Smart-Home Savings Kit: Plugs, Timers and Habits
Smart home products save money by targeting two things: standby waste and badly timed consumption. A $24 smart plug monitoring the old second fridge, a scheduled dishwasher set to run at 11pm on a cheap off-peak rate, a smart power board cutting the entertainment unit at midnight — these are concrete, measurable changes. A smart home that simply has a lot of Wi-Fi devices with no schedules saves nothing.
- Smart home savings come from eliminating standby waste and shifting loads to cheaper time periods — not from buying devices.
- Standby audit: one smart plug per suspicious appliance, one week of data each.
- Scheduling: set dishwasher, dryer and other controllable appliances to run during off-peak tariff windows (typically overnight).
- This kit works without solar, without changing tariff, and without installation.
The two mechanisms that actually save money
1. Standby elimination
Many household appliances draw 5–30W continuously in standby — doing nothing useful, 24 hours a day. An old plasma TV in a spare room. A gaming console left on rest mode. A second fridge in the garage running inefficiently.
A smart plug with energy monitoring identifies the cost. A smart power board or scheduled plug cuts the load automatically when it's not needed.
What this looks like in practice:
Entertainment unit on a smart power board — TV, gaming console, soundbar, streaming stick all cut at midnight when you set a schedule. Instead of drawing 20–30W overnight (7–11 kWh per month), they draw zero.
2. Time-shifting to off-peak rates
If you are on a time-of-use tariff (increasingly common on new plans in NSW, VIC and QLD), you pay different rates at different times. Peak rates are typically 35–45c/kWh in the evening; shoulder and off-peak rates can be 15–25c/kWh overnight.
Controllable loads worth shifting:
- Dishwasher: run after 10pm on a timer (most dishwashers have a built-in delay — or use a smart plug schedule)
- Clothes dryer: same approach
- Pool pump: schedule for off-peak window rather than default midday
- Dehumidifier: schedule for overnight hours
A smart plug or smart power board handles the scheduling automatically once configured. You set it once; it runs every day without further input.
The starter kit: three products, clear jobs
Product 1 — Single smart plug: $24
Tapo P110M — $24.00, 4.8 ★ (287 ratings). Start with one. Point it at your most suspicious appliance for two weeks. The app shows daily cost in dollars at your current tariff. If the number surprises you, you've found your first target.
Product 2 — Smart plug 4-pack: $69.99
meross mini 4-pack — $69.99, 4.6 ★ (353 ratings). Once the single plug reveals your problem appliances, a 4-pack covers a whole-home standby audit. Set schedules across four different locations simultaneously.
Product 3 — Smart power board: TP-Link or meross
For the entertainment unit or home office desk where several devices sit together. Schedule all of them as a group rather than managing individual plugs per device.
What this kit does not do
- It does not reduce the supply charge — the fixed daily cost on your bill. No smart device addresses this; it requires a plan comparison.
- It does not eliminate large consumption loads — a ducted air conditioning system running for six hours is the bill driver, and a schedule can limit those hours but not the underlying cost per hour.
- It is not a substitute for solar — these products reduce waste and optimise existing consumption; they cannot generate power.
The kit is a starting point, not a complete solution. Its value is in finding the specific waste in your specific home before committing to a bigger intervention.
- Renters who cannot install solar or fixed efficiency upgrades
- Households on time-of-use tariffs who want to shift loads automatically
- Anyone with a high bill who wants data before committing to solar or a plan switch
- Home-office workers with always-on equipment drawing standby power overnight
- Anyone whose bill is almost entirely driven by heating, cooling and hot water — smart plugs can schedule, but cannot reduce the kWh cost of running the appliance
Buy one Tapo P110M for $24. Point it at the appliance you most suspect. After two weeks, you have real data. The data either confirms you've found a problem worth fixing — or rules out that appliance for $24. Either outcome is worth having before spending more.
See our Smart Home picks for smart plugs, monitoring tools and power boards.