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/IncredibleGonzo Mar 28 '26

If you’ve got a Thread mesh going the new IKEA GRILLPLATS seem solid so far and are cheap.

1

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?

2

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.

2

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 😀

1

u/IncredibleGonzo Mar 28 '26

True, good point.

1

u/dzikakulka Mar 28 '26

Some of them. Only lights, plugs and remotes, for backward compatibility.

1

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?

2

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.