It's undeniable that the demand for smart plugs is increasing, yet there's a noticeable deficiency of suppliers in the UK and Ireland. This underlines the pressing requirement to promptly introduce the flexible BG Smart Socket in these regions.
We picked one up in Screwfix and replaced an old socket to test it out. Check out our video below and read on to learn more!
British General Electrical has introduced a new smart socket for the UK and Irish market. Its slim fit makes it easy to install, and it can be remote controlled via the BG Home app.
- A budget-friendly smart switch with a straightforward installation
- It comes with parental control via a smart socket app, a kid’s safe lock, and a scheduled timer facility to control power.
- The BG Smart Switch supports voice assistants—Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri.
About British General Electrical
BG Electronics or British General Electronics is a UK-based company, providing electrical components for over 70 years. It has an extensive range of wiring accessories, smart lamps, junction boxes, smart switches and sockets, waterproof accessories, and consumer units.
BG Home Smart Socket Features to Consider
Quality Socket from BG
BG has been manufacturing electrical components for over 70 years and are a reputable and trusted brand in the market. This sets their products apart from cheaper imported components.
The product meets relevant British and CE Marking standards.
The smart sockets consume 13 A current during their ON-state and 0.5 W in the OFF-state. You can take control over your electrical devices connected through the BG smart socket via the BG Home app.
Alexa
The BG smart socket allows Amazon Alexa to control your electrical devices remotely.
You can give mobile phone commands by downloading the BG Home app and connecting the sockets with it. The smart home integration provides accessibility to all electrical devices.
You can turn your home appliances on and off by sending voice messages through Amazon Alexa to the smart sockets.
Google Assistant
The BG smart socket is also compatible with Google Assistant via the BG Home app. You can connect the smart socket to any mobile device through Wi-Fi.
It provides good integration to other smart electrical appliances and accessories in your house, offering a voice-control facility for Android users. No hub is required to connect to the Wi-Fi and other network devices.
Google Home and Google Assistance help you name each smart socket and turn them on or off accordingly.
Siri Shortcuts
iOS users can control the BG smart sockets via Siri Shortcuts.
You can operate devices through iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Apple Watch via Siri. You can set your customizable name or phrase to run the smart socket individually using a pre-configured voice control setup in the BG Home app.
IFTTT
IFTTT is a programming term obtained from the conditional statement “if this, then that.” IFTTT is the name of a software company that integrates all smart devices and applications.
The BG smart socket is IFTTT compatible, which means you can integrate a smart socket with other smart devices to create a communication network between them. It uses your geolocation and the weather forecast of your region to synchronize actions according to smart devices.
BG Home App on iOS and Android
The BG Home app places the entire home system at your fingertips. It has some nice features and is available for both iOS and Android mobile users.
You can download this application for free from the App Store or Google Play Store.
Slim Profile
The smart switch is slim, with dimensions of 2.9×17.2×15.3 cm and a 25 mm back box depth.
It can easily fit into an old socket place by following the wiring steps. After wiring the socket’s backbox, position all the accessories in the smart socket’s mounting box and turn on the circuit for regular use.
Wi-Fi Connection—No Hub Required
The smart socket is Wi-Fi compatible with a 2.4 GHz speed. The user doesn’t need a separate hub or terminal for connecting the socket with the network or mobile.
The socket already has a Wi-Fi feature; you just need to connect it with your home’s Wi-Fi device your mobile is connected with. You can create your account on the BG Home app and name the socket to schedule electricity.
Physical & Remote On/Off Switches
You can control your plug through mobile, voice assistant, and touch. Any device you want to control by the smart socket can be managed through a scheduled timer, voice message, mobile control button, and touch system.
This advancement in electrical sockets makes life easier for people. You can secure the socket from kids by locking it with the child lock feature.
Timer, Countdown Delay & Scheduler
You can set the timer of your socket to turn ON and OFF for the connected electronics. You can also add delays when you plug in your devices for safety.
Another thing you can do is turn multiple devices on and off at the same time to create a scene of your house. Smart socket helps set up a timer for a specific period and toggle on and off when required by installing the BG Home app.
Random Mode for Security
The BG smart socket is an easy way to keep your home appliances and electronics in your control.
Through the BG smart socket, you can schedule your home appliances and other electronics according to fixed timings. You can turn your electronics on 5 minutes before entering the house and turn them all off after exiting your home.
Multiple Homes & Users
If you have a lot of BG Home products, you can assign them to multiple homes on the BG app. This is useful for organising and grouping your devices.
In addition, you can set up multiple users for your account, providing others access to configure your smart devices.
Custom Notifications & Creating Scenes
With the help of a smart socket and the BG Home app, you can automate your home appliances. Through the app, you can create scenes according to your mood by customizing outdoor or indoor lighting and other devices.
With the help of IFTTT, you can build an automation scene and receive custom notifications from the socket.
New Installation
- Before starting with installation, turn off the fuse box.
- Place the back mounting box on the required area on the wall, knock out the entry points, and route the electric cables to the socket.
- Now wire the earth, neutral and earth wires to the socket.
- Make sure that the wires are properly joined and no copper wire is showing.
- Tighten the screws.
- Turn on the power supply and check if the socket is working.
- To connect it with your device, install and run the BG Home app.
Smart Config vs AP Config
Smart config helps to connect your device with the BG smart socket when it turns on. The socket automatically detects the home Wi-Fi network.
If that doesn’t work, the AP config is an alternative and manual way to connect your device with Wi-Fi. Press the “+” on the homepage of the BG Home app and select “Add Device.” Choose your device and select “App Configuration” mentioned on the top left edge of the application.
- Control and monitor power supply inside and outside the house through a voice assistant, timer, and scheduling
- Smart socket is compatible with voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri.
- The affordable BG smart socket does not need a hub unit or subscriptions.
- Easy in-app support for setup and installation
- This smart switch allows you to create scenes by customizing home lights.
- Smart Switch does not work on 5 GHz
- It does not provide energy consumption details in the application.
The Verdict
The BG smart socket is a good addition to your smart home. It will make your life easier and your devices remotely accessible. The BG smart socket can also help you save money through schedulable and controllable electric supply to your appliances from anywhere.
British General Electrical has introduced a new smart socket for the UK and Irish market. Its slim fit makes it easy to install, and it can be remote controlled via the BG Home app.
- A budget-friendly smart switch with a straightforward installation
- It comes with parental control via a smart socket app, a kid’s safe lock, and a scheduled timer facility to control power.
- The BG Smart Switch supports voice assistants—Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri.
3 Comments
Darren Barber
Just installed one in an outdoor socket to control xmas decorations. Very annoying feature is the timer set up. Had unknown error everytime i set the timer on/off. After bit of digging, found out the app will only work on 24 hr time settings. Therefore i had to change my phone setting to 24 hr format permantly. I prefer to see time in 12 hr format. There is another app i use to take bookings, this has to now be in 24r format which i hate.
Every other app i have has the option to choose 12 or 24 hr format. Its time BG changed their app to suit inviduals personal choice, not dictate how the rest of user phone should behave.
Mr Keith Alger
So, I have a couple of these, and one slightly weird thing (it’s not an issue): One one of the devices appears in the list of devices on the router – both work locally and remotely absolutely fine, but only one entry in the device list!
Gary
Most probably the one that is shown on your router uses DHCP and gets its IP from the router hence the router knows about it and maybe somehow the other one has been configured with a static IP ?
That is the only reason I can think of for your observation.