iOS app (needs iOS 9.1 or higher)

Design & features

Eve Energy’s width and height aren’t much larger than a regular plug, and it’s a little smaller than Belkin’s device. It juts out just over 5cm from a wall. The manual switch on top is smaller than Belkin’s, yet easy enough to press.

Getting started

On iOS 10, you can set up Energy in the Home app, but it’s better to follow Elgato’s instructions for its Eve app to get any firmware update. It’s also a bit clearer than Home for defining complex automation triggers, but its ambition can make it seem more complex than Belkin’s app at first sight.

Ease of use

Both device’s apps track energy usage over time, and take a single kWh rate to estimate your running cost. Elgato’s app can calculate cost based on the last minute, day or week of energy usage. It provides a visualisation, too.

Connectivity

Remote control requires some additional kit: either a fourth-generation Apple TV, or an iPad running iOS 10 that you’ve set to act as your Home Hub. The maximum load you can run through Eve Energy is 2500W (11A).