Smart plugs are the gateway drug for HomeKit. They’re low-cost and easy to install, and you can get many benefits from them. There are dozens upon dozens of options on where to start, though. The meross MSS315 smart plug delivers almost everything you’d want in a smart plug: Matter support, low cost, and small in size. The only thing it’s missing is Thread support and 5Ghz Wi-Fi.
HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.
Why I love smart outlet adaptors
Smart outlet adaptors are the ideal way to get started with smart home products. They’re simple plug-and-play devices that you can just plug into any regular outlet and start using right away. You don’t need to hire an electrician or do any complicated wiring, which makes them a great choice for anyone who’s new to smart home technology.
Another reason why smart outlet adapters are great is that they’re really versatile. You can use them to make almost any regular device smart, whether it’s a lamp, a coffee maker, or a fan. Once you’ve got a smart outlet adapter, you can control the device it’s plugged into from your smartphone, or even with your voice if you have a smart speaker like an Amazon Echo or Google Home.
Matter support
Matter is designed to be an open standard that’s designed to solve the vendor lock-in problem for smart home technology. It’s a set of protocols and standards that allows different smart home devices from different companies to work together seamlessly. That means you can mix and match different brands of smart lights, switches, and other devices, and they’ll all work together. You can buy products today that work with Matter and use primarily with HomeKit, but you know that you can easily switch to Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa in the future. To sum it up, it allows you to know you’ll never have to rebuy products as long as they support matter.
What’s included in the meross MSS315
meross sells the MSS315 in a 4-pack or a single pack, but the hardware is identical in both kits. You’ll get a Matter-enabled smart plug that supports Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant. It only supports 2.4 GHz on the Wi-Fi side, though. I’d love to see manufacturers move to 5 Ghz for devices that are not dependent on battery life, but I know that cost is likely a key part of the consideration.
From a design point of view, it’s fairly compact, so it won’t impact the plugging of devices in the other outlet.
What can you do with the meross MSS315?
Here are a few examples of HomeKit automations that you can create with the meross MSS315:
- Turn on your lights automatically when you enter a room: You can set up your lights to turn on automatically when you enter a room, and turn off when you leave. This is a great way to save energy and make your home feel more welcoming. You’ll need a HomeKit compatible motion sensor to create this automation.
- Start your coffee maker in the morning: If you have a coffee maker that’s plugged into the meross MSS315, you can set it to start automatically in the morning, so you can wake up to a fresh cup of coffee. Like the first automation, you’ll need a HomeKit motion sensor and then create the automation to turn on the coffee maker through the MSS115 when it detects motion after a certain period in the morning. You can also set the automation to turn on at a certain time as well.
- Set your fan to turn on when it gets hot: If you have a floor fan plugged into the meross MSS315, you can set it to turn on automatically when the temperature in your home rises above a certain threshold. This is a great way to stay cool and comfortable without having to turn on the fan manually. You’ll need a HomeKit-compatible temperature sensor.
- Turn off all your lights when you go to bed: You can set up your lamps to turn off automatically when you go to bed, so you don’t have to remember to do it yourself. It can be done by tying the automation to a time of day.
These are just a few examples of the automations you can create with the meross MSS315 and HomeKit. The possibilities are endless, and you can get as creative as you want. So, if you want to take your smart home to the next level, the meross MSS315 is a great place to start.
You can buy the meross MSS315 from Amazon
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