Snorvey wrote:
With winter coming over the hill, it's time to dig out the slow cooker. There's nothing like coming home after work to the smell of something that has been gently cooking away for the day.
And that's the problem. A day is too long - even on the 'low' setting. And if we're running late, the food is overcooked and too dry and if we put it extra water, it turns to mush.
We know from weekend usage, it's best to turn it on at about 10.30 ish in the morning, although that can vary.
So I'm looking for a plug/socket that I can turn on via an app from work (if such a thing exists). Looking on Amazon, there seems to be a plethora of devices that seem to do what I want, but I wouldn't mind a recommendation from someone on here.
If it helps, I have a Google Home device?
I had a similar dilemma for our outside Christmas lights last year.
Any solution needed to be stand-alone, and not use any type of 'hub' or require Google Home or Alexa, as I don't have anything like that other than my wireless router. I wanted something that I could both 'instant remote' on and off and also that I could set regular time schedules for.
In the end I bought a TP-Link Smart-Plug (HS100) and it delivered everything that I needed and worked reliably with very easy set-up and control.
The TP-Link Smart-Plug (HS100) model that I have is currently £15.99 on Amazon -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Required-Control-Devices-Anywhere/dp/B07CKVZFGX
There is another TP-Link Smart-Plug model, the HS110, that has built in energy-monitoring technology, so you can monitor and record power-usage over time, which might be an advantage for some uses. They are currently £18.99 on Amazon -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Required-Control-Devices-Anywhere/dp/B07GWWRK1C
I use my Android phone to control mine, and the app is very simple to use. I don't think I'd particularly want to control anything that's too high-power with something like this, but I would have no problem recommending the above for relatively low power applications like a slow-cooker, which normally use power in the 100's of Watts, rather than kW's.
Cheers,
Itsallaguess