Smart Home Devices That Can Reduce Energy Waste
Choose thermostats, smart plugs, lighting and energy monitors for specific energy-saving tasks, with a cautious look at motorized shades.
Research-based guidance · Sources and editorial standards
Choose a smart-home device for the routine it will change—not simply because it connects to an app. A thermostat adjusts heating and cooling, a plug switches a connected load, and an energy monitor helps identify where to investigate. These are different jobs.
ENERGY STAR describes remote operation, schedules and occupancy-based adjustments as ways connected equipment can help manage energy use. Start by identifying which of those actions would address something your household currently leaves running unnecessarily. ENERGY STAR smart-home guidance
1. Smart thermostats: fix a schedule that does not fit your household
ENERGY STAR says smart thermostats bearing its label are independently certified using real-world data to demonstrate energy savings. Depending on the model, features can include remote adjustments, location-based temperature changes and schedules learned from household preferences. Certification does not mean every thermostat offers every feature. ENERGY STAR thermostat guidance
Match the control to the scheduling problem:
- Predictable absences: prioritize a schedule that is easy to edit, including days when someone stays home.
- Variable work or travel times: consider whether remote adjustments or geofencing would address gaps in a fixed schedule.
- A shared home: ask how an away routine accounts for occupants who remain inside. One person’s departure should not automatically represent the whole household.
Check HVAC compatibility before comparing apps. For particularly high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment, ENERGY STAR suggests considering a controller from the equipment manufacturer. It also advises keeping a Wi-Fi thermostat within adequate router reach to reduce disconnections. Check connectivity at the intended thermostat location. ENERGY STAR buying guidance
Keep your existing thermostat if it already performs the routine you need. A replacement needs a specific additional job to justify an energy-saving purchase. For more category detail, see the smart thermostat guide.
2. Smart plugs: decide whether you need switching or measurement
If you know a suitable lamp is regularly left on, scheduling may be enough. If you do not know how much a connected device uses, consumption monitoring answers a different question.
Kasa EP25: switching plus consumption history. Kasa lists current and historical consumption reporting in its app, along with remote on/off control, schedules and timers. Its specifications list 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. Those features make it a relevant example when you want to examine a suitable plug-in device’s use before choosing its operating hours. Kasa EP25 features and specifications
Tapo P125M: scheduled switching, timed auto-off and Matter support. Tapo lists remote switching through its app, preset schedules and an auto-off function that stops a connected device after a selected duration. Its P125M page does not list consumption monitoring; do not assume it provides an energy history. The specifications list 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, with Bluetooth used for setup only. Tapo P125M features and specifications
The practical distinction is clock time versus elapsed time: a bedtime shutoff calls for a schedule; something that should stop a set time after being switched on calls for an auto-off function. If measurement is essential, the EP25’s documented monitoring is the clearer match between these two examples.
For the P125M, Tapo also describes local access through an already configured Tapo or Matter-certified app when internet access is lost. That is an internet-outage capability—not a promise that every control works through every kind of interruption. Tapo local-control description
Both manufacturers list maximum loads of 15 amps and 1,800 watts at 120 volts, plus a separate 1/6-horsepower motor limit. The wattage figure alone is not blanket permission to switch any appliance below it. Kasa specifications · Tapo specifications
Use only equipment whose instructions permit the intended power switching. Leave medical equipment and other loads that must remain powered out of experimental shutoff routines.
3. Lighting controls: target the light-on hours you actually miss
ENERGY STAR describes scheduled and remote operation for smart lighting, and remote operation through smart light switches. Choose the function according to the missed shutoff: a schedule addresses a recurring bedtime problem, while remote access can help with an occasional light forgotten after departure. ENERGY STAR lighting guidance
Before replacing lighting throughout a room, distinguish the task:
- One suitable plug-in lamp: compare a scheduling plug with replacing the lighting hardware. Kasa specifically describes automated lamp switching for the EP25. Kasa lamp-control features
- Lights operated from a wall switch: investigate a compatible lighting-control installation rather than assuming a plug can address them.
- Lights already switched off reliably: app control may be convenient, but this routine has no missed runtime to eliminate.
Judge the energy-saving case by unnecessary light-on hours removed, not the number of lights added to an app.
4. Motorized shades: separate the covering decision from automation
For motorized shades, write down the window, the opening or closing routine you want, and why that movement is currently missed. Also decide how household members should override the routine.
Keep two budgets separate: what the window covering is worth to you, and what automating its movement is worth. Do not assign a heating- or cooling-bill reduction merely because a shade has a motor or app. Count an energy benefit only when it is supported for the proposed covering and installation—not inferred from connectivity.
If the purchase is mainly about avoiding a daily chore, evaluate it as convenience. The window-treatment guide addresses the broader covering choice.
5. Energy monitors: buy the level of detail your question needs
A monitoring plug such as the EP25 reports consumption for its connected load. Emporia describes its Vue as an electrical-panel monitor using mains sensors, with support for up to 16 branch-circuit sensors. These offer different measurement scopes. Kasa EP25 monitoring · Emporia Vue overview
Choose by the question you want answered:
| Your question | Relevant measurement scope |
|---|---|
| What does one suitable plug-in device use? | Plug-level monitoring |
| What does a hardwired load on a dedicated circuit use? | Monitoring of that circuit |
| What is the combined use of devices sharing a circuit? | Circuit monitoring, without assuming separate appliance readings |
| When does total household electricity use rise? | Whole-home monitoring; first examine any useful data your utility already provides |
Emporia describes Vue reporting through its cloud over 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi; its page also lists Ethernet in the specifications. Consider the reporting connection as well as the sensor coverage. Ask a qualified electrician to assess panel fit and installation rather than treating a panel monitor as a plug-in accessory. Emporia Vue installation overview and specifications
Before buying, name the action the data could inform: shortening an operating schedule, investigating unexpected consumption or deciding which load needs closer assessment. Measurement is not itself a shutoff routine. The energy-monitor guide explores this category further.
Give the purchase a realistic energy budget
For a suitable plug-in load, use consumption history to investigate when electricity use could be avoided, then choose a switching routine that addresses those periods. The EP25 combines consumption reporting with schedules and timers, so it offers both measurement and control for that task. Those features alone do not establish a particular bill reduction. Kasa EP25 monitoring and scheduling
Keep the boundaries of any estimate clear: a constant-load estimate applies only to genuinely constant electrical draw, not equipment whose consumption changes during operation. It is not a heating-and-cooling savings model. For thermostats, ENERGY STAR’s certification relies on field data rather than a household’s assumed reduction in operating hours. ENERGY STAR thermostat certification
Account for the new control or monitor’s own consumption when assessing net savings. Emporia explicitly lists power use for the Vue itself; monitoring hardware belongs in the energy budget, not outside it. Emporia Vue specifications
Start with one routine. Confirm that it removes unwanted runtime, that everyone can override it when needed, and that its behavior after a power or internet interruption is acceptable. Expand only when the control solves a recurring problem. If you cannot identify a change in operation, treat the purchase as convenience rather than presumed energy savings.