Smart plug

Article summary

Smart plugs were first deployed in the early 2010s as a solution for users, helping reduce wasted energy from unused or forgotten devices. This phenomenon is known as phantom energy, referring to the electricity devices draw even when powered off, increasing overall power consumption. Nearly 5-10 percent of household electricity is wasted on devices placed on standby mode. Smart plugs do not have a single inventor, as the concept was first introduced by several individuals, and then manufactured by companies later on. This is similar to the light bulb, which is commonly attributed to Edison, although prominent corporations have commercialized and refined the original idea in their own way. A few early pioneers of the smart plug include John La Grou, Steve Purdham, and Sanjib Kumar. A smart plug is a power plug (also known as a wall plug, outlet, or electrical connector) which can be fitted between power cords and sockets to function as a remote-controlled power switch. As such, smart plugs can be used to make "dumb" electrical equipment smart, and thereby enable such devices for home automation or building automation purposes. Smart plugs can, for example, be controlled via a mobile application, a smart home hub or a virtual assistant. Examples of protocols used for communication with smart plugs include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee and Z-Wave.…

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