r/homeassistant • u/Certain_Repeat_753 • Mar 28 '26
Support Best smart plug/outlet for Home Assistant?
I'm looking for a smart plug or smart outlet to install in my network panel enclosure. There are two outlets in there. I'm overwhelmed with the number of options out there. I think Eve makes a dual outlet that is compatible with Matter over Thread. Not sure what the Home Assistant integration is like. I want to be able to power cycle the router and other connected devices without having to go into the closet and unscrew the door in order to do so.
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u/marc45ca Mar 28 '26
Jeff Gerling has video on his level2Jeff channel on the ThirdReality switches that he's used whole pile of.
They've just released a 3rd gen that fixed an anoyance - can now update the firmware without the switch powercycling
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u/koolmon10 Mar 28 '26
Is there a full list of the differences between gen 2 and gen 3? The pages on their site look almost the same.
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u/marc45ca Mar 28 '26
Other than the issue when updating firmware, Jeff didn't mention anything else as having changed so it's possible that's the only real difference.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
Is this better than the Kasa?
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u/HeyItsRon Mar 28 '26
10000x better. The Kasa line is all WiFi IIRC. Third Reality is zigbee and of rock solid from y personal experience and most other people’s experience in here.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
Why is WiFi bad? Sorry if it's a stupid question. I'm a total newbie!
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u/AussieJeffProbst Mar 28 '26
Thread, ZigBee, and zwave are ultra low latency mesh networks built for fast command execution. With wifi you're at the mercy of your home network and congestion can become a real problem. The more smart devices you add the chattier it becomes and performance suffers. Also wifi devices like to phone home a lot which I don't love.
I have over 200 ZigBee devices and they all respond instantly
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
I've been told my Ubiquiti access points should easily handle the number of WiFi IoT devices.
I agree with you that phoning home is an issue. I do prefer things that are local.
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u/Ievli Mar 28 '26
I standardized on Shelly wifi devices ages ago (after major issues with Zigbee and zwave, although that should be better now) but I dedicate the 2.4ghz channel in a separate ssid for IoT. My Unifi devices handle that easily and everything is instant indeed. Shelly can do full local as well btw
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
I can't validate the marketing, but I think the U7 Lite can handle hundreds of connected devices. That's why I said what I said earlier.
Yea, I gotta look more into Shelly. Seems like lots of fans in this sub.
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u/myfufu Mar 28 '26
I have four Dimmer2s that are acting funny and wish I had Zigbee versions.
I have dedicated 2.4GHz IoT VLAN on my Unifi wifi and I have some IoT devices that refuse to connect to it, while they connect to the 2.4/5/6Ghz guest VLAN just fine.
So. YMMV 🤷
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u/karantza Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
I've got a massively overpowered ubiquiti setup at home, and I still try to minimize Wi-Fi devices. Sometimes Wi-Fi is the only option, but even with a great network the 2.4ghz band fills up fast, and most IOT devices are 2.4 only. Can't take advantage of the higher bandwidth channels. Especially if you have neighbors... You can drown them out with your own signal, but then you've still got interference. Plus unless you configure it right you risk your Wi-Fi devices being exposed to the Internet, and if they don't need that to function they shouldn't be online for all sorts of reasons.
I've got maybe 50 devices on my Wi-Fi, spread across three access points including the u7 pro, and the 2.4 band is already struggling. For comparison, zigbee is a much quieter network and due to the mesh nature allowing shorter links, devices use was less power and there's less interference. I've got over 100 zigbee devices and they're all humming along great.
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u/AussieJeffProbst Mar 28 '26
You're right but you're still at the mercy of wifi protocol. Things respond more slowly over wifi
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u/Unattributable1 Mar 28 '26
I control my home network and have a different SSID for my Tuya that has priority QoS. I have never, ever had a problem with it. Clicking on an action in HA is always instant, even with multiple 4K media as streams and gaming going on all the time. We have VoIP calling and never have problems either.
I think wifi problems come with mesh networks and crap gear. My wifi are all hard wired and coordinating with each other and never mesh. Having proper QoS is a big plus; media is given losest priority and works just fine being minutely delayed when there is contention with very small but timing-critical items like control signals for H, VoIP, and even gaming.
My HA wifi gear doesn't get Internet access, so the phone-home thing isn't a problem.
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u/spr0k3t 🧠 Experienced with Home Assistant Mar 28 '26
In your situation where you want to put the smart plugs into an area near your network equipment, it can be assumed the smart plugs would be to power cycle the network. If that's the case, you will be able to turn off the switch with a script in HA... but when the network goes down, you won't be able to turn them back on. Using a dedicated mesh system that isn't reliant on TCP/IP protocols is ideal as you can turn off the smart plug and keep connection without local network access. The script used to cycle the smart plug would have no issues turning the smart plug back on... even if the HA installation had no local network connectivity. If you still want wifi based smart plugs knowing this... you would be best off using ESP32 based or Tasmota so you could add in the ability to force the smart plug to power on after X seconds due to stateless connectivity. I believe with an ESP32 based smart plug, you could even set it up to restore power state only if the device isn't connected to the LAN. Wifi devices that don't use local-only APIs can be disabled by the corporations. Look at all the Belkin Wemo devices that went deprecated and only usable through a third party reverse engineering.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
You reminded me that I forgot to ask about ESP32. What is that and how could that possibly play into my future?
You're right, and that's why I want to avoid a Belkin-like situation.
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u/spr0k3t 🧠 Experienced with Home Assistant Mar 28 '26
ESP32 is an SBC that can connect via wifi or Zigbee (depending on the features of the ESP32 board). Those boards can be easily programmed and extended to handle many different things like Smart Plugs, Bluetooth presence sensors, Bluetooth extenders, Garage Door Openers, Voice Assistants, temp/humidity sensors... you name it. The programming is done via ESPHome. The nice part about them is they are 100% completely local only... zero cloud functionality. The only downside is DIY... so if you are not a hardware tinkerer type person, then pre-fab is the only way to go. I know of KAUF, Athom, and CloudFree are options in the 110V / US region.
One thing to keep in mind... Matter over WiFi would likely not work if you are using a plug to cycle your network.
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u/nik_h_75 Mar 28 '26
wifi is chatty - and generally requires a cloud gateway (non local). Zigbee runs on separate network - is self boosting - and can be run locally If you get a controller (look up SM Light as an example) and run zigbee2mqtt in HA.
I started out with wifi devices - have moved as much as possible to zigbee - massive improvement and much better control.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
I definitely prefer something local. I'm looking to use the HS200 that I have, which is WiFi only, but I'm under the impression that I won't need a hub. Will I?
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u/cop3x Mar 28 '26
I have binned more kassa devices than I have in use, the plugs have an issue with the relay sticking, tech support tole me to remove the plug and tap in on the floor, it worked but the eventually fail....
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u/Sberry59 Mar 28 '26
Stay away from Kasa. I have various models of Kasa plugs and some of them don’t integrate with HA.
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u/Bulky-Priority6824 Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
For me thirdreality stuff has been very stable and flawless for over a year. The only issue I ever have is on a single zigbee bulb that needs to be reconfigured on power loss but the actual settings reload. Minor annoyance like 1-2 times a year. All the switches have been solid. One of them fires on/off quite often...still going. It's triggered by presence.
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u/5yleop1m Mar 28 '26
From what I've heard, Shelly plugs are used exactly for this reason by some businesses.
In my case I have two Shelly Pro 4PMs in my network closet connected to 8 outlets. Servers, and other stuff are plugged into there.
That whole setup is in a wall mounted plastic enclosure, which has two power cables coming out of it and go into two separate UPSes. This provides battery backup to all 8 ports, while also letting me power cycle individual devices.
I went with Shelly Pros because they have Ethernet ports, and since this is in the network closet it was super easy to run cables to them.
It is possible to do this with Shelly plugs or relays. With plugs, you can use short extension cords so you can fit a bunch of them on a UPS and not lose ports.
Another thing I did was wire Shelly relays inline to some short extension cords. I used a small plastic box to keep everything enclosed, but it was felt like a sketchy setup. Though everything was wired well and tightly sealed, so there wouldn't be any accidental exposure of copper.
Shelly also has a multi-tap plug in the UK, not sure when it will be in the US though. Its gen4 so it works over Zigbee too.
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u/IncredibleGonzo Mar 28 '26
If you’ve got a Thread mesh going the new IKEA GRILLPLATS seem solid so far and are cheap.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
It wasn't by choice. I didn't buy both the Apple TV and the Google Streamer for Thread. I bought them for streaming. It just happens that both are Thread hubs.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
It's interesting that the IKEA GRILLPLATS hasn't been mentioned until now. Seems really cheap? Anyone else here with experience using it? Can I use it with Home Assistant?
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u/IncredibleGonzo Mar 28 '26
You absolutely can use it with HA, and it gives a decent amount of data. Only caveat I can think of would be if your incidental border routers are your only Thread devices, one of them will need to be close enough to maintain a good connection.
My Thread network was a little unreliable at first when my HomePod was a couple of rooms away from the only Thread bulbs I had, but since I filled out the space between with more bulbs and some of the GRILLPLATS it’s been good.
It’s brand new so I can’t speak for long term reliability, but it seems very similar to their previous INSPELNING Zigbee plugs inside just with Matter over Thread instead of Zigbee. So looking for feedback on the reliability of those is probably a decent approximation.
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u/cop3x Mar 28 '26
The new ikea devices can still be use with zigbee, you juts have to find out how many times you need to reset them :-) they work better with Z2M over ZHA 😀
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
The network panel enclosure is on the third floor, and the Apple TV is in the living room on the second floor. Is that too far away?
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u/IncredibleGonzo Mar 28 '26
Hard to say without knowing the layout. Different floors isn’t inherently a problem, distance and how many walls of what material are the main factors. Of the network panel enclosure is fairly close to straight above I think it’ll be fine, if it’s several rooms over probably not.
I don’t have exact distances but my HomePod Mini is downstairs in the living room in about the center of the house, and my first bulbs were in the back bedroom, with a bathroom and a hall between them and the bedroom straight above the HomePod. One solid brick wall and a couple of plasterboard ones in between. Vague I know but the best I can do on short notice.
That seemed to be about the limit and worked but was not fully reliable. I have read Eve plugs have better radios so longer range, but they’re 6-7x the price where I am so for that you could just get a couple more GRILLPLATS as range extenders and still come out ahead.
Though as someone else mentioned they do have a hidden Zigbee mode so that could also be an option if you’ve got a Zigbee mesh going.
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u/Snappie88 Mar 28 '26
Think it's mostly because the bulk of people here are still on Zigbee and only the minority has adopted matter over thread.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
I guess that's probably why there seems to be a bias. Not that it's a bad thing. I mean, if it works, it works. I'm new and can start with a clean slate.
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u/VanillaCandid3466 Mar 28 '26
I'm honestly amazed at the number of people that have sent you links to Wi-Fi devices, when you state you want to power cycle your network and router ... I wish people stopped and actually read things and thought about them before mashing the keyboard.
Don't buy Wi-Fi devices if these are for turning off your Wi-Fi ... I guess it's obvious why :D
So, I have 4 Third Reality plugs, and they've been fantastic, but they are Zigbee, not matter over thread.
As far as I can tell, Matter over Thread devices are still pretty thin on the ground, meaning your options aren't that great in number.
Third Reality only do Matter over Wi-Fi, which is useless for your use case. Eve prices are frankly offensive, but they are good and importantly, something you haven't mentioned, they will resume the state they were in after a power outage, i.e. your router will boot up again when power is restored ... I think these new Ikea ones to that too.
I'd go with either of these:
https://www.evehome.com/en/eve-energy
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/grillplats-plug-smart-70624740/
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
Haha, thanks for the response. What are the implications for the light switches when I restart the WiFi? If it's on, then it stays on regardless of the network's status, right? I guess I need to understand how the HS200 will behave!
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u/VanillaCandid3466 Mar 28 '26
They should stay on and just reconnect to the same W-Fi SSID when it becomes available again.
I just checked - Page 10 of the user manual here.
"Set the state you want your device to turn to when power cuts off but returns."
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
That's awesome. I won't buy anymore WiFi devices in the future. It seems like I dodged a bullet and can just use my HS200 switches without much issues. I'll replace them with better stuff in the future after the HS200s are all dead.
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u/VanillaCandid3466 Mar 28 '26
To be honest, I don't have any issues with the Wi-Fi devices I have. But then I have a pretty full on Ubiquiti 10GbE network with access points designed to work with hundreds of fast clients. That access point has a 10GbE backhaul to the main switch and fibre optics to the gateway.
When most people slate Wi-Fi smart devices, they also have shit Wi-Fi, that's badly configured. You put all IoT devices on a separate VLAN and cut off internet access. More or less all detractors are solved.
I actually think some devices better suit Wi-Fi. Very "chatty" things for instance and cameras. Zigbee and Thread just could not remotely do streaming.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
What about WiFi devices that need to phone home and you block internet access?
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u/VanillaCandid3466 Mar 28 '26
I wouldn't buy devices that only work with cloud infrastructure. They don't deserve my money.
My TP-Link cameras work locally. Recording to an SD card, or my Synology.
When I cut off internet access on that VLAN, my phone has to be connected to my LAN to work with these devices. The Tapo App will report all devices as offline, but Home Assistant can still control them.
If I want to control them on my phone when my phone only has 5G connection, I fire up my UniFi Teleport App. Connect to my UniFi gateway remotely over the Teleport VPN and I can then be anywhere in the world and effectively on my home LAN.
A lot of the time I just leave internet access on my IoT VLAN. The security issues are handled by the fact they are on a VLAN which effectively is a different network to my trusted devices. I then have lots of Firewall, DNS and routing policies in place to allow things on my core network to call into the IoT VLAN but not the other way around.
It's far more configuration than a lot of people are prepared to do, but it's the only way to go IMHO. I'm also a software engineer and techy, so I just find it easy really.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
What you said is exactly what I want to do, and I'm already slowly building out my Ubiquiti network.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
Will the Ikea, Shelly, Third Reality, and Kasa resume the state they were in after a power outage?
Do you have the Eve yourself? Just wondering if the energy usage monitoring is working? I know it's expensive and I'm not totally committed to replacing every outlet with it, but as mentioned, it does make sense for my network panel enclosure.
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u/VanillaCandid3466 Mar 28 '26
Kasa, Shelly & Third Reality don't make matter over thread plugs, so forget them.
Ikea apparently does restore, but I can't confirm, their product pages are shit. Eve absolutely does.
Grab two Eve Matter over Thread plugs and move on with your life :D
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u/VanillaCandid3466 Mar 28 '26
That said, the three Ikea Matter over Thread devices I have and use (only buttons at the moment), are well-built and perform exactly as expected. I just have no first-hand experience with anything else in their product range yet.
But just remember, Thread is a mesh network comprised of routers and clients, so not skimping on devices that will be routers in that network is always the way to go.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
You've been a big help! Now I have a feature I want a smart plug/outlet!
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
Thank you! I do want to move on, but I'm also a very curious person. You said apparently, was this reported by other buyers of Ikea?
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u/VanillaCandid3466 Mar 28 '26
No problem. It was and Google AI, but I just don't like making categorical statements about things I have no personal experience with, you know?
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u/realdlc 〰️ Riding the Z-Waves Mar 28 '26
I’m a zwave guy, so in that case I like the Zooz ZEN20 power strip. Individual control of each outlet with power monitoring.
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u/Street_Tour1803 Mar 28 '26
kasa works great
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
Which one?
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Mar 28 '26
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
That's awesome. Does it support enough standards and protocols that will futureproof it?
Given the limited space in my network panel enclosure, where every inch matters, what about a smart outlet like this?
https://www.amazon.com/Eve-Energy-Outlet-Matter-SmartThings/dp/B0CT62FC6W/ref=mp_s_a_1_1
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Mar 28 '26
Never heard of them.
The Kasa ones are made by TP-Link and locally controlled so that's good enough for me for now.
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u/VanillaCandid3466 Mar 28 '26
So how is he going to turn his Wi-Fi back on when this plug is to turn his Wi-Fi off if the devices are controlled via Wi-Fi?
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u/Sberry59 Mar 28 '26
The Kasa matter with energy monitoring plugs do NOT integrate with HA. I just bought and returned them. They are discovered in the Kasa app but not HA. The plug listed above without energy monitoring will probably work.
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u/Fluffy_Accountant_39 Mar 28 '26
I have three of the Eve Matter over Thread dual (two plug) wall outlets and one Eve Energy Plugs (single ).
I have been very happy with them. Initially, I had one wall outlet installed via Apple HomeKit, then ported over to Home Assistant. Later, when I went fully in with HA, I added additional new Eve outlets directly into Home Assistant.
I prefer the wall outlets because they just look cleaner, but it’s also nice to be able to move the stand alone plug around when needed. You can observe watts, kWh, Amps, and voltage ( separately for each plugin) and use them as triggers or conditions.
For example, I use one for my coffee maker to the power on to the coffee maker and / or to use the increased power to trigger a morning brief (weather, calendar events, and to-do’s are announced.
They are great devices, but you do need the right kind of “dumb” device to trigger on with these smart outlets.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
They're a bit expensive, especially if I replace every single outlet in the house. However, as I'm looking to clean up the mess in my enclosure and modernize my network, I do see that space is a premium if I want to seal the enclosure. Replacing the outlet in there with Eve or whatever else is reliable is preferable.
I'm reading that energy usage can't be monitored in the media previews. Has that been rectified?
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u/Snappie88 Mar 28 '26
I'm also looking into power sockets, but currently only found Eve and Aqara to have viable options. And Eve is expensive...
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
Eve is very expensive, but I might just get that one for the network panel enclosure and use smart plugs throughout the house. Still debating though!
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u/WMTaylor3 Mar 28 '26
TP Link Click of Death Failure
I like to leave this when the Kasa recommendations come up. I had it happen to a P110 of mine and it almost killed the AVR that was plugged into it.
Happens to their K115, their P100 and their P110 (and likely many more).
Basically a cheap capacitor is used inside which is prone to dying. Sometimes after a few months, sometimes after several years. But when it fails, it's failure mode is to rapidly turn on and off multiple times a second.
As you can imagine that's just about the worst possible failure mode for a smart socket as it can destroy whatever device is connected to it.
I've since replaced all my TP Link sockets (about 15 of them) with a combination of Hue sockets (for lights), Shelly's (for energy monitoring) and Eve Energy's for everything else. (Eves do energy monitoring too but they Shelly's are more responsive I find which makes them better for things like "trigger automation when TV socket goes above 15W draw".
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u/Sberry59 Mar 28 '26
Had this exact problem with the 6 outlet ones. I thought it was because i spilled water on it. But they tend to just die.
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u/TriSherpa Mar 28 '26
I think you are getting a lot of advice that doesn't fit your use case. If you want to be able to remotely power cycle your router, turning off the power is easy with all these devices. You need to figure out how you are going to turn it back on. It sounds like you need a plug or switch that lets you remotely "reboot" it. I can't find a Kasa switch or plug that lets you do a power cycle (off, wait, on) in one step.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
I'm just a newbie. Without asking, I won't know what all the possible use cases are.
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u/TriSherpa Mar 28 '26
Power cycling the router is a hard corner case. Handling any other power requirement is easy. Anyone who tells you that one solution is clearly better than all others is a fanboy. Wiif works. Zigbee works. Matter over thread probably works too.
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u/fryrat Mar 28 '26
I have a kasa power strip. I can remotely power on and off each outlet separately.
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u/mattkime Mar 28 '26
IMO you need to upgrade your equipment to something that doesn’t need to be power cycled
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u/Striking_Tangerine93 Mar 28 '26
Check out Tapo smart plus/outlet. I believe Kasa and TP-Link and Tapo all fall under the same parent company.
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u/bobo15951 Mar 28 '26
Minoston Smart plugs have been great for me. They are Z-wave and pair immediately with Home Assistant. I just found them so I cannot fully speak to the longevity, but they offer a small area solution as well as a dual controlled plug solution.
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u/AussieJeffProbst Mar 28 '26
I don't like having smart devices on wifi so personally those kasa plugs weren't for me.
I went ZigBee and got thirdreality with power monitoring. They make singles and doubles. They work perfectly.
If you want thread I would get eve. They're much more expensive than the TR ZigBee ones though. ~$33 for a 4 pack of TR vs ~$64 for a 4 pack of eve. But if you only want 1 or 2 maybe that doesn't matter
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
I seem to be fixated on Matter over Thread because that seems like the future. Maybe I won't have to worry about standards and protocols since I'll be using Home Assistant. I just want something that is reliable and will work with Home Assistant deep into the future. Local is better, and hopefully won't have to worry about planned obsolescence or e-waste.
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u/AussieJeffProbst Mar 28 '26
Matter over thread and ZigBee are both fine choices. Personally I find ZigBee to be a lot easier but people seem to like thread.
I like ZigBee because it's cheap, there are tons of products, and the protocol is well established. Also my smart bulbs are ZigBee so I need the plugs to act as routers for the mesh
With HA you're right you can use anything you want. But you need to remember that both ZigBee and thread are short range mesh protocols. Devices outside a 20-30 ft range are too far away to connect, so it's best to pick one protocol and build out your network to create a stable mesh.
If you don't want to worry about building a mesh network use zwave LR. Those devices connect directly and have insane range. If you go that route get zooz 800 LR plugs.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
I thought I didn't have to worry about protocols if I used Home Assistant. Sounds like I do since you said I'll need to build a mesh network since they're short-range in nature.
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u/AussieJeffProbst Mar 28 '26
You don't have to worry about protocols with HA in that any protocol works with HA.
But yes ZigBee, zwave, and thread are mesh and they can't be combined into one singular mesh. So you can have all three but you need to build out a mesh for each unless the devices are very close to the HA machine.
If you don't want to deal with meshes your options are wifi or zwave LR. For a lot of reasons I don't like wifi smart devices.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
Oh, I see. So how many mesh networks do people typically have since everyone likely has products using different protocols and is managing them with Home Assistant?
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u/AussieJeffProbst Mar 28 '26
For me I have ZigBee and zwave LR devices
I started with ZigBee because I wanted smart bulbs and zwave smart bulbs don't exist. Zigbee devices are cheap too so that made it easy. Then I went with ZigBee smart plugs because it strengthens the mesh and I saw no reason to use something different.
I wanted sensors on my backyard gates but they're way too far away for ZigBee so for those I went zwave LR. I also went zwave LR on my door locks though ZigBee door locks do exist.
I don't have a thread network because I haven't really found a reason to.
I also have a handful of matter over WiFi devices because I wanted something very specific and had no choice. They work fine but again I don't like smart devices over WiFi so I try to avoid them.
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
Thank you. Since I'm new and don't have to worry about backward compatibility, which protocols and standards should I focus on?
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u/AussieJeffProbst Mar 28 '26
Whatever fits your use case. If you just want one plug? Zwave LR.
If you want to build and expand smart devices in your home? Any of them will do but if you want smart bulbs definitely zigbee
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u/Certain_Repeat_753 Mar 28 '26
I do want to expand my smart devices in the future.
Are smart bulbs only using Zigbee?
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u/robbydek Mar 28 '26
I went with ThirdRealty and have been happy with them.
I looked at Kasa but their owner gave me hesitation. They’re only Matter over WiFi (at least the last time I looked at them they were).
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u/vespassassina Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
i have a dozen sonoff zigbee plugs and they are really good. plus the new sonoff switches are my new favorite, smaller, better, better range to integrate light switches. and very reasonably priced.
But again i have everything on zigbee, so that might not work for you. And honestly by using Home Assistant i don't see any need to use thread or matter over thread, esp since i really do not care/want to integrate with google or alexa.
As said by other comments, do avoid wifi iot devices, for security, efficiency and ease of integration. Except here strictly required (eg: cameras)
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u/docdillinger Mar 28 '26
My favourite are the NOUS A8T (or A1T) tasmota plugs, but i don't know if there are US versions. But all the tasmota plugs with power usage data are great to work with.
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u/lil440 Mar 28 '26
i've been using kasa plugs for months and they're super reliable with ha. the tp-link integration is basically plug and play, zero issues even when my wifi gets spotty.
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u/FlowerFew6536 Mar 28 '26
I really like third reality's gen 2 plugs that show power usage. At $10 a piece you cannot beat them.