Do you like to festoon your yard with enough holiday lights that it confuses low-flying airplanes? I don’t have the biggest lawn, but it’s fun to cover as much of it as possible with Halloween and Christmas decorations. I find it’s welcoming, and there’s nothing better than bringing a smile to someone who’s passing by.
In order to control when all these lights and inflatables turn on, I’ve been relying on the same smart plug for more than five years, and it hasn’t let me down. Right now the Tapo Outdoor Smart Plug is on sale for just $19 for Amazon Prime Day. If you’re looking to make your outdoor display a little bit smarter, this is the one gadget you need.
TP-Link’s outdoor smart plug is pretty well designed. I like that the plug itself is at a right angle, so it fits better under my outdoor outlet’s rain cover. The plug itself is IP-65 rated, so it’ll hold up to all sorts of weather conditions.
I’ve been using the company’s previous model for at least five years now — it’s been outside all that time — and aside from the lights on the two buttons being a bit faded and hard to see during the day, it’s still going strong.
But the one feature I like the most about the plug has nothing to do with hardware. In the app that controls the plug, you can set a schedule for when it turns on. Specifically, you can have it turn on at sunset, or at a predetermined time before or after.
That way, you’re not wasting electricity during the day, and you don’t have to worry about things like daylight savings time. The lights will come on automatically when it gets dark.
And, you can set them to turn off overnight — that is, unless you want to keep your neighbors entertained around the clock. For more great discounts be sure to check out our Amazon Prime Day deals live blog right now.