Amazon just came out with a slew of new Echo and Alexa smart devices, including the new “Amazon Smart Plug,” which works with the Alexa app and Echo devices.
Their product page emphasizes that no smart home hub is required, and that it works with the Alexa app and home WiFi, but there’s also a box that says it’s compatible with my Echo Dot.
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They say that you can schedule lights, fans, and appliances to turn on and off automatically, and it also allows for remote control when you’re away from home.
It’s compact, only taking up one outlet space. There’s an on/off button, and an LED indicator light. The Amazon Smart Plug can pass through up to 15A at 100-120VAC.
I won’t comment on the potential to use this with a 20A circuit. They say that it accepts an input of 15A, but what will happen if it’s connected to a 20A circuit and you have a high-powered tool that peaks above 15A?
They give a few examples of things you can use it for – a humidifier, lamp, electric kettle, fan, and Christmas tree lights.
“Alexa, turn on my worklight/fan/thingamajig.” I can see it being used for some things in a home workshop setting. Others? I’m hesitant.
It *might* be okay powering a dust collector or shop vacuum, but I’m more certain about using something like this for lights, fans, and maybe low-peaking ventilation fans or things like that. We’ll probably know for sure once the Smart Plug starts shipping in mid-October.
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Inside the device, there’s probably a circuit board and a relay for turning the current flow on and off.
The beauty of this, in my opinion, is that it only costs $25, and does not require an Echo device or hub to work. It does require using the Alexa app on your iOS, Android, or Fire device, which might be frustrating if you have to leave Alexa voice control on all the time and take your phone out of your pocket to do anything. Because of that, an Echo device or Alexa device is probably ideal.
I recently ordered a wireless remote dust collector switch for my new Jet dust collector. It’s a well-reviewed model, but the $62 price tag stung. This Smart Plug would have been less, or only just a little more if I wanted to buy an Echo device to use it with. But can it handle the power load of a 15A dust collector? This hesitation makes me more confident with what I bought – a device designed specifically for use with a dust collector – than in experimenting to see if the Amazon Smart Plug can suit the application. If it can, though, that’ll open up its potential further.
The scheduling aspect seems like it could be useful, too, but I don’t know how that would come into play in a workshop setting. Maybe for things like air cleaners?
Price: $25
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Update: csroc brings up workshop noise in his comment, which gave me something else to think about. Even IF this works for something like a dust collector, how would you turn it off? Voice controls might work well, or at all, if there’s a loud motor or blower running. What would other types of workshop noise do to voice activation reliability?
csroc
I’ve got a couple of the similar TP Link outlets. So far only using them via the TP Link Kasa app on my phone, however they’re compatible with Alexa and Google should we ever get a voice doohickey from either system. If we do, we’re leaning towards Google since for my uses their voice system seems more useful than Amazon’s Alexa.
Works quite well. We use one for an internet connected device in the basement that occasionally decides to lose connection with the wireless, the other one controls a light in an odd spot that uses a high enough wattage bulb that we can’t find an appropriate smart bulb for.
I would think you’d have some trouble triggering the voice controls to turn any of them off if your workshop is noisy, but certainly could work for turning those noisy systems on.
Stuart
Good points!
Sergey
I also have the TP Link device and use it with Echo Dot to turn my dust collector on and off. Echo has very sensitive microphones and voice recognition is really good, so turning off the dust collector while the table saw is still running using a voice command is not a problem at all. Echo Dot is 10 feet away from my saw.
The dust collector I have is puny at 1 HP, but I wouldn’t hesitate using a 1.5 HP one with the TP link.
Pat McGuire
Perhaps used on a vacuum it would be alright but I have a couple of Alexa/Dot units in my home and they respond at times just out of the blue. Not a good idea to have these adapters hooked up to any actual tools such as your table saw, router table etc. and then have them start up on their own.
John S
I’ve been using the dust collector remote you mention for a long time. My father has been using one even longer. Trust me, that remote will far outlast little techie gadgets. The red remote will clip to your pocket or shop apron or whatever with instant on/off. That Amazon outlet will require not having other shop noise so it can hear you talk to it or you have to get your phone out to turn on your dust collector which seems silly.
I am racking my brain as to what item in my shops I would want to be able to turn on remotely while away and can’t think of anything. If power goes out, the in-wall window AC units turn back on automatically so not needed there. My over head air filtration units have built-in timers of 1, 2 and 4 hours so they take care of themselves.
Any actual real world use would be interesting for the Amazon plug. Can’t think of something at the moment.
Koko the Talking Ape
That does look very convenient.
The thing that bugs me about Alexa/Echo is that the voice recognition is not done by the device. Whatever you say is sent down the wire to Amazon’s vast array of servers, located all over the nation. They do the voice recognition and tell the devices what to do.
So what else do they do with that data? Do they store it forever? Do they sell it to other companies?
Also, for the thing to be ready to respond, it has to be listening all the time. Is it sending literally everything you say to those servers? Could they learn your daily routines, the number of guests you have over, what you talk about with your friends or loved ones, whether you scream at your children, or whether they scream at you? How would you know if that is happening?
I wouldn’t mind so much if my personal computer, which I have total control over, were doing the voice recognition. And actually, I think that is more or less feasible nowadays. But Google and Amazon aren’t selling that kind of service. I wonder why that is.
Joel
I’m in a data position that deals with this kind of stuff a little bit (I don’t work for amazon or anything, but enough personal info to be aware of this kind of thing). It’s not supposed to be sending anything to the servers until it hears a wake-up phrase. So it’s like actively listening, actively ignoring. Probably like my daughters now that I’m thinking about it.
What do they do with the actual collected and stored data? Keep it, anonymize and sell it, yes to both (more yes to the first, extent of selling is a “probably but who knows how much”). The reason for keeping it is less invasive than you might think – voice recognition is difficult, having a lot of voice data makes it easier. The fact that you’re directly telling it what to do, and there’s a feedback loop to validate, is extremely helpful. It’s less about eavesdropping and more about getting better voice algorithms (which ends up making more money mind you, not from an altruistic perspective). If it were instant forget, none of it would work very well at all.
That’s the overall idea at least. I’ve heard of Alexa turning on without intention through misunderstood wake-up phrasing. It’s interesting also from an intrusion perspective, what happens if and all that. I’ve gone the route of keeping these things out of my house, but I also carry a cell phone which is just as hackable.
Brian M
Amazon is DEFINITELY actively listening. I think several of these companies are doing it as well. I routinely see things I’ve never searched populate ads after talking with someone about it. Oddball things too. With only my cell phone and tool bag on me I was on site and talking about his solar system, later that day I had ads about solar power on Facebook. I’ve never searched solar power, not even gone over things that are “Green.” Amazon Alexa owners seem to always mention the same kind of odd things as well.
Koko the Talking Ape
Great! You actually know something about this.
“It’s not supposed to be sending anything to the servers until it hears a wake-up phrase.” So how does it know when I say a wake-up phrase? Doesn’t that require voice recognition? Something has to be listening at least for the word “Alexa.”
And what is my legal recourse if they do violate my privacy. Suppose it hears me and my spouse talk about maybe having kids, and I start seeing ads for diaper services all over the Internet. Who do I complain to? What would Amazon do in recompense? How do I know Amazon will actually stop listening. Suppose they hear me and my spouse a positive result on a pregnancy test, and nine months later they start sending me ads for diapers. How would I know Alexa had been eavesdropping?
I recall the famous case where Target deduced a teenager was having a child, and started sending her maternity-related stuff, when she hadn’t even told her father yet. And Target didn’t even have a device in the house. And that was years and years ago.
satch
Exactly. Itmis why I rarely use Alexa for more than asking weather conditions.
As to the 20A circuit questions remember, it is okay to install 15A receptacles in a 20A circuit as long as there are two or more of these devises. However, like all things NEC, there are always…considerations.
If you read through the first articles of the NEC you will quickly realise two things; Any and all codes, rules, exceptions, special allowances and other variances are the sole domain of your ‘authority having jurisdiction’ or AHJ for short. In mostmcases this means your local city, county, state or federal agency that issues permits and does the inspections.
Next you will also see the NEC clearly states that installation of devises is to follow manufacturer’s directions. This latter stipulation is the one I would be concerned with here. While code may allow two or more 15A devises on your 20A circuit, it is pretty clear from what was listed in Amazon’s release that it is intended for 15A circuits. Now, this may be muddy in interpretation by us consumers but as always with electrical devises, err on the side of caution. Install these on 15A circuits and done.
What would I do? First I would get in the weeds with the documentation on these sorts of receptacles and find out exactly what the installatiin instructions say to do. Second, see the last sentence in prior paragraph. I highly doubt from the appearance these are rated for inductive motor tool loads.
satch
Also, looking at the photo, this appears to be a plug-in devise and would not even qualify as 15A devise as we would know it. By that I mean a receptacle you install into an outlet box for power delivery. Thise are clearly marked with NEMA or other electrical manufacturer data for rating purposes. As I said above, cautious limited use is the way with these sorts of things.
Koko the Talking Ape
“Exactly. It is why I rarely use Alexa for more than asking weather conditions.”
But the danger is that Alexis may be listening to you ALL THE TIME, not just when you are giving it a direct request.
Tyler
Hence why there is no way at all you could get me to buy any of these “smart” devices that are an extension of big brother. Bad enough that all cell phones, computers are actively recording, video taping and selling this information to the highest bidder, for the last several years now corporations are an extension of the government unofficially.
Let me guess, by now a great deal of you are going to write this is impossible and there is absolutely no way a “smart plug” is doing anything “bad” because there are so called “privacy laws” in place. If you don’t think any government, be it USA or otherwise isn’t receiving kickbacks from these multi million/billion dollar corporations if they look the other way, guess again.
In addition if you don’t think any information that this “smart device” isn’t being sent to various government agencies, especially if you or any individual say something that may be considered the nebulously vague “hate speech” think again.
Freedom isn’t free and very unfortunately there are Americans that would GLADLY give away these freedoms because some NGO’s and establishment entities deemed this is important to control what the population needs to be told what to think, feel, read or who to communicate with.
Stuart
Please stick to talking about tools and tool-related stuff.
Hilton
I’ve bought a bunch of Sonoff stuff from Banggood to deal with my switching on and off my dust collector. I recall that the heaviest duty device is 3500A but this won’t work a remote so I think I may have to use the smaller version of 2200A.
This is all for 220v though.
I have others to switch on lights, reset cameras etc and this week I’ll be installing one of the POW versions to both time switch my pool motor but also monitor the power consumption. Then it’s onto my geysers…
James C
I use a Ridgid shop vac hooked to a cyclone for my shop dust collection. It’s controlled by an etekcity remote outlet thing. Works great, less than $20, and haven’t had any issue frying it with that particular setup, but of course be mindful of the amp draw on what you might consider it for.
The yeti
Creepy. Going to quit ordering from Amazon if they continue down this path
David
Why not just not order the things you find “creepy?” Just curious. They already sell creepier things, like battery operated nanny/spy cams, for example.
Theodore
David, while I am inclined to agree with you as that is a reasonable statement, I have to ask if this were Sears/Craftsman would this have similar scrutiny? Don’t get me wrong, Sears, Eddie Lampert and the Craftsman brand all deserve legitimate criticism. Literally nothing is above criticism.
Can’t imagine this working in a commercial shop, that’s for sure. You could buy a similar product for probably under $10 without all the bells and whistles just about anywhere.
John S
I been using this for a number of years from Harbor Freight:
https://www.harborfreight.com/indoor-wireless-remote-system-3-pc-62575.html
It is branded by Stanley and its been working flawlessly for me. Really happily surprised as the Harbor Freight reputation kinda made me suspect for a while and I was careful to up its responsibilities. This has no problem powering shop vac etc on amp draw and you can control 3 devices for less than the price of that Alexa Plug not to mention a key fob for the inevitable noise issues on communicating with it.
ktash
Thanks, John! I’m off to get one to try for my shop vac DC. If it doesn’t work, I can use it for some lights. Alexa and its ilk just creeps me out.
JoeM
If I’m being totally honest here, I don’t see these as useful in a shop. Smart-Home devices are relatively young, as technology goes. And one major vacuum in their user space is the Workshop. They aren’t designed for higher voltage or current circuits, as would be installed in a Workshop, and they don’t have specific-noise filtering features of any sort.
You can train them to recognize your voice, sure, but you can’t train it to recognize the sounds of your tools running to filter THOSE out. I’m sure someone with a descent knowledge of Arduino, and running their own home server, could hack their way around it, and make an Alexa/Google Assistant/Siri compatible Workshop Electrical Grid in their home. But, we, the Tool-Using, Workshop-Using, Noisy Environment types, need to wait until there is a significantly more advanced, trainable version from these same makers. Otherwise, the only way that will truly work properly is one we build-and-program ourselves.
I know, it’s dangerous to put that kind of challenge up on a ToolGuyd topic, because there are probably some readers ready to hate me for saying it, and others who are already drooling over the chance to attack that challenge with vigor, just to make one for themselves. But I can’t sit back and say nothing on the topic either. The reality is, it’s just a start. Unfortunately, they really only develop these based on the popularity of what sells, not what is needed by niche-markets like us. Smart-Home Tech is very slow to develop, and even slower to drop to affordable prices, therefore it is incredibly difficult to say a device is worth it. It may be developed to a more advanced version, it may disappear forever by the Holiday season, because it didn’t sell enough.
As to this device ITSELF, I can see hundreds of uses for it. None of them are anything to do with tools, unfortunately. lots of uses for those with disabilities, the elderly, and definitely the wealthy. But those of us with Tools that make noise just don’t stand a chance getting things like this to work in their current form. They’re not tough enough, or advanced enough, to do what we need from them.
Some day, though. Just not today.
Boris Ioffe
This device doesn’t expose its capabilties via API directly, you will need to connect to Amazon Alexa Cloud API which is in the … Cloud. Here it means you will need internet connection to turn it on/off. No thanks. I will stick with WEMO. I have few scripts that control them directly by IP.
jec6613
I actually *do* have some smart devices in my garage (where my primary work area is) and use them regularly. And have good uses for them … just not the TPLink or Amazon ones. I use Insteon, for some very specific reasons – a lot of which being that when I started they were the only ones to really rate devices for use in that situation, and even now they’re one of the very few. You can get outdoor rated relays that will handle the full draw of a standard 15 Amp outlet, for instance, and large relays capable of handling 240V 30A for larger tools and things like well pumps.
Also, I don’t use voice command. It’s a gimmick, I can do all that it does with my cell phone much more reliably. Instead I have a logic controller to handle programming, and any safety related actions occur without the controller, they work on the Insteon mesh which is independent of anything else except electricity supply – devices run their pre-programmed automation routines even if half the house is down.
First device is a portable heater, with a wireless thermostat. You can also run an A/C unit off of them (though I don’t have one), and you can have actual climate control. Since I use an advanced controller for it (and the rest of my home) it will only kick on when I’m using the space, otherwise it will turn off. I have another couple wired in as kill switches – if the smoke or CO alarm goes off, or I accidentally leave it on when I leave, as soon as I set my area to unoccupied it shuts them off. It also kills any other dangerous device throughout the house, turns on all of my lights, and then turns on the electric dog door if it isn’t already (so the good boy can escape in the event of a fire). If CO is detected, it powers on all of the ventilation fans, shuts off the oil burner and water heater, and opens the garage door. And of course, any issue (I also have leak detectors) also fires off a flurry of e-mail and text messages.
As an example, when I leave the house I push a button that says, “Away.” It lights up, turns off the light on the, “Home,” button … and then it changes the climate control program and lighting program so that only lights to make the house appear occupied turn on, and shuts off any auxiliary heat source and the dog door. Then after 5 minutes, it shuts off all of the lights. Once I open my garage door when I return home, it sets the climate control to the normal program, sets darkness sensing lights to on so if a storm rolls through some lights automatically turn on, and some other programs for occupancy sensing and the like that only run when the house is set to Home mode.
jec6613
One other thing you can do with this easily: set up an EV charger to turn on only when the electricity prices go to a lower cost overnight. You can always override it of course if you need to charge right then with a simple button on the junction box, or your cell phone, or even Alexa/Cortana/Google Home, but it can save a ton of money if you own an EV.
jec6613
All of these are ETL Listed:
30A 240V Load Controller: https://www.insteon.com/load-controller
Plug-in 15A 120V rated relays (also a dimmer for lighting): https://www.insteon.com/plug-in-devices
Wire-in 20A 120V rated relay: https://www.insteon.com/on-off-in-linelinc
satch
That is some system. Many will opt for this easier(lazier?) Amazon solution and I just don’t care for it. These things will collect usage and it gets to the point that Amazon and their paying stats customers don’t need to know when my peak power demands go through a smart receptacle for convenience.
I am also looking at SONOFF. Essentially a programmable switch(poor man’s logic controller) that can be configured and controlled multiple ways. I have watched a good number of videos by Jonathon Oxer on his YouTube channel SuperhouseTv. Home automation is his game and he shows many ways to set up controls with Arduino, Raspberry Pi andmothers using fairly simple and affordable devises. None as turnkey as this Amazon product they don’t pry either.
jec6613
Sonoff is one of the few lines that can compete with Insteon in the depth of their product line – very good stuff. FWIW, Crown Embassies (UK) use Insteon for their lighting.
MacLean
Been thinking about something like this for my electric fence. Sure would be nice to power up and down the charger when you’re 2 miles from the plug and trying to troubleshoot…
David
I use an Echo Dot in my workshop to control hands free lighting and music. I also have it set up so I can make handsfree emergency calls in case I ever do injure myself while in the shop.
I absolutely think a hands-free control option is a good idea – I do the same thing in my kitchen to set timers, read back recipes, play music, and to look up conversions and alternatives for recipes.
Redcastle
Even without the information gathering issue I would have little interest in this type of product primarily because the electrical installation in my home is safety orientated and installing high quality sockets (outlets) as a first line of defence is negated if you plug in devices which are not of the same quality of materials. In November and December 2017 in anticipation of having surgery which would leave me immobilized for a number of months I was required to develop a plan as to how I would manage, the baseline premise is that you will be alone, initially I thought that these type of devices would be useful however they did not feature, I bought a pack of remote control plugs and they are still unopened. For machinery I would always go the remote isolator route (in addition to the swichgear on the machine) both on a per machine and whole workshop basis. Given that much fixed machinery in the UK runs on 240v three phase supply I do not believe these type of controls would be heavy duty enough. I have heard it said that the screens for smartphones and tablets were inspired in part by the film Minority Report the cynical part of me says that the inspiration for a lot of this voice activated control stems from watching films featuring “batchelor pads”. I really do not see the problem with getting up to turn lights on or off, etc.
Chad Brink
I’ve automated my large air compressor with a $20 wemo smart outlet. To protect the cheap wemo I added a 120v activated motor controllor relay module to switch the large amp loads of the compressor. I also plugged in a 120v solenoid valve to may air line system so when the compressor is unpowered the valve is closed to keep the air piping from draining the system. I can use Alexa to turn the compressor off if I hear it still running in the night or I can use my smart phone Wemo app to turn it on or off anywhere in the world. Works great and total cost is <$50
here is a video of it in operation… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRIbfpBc06o
Alexa also controls our coffee pot so we can start the coffee ahead of when we need to drink it.
ktash
I just saw this article about these smart devices and how they need to be wiped before getting rid of them. Unplugging them doesn’t do this. Here’s the article:
https://lifehacker.com/how-to-wipe-your-smart-gadgets-before-you-get-rid-of-th-1829140525
Redcastle
I prefer the 4lb club hammer or angle grinder “wiping solutions”. Just because you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you.
rob
I’ve long been using the original offering in this market form WeMo I first tried it on a SlingBox that often needed to be reset when it’d lose it’s connection to the internet. Since that time I’ve added a close to 20 devices from WeMo in total from more switches to bulbs. I really like being able my Echo to turn on/off outdoor lights, Christmas Lights, a coffee pot etc. If you travel they’re very useful when you can’t remember if you turned on/off a certain item. Or when you’re arriving home late and want to turn on something before you get home. You can pick up WeMo switches for as little as $20 online if you look around.
Koko the Talking Ape
I don’t know if other people have suggested this, but I can imagine simple switches controlled over WiFi.
And because I can imagine them, I am sure they exist already.
Aaaand… they do!
https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Description=wifi%20electrical%20switch&Submit=ENE
They come in a wide variety of voltage capacities. I suppose each one needs its own MAC address or something similar, but you don’t need six hex digits.
And for the controller, it looks like there are lots of battery-powered wall switches, or you can use your phone. I can imagine a little box with a single switch you could mount under your table saw, or even carry around on your belt. Hit it, and your dust collection system turns on.
No potential privacy issues like with Alexa, and probably cheaper. Maybe more reliable (no voice recognition to do in a noisy workshop.)