In the past, people used to turn on and off on the home appliances by physically press on the wall plug. But now with smart plug, you can turn the dumb device into a smart one. Smart plugs not only are a great way to add automation to lamps, fans and other small appliances, but also let you to control your home appliances remotely through your smart phone or voice control.
We recently got our hands on the Tp-Link HS110 smart plug and we tested it for about 10 days. Read this review to see our experience about this device and whether it is worth purchasing for your smart home:
Unboxing
When you open the box, you will find the smart plug, the quick start guide, and the safety information. On the sides of the box, you will find information about this device and its hardware and software features.
Design
The Kasa HS110 smart plug is similar in most ways to its mini counterpart, except when it comes to bulky size and energy monitoring. While the mini fits well across a wall outlet without blocking the adjacent plug, the Kasa HS110 smart plug isn’t designed with space-saving in mind. On the other hands, the TP-Link Wi-Fi Smart Plug offers reliable power with a 100V or 13A input and a max load output of 13A. That won’t work for powering a large appliance like an oven, but it should be plenty for most small to medium household devices.
In addition, the Kasa HS110 smart plug has two buttons: one on the top for resetting it to its default configuration and the second button on the front. This one has a WiFi icon, which displays the connectivity, and an On/Off icon. You can press the second button to turn whatever’s plugged into it On and Off.
Features
HS110 smart plug can be controlled via voice commands using Amazon’s Alexa or the Google Assistant, so you’re not entirely trapped in TP-Link’s ecosystem. It works with IFTTT too but unfortunately can’t be integrated into Apple’s HomeKit ecosystem.
Once you configure the plug on your smartphone, you can schedule the working hours of the Kasa HS110, set the away mode, which simulates that someone is home while you are away from home.
One thing I loved about Kasa HS110 smart plug is the fact that it offers real-time statistics about the power that it is used by the device which is plugged into your smart plug and your total consumption. With it, I was able to learn how much my desktop PC consumes in terms of power.
You also get access to stats for the last 7 days and the last 30 days, which is great information to have. Couple all the live information you get, with the fact that you can remote control the smart plug when you are not at home, using your mobile data connection, and it’s obvious that we are dealing with a very useful device and mobile app.
Pros and cons
The Kasa HS110 smart plug has many positives:
- It’s not very expensive, even though its price is not for everyone
- It’s easy to use and setup
- You can remote control your smart plug even when you are not at home
- You get real-time data about the energy consumption of the device(s) that you plug into the smart plug
There are also some negatives:
- The timer, the scheduler, and the away mode can conflict with each other if you are not careful how you set them up
- Doesn’t support Apple’s HomeKit
Bottom Line
The Tp-Link Kasa HS110 smart plug is a very useful device and, if you can afford it, you will be happy with your purchase. It’s easy to setup and use, and it offers data that you will find both informative and useful. Also, being able to remote control it when you are not at home is a great plus.
