Buy a Wi-fi power strip
Can’t reach your TV’S awkward plug socket? No matter – just use a Wi-fi power strip to switch it on and off remotely. Nik Rawlinson explains how they work, and recommends the best one to buy
Wi-fi-enabled plugs are one of the most convenient devices you can buy. They connect to the wireless network in your home, and can be controlled remotely using a smartphone app and a voice assistant like Alexa (on Amazon Echo devices) and Google Assistant on its Home devices.
This means you can plug them into the wall in awkward positions, such as behind your sofa, at the back of your TV or on the top of kitchen cupboards. You won’t need to bend down or stand on tiptoes to turn them on and off because it’s all done through the app.
It’s as easy as if the plugs were positioned in full view at a convenient height. We’re big fans of them (this writer has eight, alongside various Wi-fi light bulbs), and would never go back to manual plugs.
But, they have two downsides. First, they’re too big to be plugged in side by side, and don’t leave space for conventional plugs in the space between (as pictured below). Second, they’re not cheap. Although prices are falling as they become more common, you’ll need to budget around £10 per socket ( www.
snipca.com/39038) – although we’ve seen some selling for far more.
A Wi-fi power strip can overcome both problems. Several sockets are placed in one unit, so there’s no extra space taken up by the ‘body’ that a single plug has. Also, as several components can be shared, like the controller, wireless circuitry and three-pin plug, they’re often cheaper than the equivalent number of standalone plugs.
Choose and set up your Wi-fi power strip
First, you should think about how many plugs you need to control. If your budget allows, consider buying a power strip with more sockets than you currently require, so your system has room to grow.
Make sure each one can be controlled individually, so if for example you have several lights plugged in, you don’t need to have them all switched on or off at the same time.
Mind you, if that’s all it can do, you may as well buy a single Wi-fi plug and connect a regular (ie, non-wi
Fi) extension, which will do the same job more cheaply. Also think about where the devices you need to power are situated, and make sure the lead, plus their own cables, are long enough to reach.
If you can’t find a suitable model in online stores while searching for a wi-fi power strip, try a smart extension lead instead. This brings up more relevant results than either ‘wireless extension’ or ‘wi-fi extension’, which are more likely to find extenders for your wireless signal.
The final consideration, which isn’t as easy to gauge when searching online, is the quality of the app that controls the strip. Comments from users are typically a good guide, despite the proliferation of fake reviews. In our experience, Tp-link’s Kasa Smart app for both IOS ( www.wsnipca.com/39040, pictured left) aand Android ( www.snipca.com/39041) is excellent.
It gave us the confidence to buy the ccompany’s Kasa Smart Wi-fi Power Strip (£24.99 from Amazon: www.snipca.
com/39042). c This has two USB sockets
( 1 in photo above) that we’re using to ccharge phones and ebook readers wwithout having to use the adapter plugs ththat came with them.
It also has three conventional three-pin ssockets 2 for full-size plugs, each of
which can be controlled directly using the three buttons on the extension itself, or the app (and, in turn, Amazon and Google voice assistants). The ‘Status Light’ 3 shows whether it’s switched on and working, while the built-in surge
protection helps to protect any sensitive electronic devices, like laptops or PCS, if there’s a spike in the power supply.
How you set up your power strip will depend on the model and manufacturer you’ve chosen, but it should be roughly similar to the Mini Workshop above, which explains how to set up the Kasa strip.
Set times for your power strip
Your sockets will now appear in the Kasa Smart app. Tap the app buttons beside them to turn them on and off. If everything is working as it should, move the extension to its long-term location and connect your devices as appropriate.
You’ll remember that the app asked for access to your location. This was so it could turn your devices on and off automatically at sunset and sunrise, compensating as these shift through the year. To set up this feature, tap the plug name (rather than the button) for which you want to enable it, then tap Schedule, followed by ‘+’.
Tap ‘Turn On Power’ ( 1 in our screenshot right), then tap Sunset. Optionally, use the controls below to select a number of minutes, between one and 59, that you want to adjust – for example, coming on 10 minutes before sunset, as we’ve set 2 . Use the buttons under Repeat 3 to select the days on which it should apply, then tap Save.
Now repeat the process, this time selecting Turn Off Power, and choosing a specific hour and minute – your bedtime, perhaps – to determine when the light is put out.