Top 10 Smart Plug Dimmers, for Indoor Lamps & Outdoor Lights!

Get first-hand experience of the convenience of controlling your household lighting entirely through voice commands. Using a smart dimmer plug, adjusting the atmosphere and dimming your lights to suit your liking, creates the perfect environment for a peaceful movie night. Additionally, incorporating a secondary dimmer allows you to tailor a special ambiance with your outdoor lighting.

The Lutron Caseta Smart Home Plug-in Dimmer is a white switch measuring 2 x 3.38 x 5.5 inches. It has an on/off button and also comes with a wireless remote.

You can use it to control a number of bulbs simultaneously. And it works with most types of dimmable bulbs in our homes, including halogen, LED, and incandescent bulbs. It also has a timer setting that allows you to schedule times you’d want a bulb to dim or brighten.

With the timer, you can set your dimmer to brighten the bulbs right before you walk in. You can also switch on the smart away feature that randomly turns the lights on and off to create an illusion that you’re in the house, even if you’re not.  

Setting up the smart dimmer is also quick and easy. You literally just plug it in to a wall outlet! No messing!

Features

The feature that makes the Lutron Smart Plug-in Dimmer outshine the rest is its smart home device compatibility. It works with Apple Homekit, Amazon Alexa, Ring, Google Assistant, Sonos, Serena Shades, and more. However, you’ll need the Lutron smart bridge.

Besides the on/off switch and wireless control, you can also control this smart plug dimmer using the Lutron app from any location in the world. And as we have stated above, the dimmer works with Alexa. Thus, by pairing it with an Alexa device and hub, you can control the unit using your voice.

You can control it through the physical push button, the Leviton app, or using your voice. It works well with Alexa and Google Assistant, SmartThings, IFTTT August, and more.

Are you tired of having to set a schedule for your dimmer every day? Luckily, the Leviton Wi-Fi plug-in dimmer stores your settings. Yours is to sit back and enjoy the convenience of having a smart home.

There is also a vacation mode that turns your bulbs on and off at random intervals creating the illusion that someone is home, which is a handy safety feature. You won’t need a hub to enjoy these features.

This smart plug dimmer is also easy to set up. It has dual outlets on each side. Thus, you can control two floor lamps or table lamps simultaneously. Plus, it also works well with Amazon Alexa, SmartThings, and Google Assistant for hands-free control.

This smart plug dimmer is also versatile as it works with a wide range of smart devices, which will depend on your choice of the hub. You can as well command Alexa to fade in or out the lights using your voice.

And with two outlets, this smart plug dimmer allows you to control two lamps simultaneously. However, you can only use compatible CRL and LED bulbs whose maximum wattage is 100W.

This smart plug dimmer works with Alexa and with Echo Plus and Echo Show for voice control. You can also connect it with other Alexa-enabled devices via a certified hub, purchased separately.

It works with hubs from Wink, SmartThings, Logitech Harmony Home Hub Extenders, and PEQ. What’s more, this smart plug dimmer also works with your usual TV cable home systems such as Comporium, Rogers, and Cox.

You can also set schedules and create custom events remotely using your smartphone or PC. The smart plug-in switch works with halogen, CFL, LED, and incandescent indoor dimmable bulbs.

With a top and bottom outlet feature, the dual-outlet smart plug switch saves space. Plus, you can control two bulbs at the same time. What’s more, you can set custom schedules on when your lights turn on and off.

Setting it up is easy. And you can either manually control the bulbs via the on/off switch or remotely using a z-wave remote, smartphone, PC, or tablet. The Honeywell Ultra-Pro Z-Wave Dimmer Plug works with Alexa voice control, but you’ll need an Alexa device, and your hub must be compatible with Alexa.

Best Outdoor Smart Dimmer Plug

Treatlife Outdoor Smart Plug-in Dimmer wins as the top Smart Plug-in for the outdoors for all the right reasons. You can fade in or fade out the bulbs in your home within a range of 1-100% using Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

What’s more, this smart plug dimmer has a smart schedule feature. The sunrise/sunset function turns off your lights during the day and turns them on at night.

This dimmer mimics your presence even when you’re not around, which is a useful security feature. And the best part? On top of selecting the preferred timer, your lights go off and on, and you can also set the exact preferred brightness level.  

The Treatlife Outdoor Smart Plug-in Dimmer also has a brightness memory function, which allows it to recall your last configuration. With an IP44 weatherproof rating, this smart plug dimmer can withstand weather elements such as heat, fire, rain, and more.

Details

This outdoor smart plug-in dimmer works with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks to allow your dimmer remote control, using the Treatlife app on your smartphone, tablet, or PC. However, like with other smart devices, you need to have a stable Wi-Fi connection. Otherwise, a red light appears to warn of a poor connection.

When that happens, pressing the on/off button thrice allows reconnection. Repeat the above steps to regain connection after changing the router.

The Treatlife Outdoor Smart Plug-in Dimmer allows shared controls. Several people can control the dimmer, making it ideal for a family set-up. Everybody can adjust the lighting as needed for their convenience.

It is also well built, housed in a waterproof casing rated IP55. Thus, you can set it up in your patio, balcony, backyard, garden, or for your electric appliances. There’s also a timer to set an on and off schedule for your lights.

If you’re going to use this smart plug dimmer for your string lights, ensure their total wattage doesn’t the dimmer’s maximum power of 400W

It also works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to give you the convenience of hands-free control of your outdoor lights’ brightness using voice commands.

You can also control the light’s brightness from 1- 100% from any location in the world using the Smart Life app on an Android or iOS device. Not forgetting the timer and scheduling feature lets you set what time the lights turn on and off. Its maximum power is 350W.

The only “not so great” feature of this smart plug-in dimmer is its maximum power rating at 200W. Thus, do not use it for string lights whose total power is more than 200W.

There are four preset brightness adjustment settings, and you can create up to four custom scenes. The dimmer also has a memory function that remembers the last brightness, even after it has been switched off.

Benefits of Dimmer Plugs

Convenient

Who doesn’t like the convenience of home automation? The best smart plug dimmer switch takes away the work of manually dimming your indoor and outdoor lights using your hands. Easy voice and remote controls along with scheduling options.

Security

Smart dimmer plugs can create the illusion that you’re home when you’re not.

This vacation mode  dims and brightens the lights in your home at random intervals to create an illusion that you are home, even when you’re miles away.  This feature acts as a great deterrent to burglars who like to break into homes whose owners are away.

Schedule Timers

A smart plug-in dimmer allows you to create schedules when the lights automatically turn on and turn off. You’ll walk into a well-lit home in the evening, and the lights will dim in time for bed.

Smart Plug In Dimmer Features to Consider

Compatibility

Ensure the smart plug you choose is compatible with your smart devices. That’s because not all options are compatible with voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant and other home automation devices

Maximum Power Rating

It’s essential that you check the maximum wattage of the smart plug dimmer switch. Some are rated as low as 200W, while others are 400W and above. Choose one whose maximum wattage can accommodate that of your bulbs. With LEDs this becomes less of an issue.

Type

Smart plug dimmers can be classified into three types, Z-Wave, ZigBee, and Wi-Fi smart plugs. Wi-Fi smart plug dimmers use your existing router as their hub, while the other two will require that you buy a compatible hub, sold separately. Although those that need a hub may have a higher initial cost than Wi-Fi options, they are easier to control.

The Verdict

So there you have it! Plenty of ways to automate your lighting indoors and outdoors! Leave a comment below if we’ve missed anything and let us know your experience in using smart plug in dimmers!

Sources

Treatlife