Use your voice to control your garden lights with this outdoor smart plug — it's on sale for $15

Now that spring has arrived, many of us are plotting ways to make the most of our outdoor spaces. After all, we've spent the last several months inside hiding from the cold. The lovely warm weather invites alfresco parties, barbecues and other fun activities where twinkle lights and more come into play. Time to streamline! This outdoor smart plug, down to $15 right now, can power everything from landscape lighting and porch fans to sprinklers and electric grills. You can flip it on or off from your phone, or ask Alexa or Google Assistant to do your dirty work.

Amazon

Meross Outdoor Smart Plug

$15$26Save $11

Control each plug individually with this handy, easy-to-use smart outlet.

$15 at Amazon

A downside is that it doesn't work with Apple HomeKit, so Siri users are out of luck.

This is an outdoor smart plug, which means it's weather-resistant (but not waterproof). With an IP44 rating, it can stand up to a rainstorm or dry, dusty weather, but you should avoid letting it get submerged in water. Each of the three separate plugs can be controlled individually. There's also a computer chip inside the plug that enhances its Wi-Fi range so that you can use it farther away from your house without much trouble.

You can even set up a timer and schedule specific functions. For instance, if you want your patio lights to come on or turn off at a set time each day, you don't have to manually do that — the plug can handle that for you.

"This thing is awesome! It has sunrise/sunset functions that work wonderfully!! I thought I would have to be constantly adjusting the times for the lights to go on in the chicken coop but was so happy to see how smart this app is!" one user raved. "I wanted my chickens (I only have four) to start laying eggs even in the dark, cold winter. So to lengthen their days I set up a Routine in the app, so that the rope lights turn on 1/2 before sunrise, then off soon after sunrise..."

Another customer used it to control their home from thousands of miles away: "I have two properties. One is in Colorado. I use this and have my ice damn roof heaters plugged into it. I can see from a camera I have installed when It snows and I turn on the heaters from my home in CT and turn them off when I don't need it on. Saving electricity while controlling it from afar to prevent ice damns."

meross

Meross Outdoor Smart Plug

$15$26Save $11

Have your lights turn on at a specific time or just shout for your smart assistant to handle it — either way works.

$15 at Amazon

The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.

If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $25 or more.)

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