17 DIY holiday projects that'll make your home smarter – CNET

Physical controls are key

Just make sure you pick one with physical controls like these that’ll work the way you want as soon as you plug it in. That’s basically what the smart plug is doing — when you turn a smart plug on and off (or automate it to turn on and off), you’re really just cutting and restoring power to whatever’s plugged into it (in this case, a heater). That’s why you want physical controls that don’t reset when the device loses power.

Another tip: Try adding a temperature sensor to your setup, then automate the heater to turn off automatically when the room gets warm enough for your liking, then back on when it gets cold again. You’ve got plenty of options — and the sensor built into the Amazon Echo Plus smart speaker will do the trick, too.