Eight Tree Smart Plugs Review

Power to the People (and Their Wallets)

The Eight Tree smart plugs offer exceptional value for money. They’re packed with features usually found in more expensive models, making them a fantastic option for anyone looking to gain control over their energy usage without breaking the bank. 

With energy prices soaring, we’re all looking for ways to keep costs down. Enter smart plugs – not a new invention, but Eight Tree has spiced things up with their budget-friendly, feature-rich offerings.

Price: Easy on the Wallet

A four-pack of Eight Tree smart plugs can be snagged for under £25 on Amazon. That’s just £6.25 per plug – a steal compared to big names like Philips Hue or even Amazon’s own brand. Alongside that significatly cheaper price you are also getting a lot more features for your money making these a compelling purchase for a budget smart plug.

Design: Function Over Form

Let’s be honest, these plugs aren’t winning any beauty contests. They’re blocky and add a good 6cm of depth to your socket. This can be a pain with bulky power adapters (looking at you, Apple), potentially blocking adjacent sockets and meaning some devices cant be plugged in flush to the wall with furniture having to sit proud from the wall. But to be fair, this is a common issue with most smart plugs – you need that extra space to house the smart tech.

Setup: A Breeze with Tuya

If you’ve dabbled in the world of affordable smart home gadgets, you’ve probably encountered the Tuya Smart Life app. Setting up the Eight Tree plugs is a walk in the park thanks to this familiar platform. Simply plug them in, open the app, add a new device, and select the “Wi-Fi Smart Plug” option. One thing to note is that they only support 2.5GHz Wi-Fi networks, which is common for smart home devices but might be a minor inconvenience for those with a single 5GHz network.

Features: Punching Above Their Weight

This is where Eight Tree shines. These plugs pack a surprising number of features, especially considering their price.

• Energy Monitoring: This is a feature many standard smart plugs are lacking but is one feature I actually found myself using the most, The “Daily Electricity Cost” widget lets you input your energy prices to see exactly how much each device is costing you on a day to day basis. You can also track daily power consumption in kWh and device runtime, these are the sorts of metrics a smart meter can track across your whole home usage but being able to view it on a device by device basis makes it a valuable tool for the budget-concious and is normally reserved for the pricier smart plugs.
• Smart Control: Beyond basic on/off control, you can set schedules, countdowns, overcharge protection, and even a child lock. This granular control adds a layer of safety, convenience and automation. For example being able to power on your coffee machine in the morning to warm up and be ready for you as soon as you are out of bed, these features can be configured on a day to day basis too, so for devices you only really use on the weekend you can set power states for that.
• Voice Control: Being a Smart Life product they do of course Integrate with your favorite voice assistant, like Alexa or Google Home. Control power states, set timers, and even query energy usage with simple voice commands, as is standard their is no Homekit support here at all unless your willing to do a little bit of extra legwork with software such as Homebridge.

Conclusion: A Smart Choice for the Savvy Consumer

The Eight Tree smart plugs offer exceptional value for money. They’re packed with features usually found in more expensive models, making them a fantastic option for anyone looking to gain control over their energy usage without breaking the bank. While the design might not be the most elegant, their functionality and affordability more than compensate.

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