Energy costs are on the rise, but this simple device can help you save money on your energy expenses.
Did You Know This Device Can Help You Reduce Energy Bills?
By Naila Syifa
Updated May 2024
Energy costs are on the rise and finding ways to lower your bills is more important than ever. Luckily, there's a simple device that can help you save money on your energy expenses.
Meet Kasa Smart Plug, a Wi-Fi-enabled smart plug that can help you track and control your energy usage, reduce your carbon footprint, and lower your monthly utility bills.
Smart plugs are like magical switches that turn your conventional electronic devices and home appliances into smart ones. To use a smart plug, simply plug in an electronic device or appliance, for example, a washing machine. Then, via the app, you will be able to remotely control that connected device, monitor its energy consumption, and unlock a range of smart features that enhance convenience and help you save on your energy costs.
In this article, we'll uncover the key features of Kasa Smart Plug KP125M and demonstrate how we can use each feature to reduce energy bills.
Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Slim KP125M
Smart Plug for Energy Saving
✓ Energy Monitoring
✓ Energy Bill Estimation
✓ Schedule & Timer
✓ Matter-Enabled
#1 Energy Monitoring
Kasa Smart Plug Slim KP125M
Kasa Smart Plug offers energy monitoring feature, which allows you to track the real-time and historical energy consumption of the connected device. The data is displayed in straightforward manner and with visualizations, making it easy to understand your energy usage patterns and identify opportunities for savings.
We can leverage this energy monitoring feature to reduce our energy bills with the following strategy:
- Identify energy hogs. Use the energy monitoring data to identify devices that consume the most power.
For example, we find that our robot vacuum cleaner is a major energy drain. With that information, we can decide to use it less frequently or look for a more energy-efficient alternative. - Track usage patterns. The energy monitoring data allows us to see when the connected device is using the most energy throughout the day or week.
If high-consumption devices like robot vacuum cleaners frequently run on peak energy hours when electricity rates are the highest, we can adjust our usage pattern to run it during off-peak hours, such as at night, to save on energy costs. - Set and review targets. After identifying opportunities to reduce energy usage, we can set targets for lowering our energy bills and monitor our progress over time. We can review the data on a monthly basis, for example, and then make adjustments along the way as needed.
#2 Energy Bill Estimation
Kasa Smart Plug Slim KP125M
Kasa Smart Plug can estimate your energy bill for the connected devices based on your consumption patterns. To do this, simply set your electricity rate (supports both single or time-of-use billing) in the Kasa app, set your billing period, and the app will provide an estimated energy bill for the connected devices.
To reduce energy bills using this feature, here are the things we can do:
- Optimize usage based on cost. The energy bill estimation feature allows us to identify appliances that cost the most and the time when they are most expensive to run.
With this information, we can adjust our usage patterns to run high-energy-consuming devices during off-peak hours when electricity rates are lower, ultimately reducing our overall energy costs. - Set and review budget. We can set a monthly energy bill budget and monitor the estimated energy bill in the app against the budget. If the estimated bill is exceeding the budget, we can take immediate steps to reduce energy consumption and bring the costs down.
After making adjustments, we can review the estimated bill again to ensure we are on track to meet our budget goals. It can be satisfying to see the app displaying reduced energy costs month-over-month as a result of our efforts.
#3 Scheduling & Timer
Kasa Smart Plug Slim KP125M
Kasa Smart Plug features scheduling and auto-off timer options that allow you to automate the connected devices' on/off cycles. Scheduling allows you to program devices to turn on or off at specific times, while the auto-off timer automatically shuts off devices after a set duration.
We can use these scheduling and timer features to reduce energy bills with the following strategies:
- Off-peak operation. The scheduling feature allows us to program high-energy devices to run during off-peak hours.
For example, we can schedule washing machines or dryers to operate at night or during weekends when electricity rates are lower, resulting in significant savings on our monthly energy bills. - Eliminate standby power. We may often leave devices like table lamps or phone chargers plugged in and consuming small amounts of power even when not in use. Using the auto-off timer feature, we can automatically shut off these devices after a set duration, eliminating standby power consumption and reducing energy waste.
For example, if we know that our phone will be fully charged in 2 hours, we can set the auto-off timer to turn off the plug after that duration. - Optimize heating and cooling. Appliances like heaters and air conditioners can be scheduled to turn on and off at specific times, allowing us to better control energy usage and costs.
For example, we can schedule air conditioners to turn off during the day when no one is home and turn back on shortly before we return, ensuring we stay comfortable without wasting energy.
#4 Away Mode
Kasa Smart Plug Slim KP125M
Kasa Smart Plug features Away Mode, a feature that randomly turns your devices on and off to simulate someone being home. It is typically enabled in smart plugs connected to lamps to deter potential burglars when you're away from home, randomly turning on and off the connected lamp to give the appearance of an occupied home. Not only for security purposes, Away Mode also helps reduce energy consumption by avoiding unnecessary use of devices when no one is home.
To reduce energy bills using the Away Mode feature, follow these steps:
- Decide which lamps to connect to the smart plug and enable Away Mode. Typically, outdoor lights or lamps in the room most visible from outside the home are good candidates.
- Set the Away Mode schedule to turn the connected device on and off at random intervals when you are not home. This will create the illusion of an occupied home while saving energy by avoiding unnecessary use of the device.
- Monitor the energy savings by reviewing the energy consumption data in the Kasa app. Observe how much energy is saved by using Away Mode compared to leaving the device on constantly 24/7 when you are away.
#5 Remote Control via App
Kasa Smart Plug Slim KP125M
All the mentioned features like energy monitoring, energy bill estimation, scheduling, timer, and away mode can be easily controlled and managed remotely through the Kasa app. In addition, remote control in the app is also supported, meaning that we can turn on and off the connected devices from anywhere using the app.
Remote control feature can help to save energy and money in the following ways:
- Avoid leaving devices on accidentally. If we forget to turn off a device before leaving home, we can quickly do so remotely using the Kasa app, preventing energy waste.
- Turn devices on/off as needed. The remote control feature allows us to power on devices only when we need them, rather than leaving them running unnecessarily. For example, we can turn on the living room lamp right before arriving home instead of leaving it on all day.
- Monitor usage remotely. While we're away, remote access to energy monitoring means we can know if our kids at home are spending too much time watching TV or leaving the lights on in the middle of the day, enabling us to address those issues and save energy.
#6 Integration with Smart Home Ecosystems
Kasa Smart Plug Slim KP125M
Kasa Smart Plug KP125M is Matter-enabled. Matter is a smart home connectivity standard that enables Kasa Smart Plug to seamlessly integrate with a wide range of smart home ecosystems, including Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, and Samsung SmartThings.
Such a broad ecosystem integration not only allows for convenience but also enables centralized management of energy usage across multiple smart home devices. We can take advantage of this integration in the following ways:
- Create energy-saving automation. Automation rules can be set up to turn on and off devices based on occupancy, time of day, or other factors to optimize energy consumption.
For example, we can set a motion sensor to automatically turn off the smart plug-connected fan when it detects no movement in the room, ensuring it doesn't run unnecessarily. - Create energy-saving routines. Routines can be programmed to perform multiple energy-saving actions across multiple smart home devices with a single voice command or tap in the app.
For example, when leaving home, we can create a "Leaving Home" routine that turns off all connected devices, sets the thermostat to an energy-efficient temperature, and activates the Away Mode on the smart plugs. - Use voice control. With your preferred assistant (Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, or Bixby), there are no more excuses for leaving unused devices on unnecessarily, not even when your hands are full.
Saving energy is now as easy as saying "Alexa, turn off the living room lamp." Activating energy-saving routines also becomes easy with a voice command, such as "Hey Google, I'm leaving".
Did You Know This Device Can Help You Reduce Energy Bills?
Kasa Smart Plug Slim KP125M
Smart Plug for Energy Saving
✓ Energy Monitoring
✓ Energy Bill Estimation
✓ Schedule & Timer
✓ Matter-Enabled
Final Thoughts
Kasa Smart Plug Slim KP125M
Kasa Smart Plug KP125M is a powerful tool that can help you reduce your energy bills through a variety of smart features, including energy monitoring, energy bill estimation, scheduling, timers, away mode, remote control, and integration with smart home ecosystems.
By leveraging these features, you can gain unprecedented visibility and control over your energy usage. Identifying opportunities for savings and making informed decisions that lead to lower monthly utility bills will ultimately result in significant long-term cost savings.
If you like to read more about Smart Plugs, check out our other relevant guides here:
Best Smart Plugs
Best Smart Plugs for 5GHz Wi-Fi
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