内容来源：https://lifehacker.com/home/make-home-smarter-with-smart-plugs?utm_medium=RSS

内容总结：

【智能家居入门新选择：小小智能插座让传统家电“焕发新生”】

对于初次接触智能家居的消费者而言，面对琳琅满目的设备和复杂协议往往感到无从下手。其实无需大动干戈更换全屋电器，仅需添置几款Wi-Fi智能插座，即可轻松实现家居智能化升级。

目前市面上的智能插座品牌丰富，包括Wyze、TP-Link、亚马逊和通用电气等知名厂商。这些即插即用设备可将普通插座升级为智能控制终端，通过手机APP实现远程开关、定时设置、语音操控等功能，让传统灯具、小家电秒变“智能设备”。部分高端型号还支持日出日落定时、用电监测、离家模式，并能与谷歌、亚马逊、苹果等智能平台联动。

在实际应用场景中，智能插座展现出多重妙用：

生活规律自动化
用户可设置晨起联动场景：卧室灯光自动点亮唤醒主人，咖啡机同步启动研磨；浴室卷发棒提前加热节省准备时间。晚间则可通过语音指令一键关闭娱乐设备，开启电热毯预热卧室。整个过程无需手动操作，实现“动口不动手”的智能体验。

全屋灯光智能管控
即使未安装智能灯泡，也可通过智能插座实现灯光自动化。客厅灯具可设定睡前关闭、晨起开启，离家自动断电；庭院串灯搭配防水插座更能随日落自动点亮。该功能同样适用于节日彩灯、植物补光灯等场景，配合IFTTT平台还能实现“人来灯亮”的感应效果，特别适合车库、地下室等区域。

家电远程精细管理
支持对热水壶、加湿器、鱼缸灯等设备进行远程开关或定时控制，更能确保卷发棒、取暖器等高风险设备彻底断电。通过监测插座用电数据，用户可随时查看洗衣机运行状态，有效杜绝“吸血鬼耗电”（待机能耗），帮助家庭节能降耗。

破解家居空间难题
对于高处、家具背后等难以触及的插座，智能插座让用户免去攀爬搬动之苦。地下室除湿机、阁楼风扇等偏远区域设备，均可通过手机实现轻松管控。

业内专家指出，智能插座以其安装便捷、成本低廉的优势，正成为智能家居生态的理想入口。在提升生活便利性的同时，其用电监测功能更有助于培养节能习惯，实现智慧生活与绿色消费的双重目标。

中文翻译：

初次接触智能家居技术时，面对琳琅满目的自动化设备与通信协议，您可能会感到无所适从。但要让日常起居实现智能化，其实无需一开始就投入大量时间金钱更换所有电器。不妨尝试在住宅各处配置支持Wi-Fi的智能插座，让传统电器秒变智能设备。

市面上既有Wyze、TP-Link、亚马逊、通用电气等知名品牌的智能插座，也有许多其他选择。它们能将普通电源接口升级为智能端口，实现远程开关、定时设定、语音控制等功能。只需插入插座并通过应用程序连接，家中的灯具、小型家电及其他电子设备即刻拥有智能属性。

优质智能插座往往配备实用功能：包括定时器、日出日落情景模式、用电量监测、离家模式，并兼容谷歌、亚马逊和苹果的智能家居平台。

【自动化日常起居】
通过设定不同设备在特定时段启动，智能插座能让晨间流程自动运转。例如安排卧室灯具定时亮起唤醒您，同时启动咖啡机开始冲泡（记得前一晚预先设置原料）。甚至可在浴室配置智能插座，在您使用前预先加热美发工具。

既可单独设置每个插座的运行逻辑，也能通过语音助手（如支持Alexa的设备）实现一键联动启动。夜间就寝场景同样适用反向操作：将智能插座作为睡眠定时器，关闭灯具与流媒体设备，或预先开启电热毯、卧室取暖器。

【智能照明管控】
即便未安装智能灯泡，智能插座也能实现灯光自动化。可设置客厅台灯在就寝时段关闭、清晨自动亮起，上班离家时熄灭、归来时重新点亮。将庭院串灯接入防水智能插座，设定日落后自动点亮1-2小时后关闭。圣诞灯饰、室内植物补光灯的定时管控，智能插座都能完美胜任。

通过IFTTT联动功能（或融入现有智能家居生态系统），可将智能插座与运动传感器结合——当侦测到动静时，灯光会自动亮起并持续设定时长。这项功能适用于夜间熄灯后的厨房、公共区域、车库及地下室。当安防摄像头捕捉到异常时，户外照明也会自动激活。IFTTT还能实现更多场景：当温控器达到特定温度时，自动开启或关闭风扇、取暖器。

使用智能插座后，无需手动拔插电源，灯光控制变得轻松便捷。通过精细调整运行方案，避免不必要的照明耗电，还能有效节能并降低电费支出。

由于支持远程控制与自动化设置，智能插座还能在您外出时扮演安防角色：设定灯光在特定时间明灭，营造家中始终有人的效果。

【家电智慧管理】
对于需要远程管控的电器，无论您身在何处，通过智能插座即可实现智能化管理。例如为电水壶或暖奶器设定运行时间，或在需要时远程启动。还能为装饰性设备设置定时开关，包括喷泉、鱼缸灯、香薰机、融蜡灯等。

对于美发工具、取暖器等设备，智能插座能确保及时断电。若出门后不确定是否已关闭开关，可随时查看智能插座的实时功耗数据并远程切断电源。

将洗衣机或烘干机接入智能插座，可在运行结束时收到手机提醒。

【解决死角供电难题】
对于高处墙面、家具背后、车库角落等难以触及的电源接口，智能插座让设备控制不再困难。虽然首次插接设备需要费些周折，但此后通过手机应用、语音指令或自动化设置即可轻松实现电源通断。

这项功能尤其适用于不常出入区域的设备管理，如地下室的水泵与除湿机、阁楼及车库的通风扇。

【能源监控分析】
智能插座能提供各类电器能耗的详细数据。设备接入后，既可查看实时功耗，也能分析历史用电曲线。借此可有效减少待机功耗，缓解电池损耗，识别高能耗低效电器，从而帮助您制定更明智、更经济的设备使用方案。

英文来源：

If you're starting out with smart home tech, you may feel overwhelmed by all the devices and protocols available to automate every part of your routine. But you don't need to invest a lot of time and money up front to replace all of your electronics. Instead, consider adding wifi-enabled smart plugs around the house to turn your "dumb" devices smart.
Smart plugs, which are available from well-known brands like Wyze, TP-Link, Amazon, and GE as well as many others, transform your regular outlets into smart alternatives that can be turned on and off remotely, set on schedules, and even controlled with voice commands. All you have to do is plug them in and connect them to an app, and your lights, small appliances, and other electronics become smart.
Some of the best smart plugs have useful features like timers, sunrise and sunset scheduling, energy monitoring, and away modes as well as compatibility with smart home platforms from Google, Amazon, and Apple.
Automate your daily routines
With smart plugs, you can put your morning routine on autoplay by setting various devices to activate at specified times. For example, schedule your bedroom lights to switch on to wake you up and have your coffee maker begin brewing simultaneously (don't forget to set it up the night before). You could even use a smart plug in your bathroom to heat up your hair tools before you need to use them.
You can set up routines for each individual plug, or you could link them with a voice assistant—using an Alexa-enabled device, for example—to start the whole routine with a single command. The same concept could apply at bedtime, in reverse: Use smart plugs like sleep timers for your lights and your streaming devices or even for preheating an electric blanket or turning on a space heater in your bedroom.
Control indoor and outdoor lights
Smart plugs can be used to automate your lights even if you don't have smart bulbs. You could set the lamps in your living room to turn off around bedtime and on in the morning—then off again when you leave for work and back on when you return. Or connect your outdoor string lights to a weather-resistant smart plug with a routine to automatically turn on in the evening around sunset and off after an hour or two. Smart plugs are also great for scheduling and automating Christmas lights and indoor grow lights. Aanything you want a timer for, you can do with a smart plug.
Using IFTTT capabilities—or as part of a larger smart home ecosystem if you have one—you could link smart plugs with motion sensors to have lights turn on for a set period of time when motion is detected. This could be useful at night in kitchens or common areas after the lights have been turned off as well as in garages and basements. Outdoor lights could be set to activate when a security camera picks up activity. Other uses of IFTTT include having a fan or heater turn on or off when your thermostat hits a specific temperature.
With smart plugs, there's no need to flip switches or unplug from outlets, making light control much more convenient. As an added bonus, you can save energy (and reduce your power bill) by tweaking routines so lights aren't on when they don't need to be.
Because smart plugs can be automated and controlled remotely, you can also use them for security when you're away: Set your lights to turn off and on at specified times so it looks like you're home.
Command your home appliances
If you have devices you want to manage power to, whether you're away from home or simply across the house, connect them to smart plugs—for example, you can put a water kettle or bottle warmer on a schedule, or at least hometurn them on remotely when you need them. Or set up timers for decorative elements like water fountains, aquarium lights, air fresheners, wax melts, and more.
Smart plugs are also useful for ensuring electronics are turned off, like the aforementioned hair tools and space heaters. If you can't remember whether you flipped the switch before you left home, check the power consumption of the smart plugs they're attached to and disable them if needed.
If you run your washer or dryer through a smart plug, you can get alerts to your phone when they finish their cycles.
Access hard-to-reach outlets
With a smart plug, you can control devices connected to outlets in hard-to-reach places—such as high on a wall or behind heavy furniture or in a far corner of your garage—without needing to climb on a ladder or move things out of the way. Plugging the device in initially is the hard part, but after that, you can simply toggle the power on and off via the app or voice command or set up an automation.
This can also be useful for controlling electronics in areas you don't walk through often, such as water pumps and dehumidifiers in basements and fans in attics and garages.
Monitor energy usage
Smart plugs provide useful data about the energy draw of various appliances and electronics. When a device is plugged in, you can see its real-time energy usage as well as historical data. Use this to reduce standby or "vampire" power, manage battery strain, and identify inefficient, energy-hungry electronics so you can make more informed (and cost-conscious) decisions about your devices.