Black Friday Deals: Get Eve Energy Smart Plug for Just €28 & More Hot Offers!

Beyond heating control, energy monitoring represents another significant aspect of home automation. There’s no need for a full electrical overhaul of your home; simply integrating some smart plugs can lead to great results in automating devices and tracking their energy usage. Here’s a look at some noteworthy accessories featured in the Black Friday deals running throughout the week.

Smart Plugs with Energy Monitoring… But Not in HomeKit

Smart plugs are fundamental in smart home setups. Many products now offer energy monitoring and are compatible with the Matter standard, making them potential additions to your HomeKit setup. However, there’s a downside: despite energy monitoring being part of the standard, Apple’s limited support means this data doesn’t show in its app. It might be supported in the future, but for now, details on instantaneous power and energy consumption are only visible in the manufacturers’ apps or other home automation ecosystems.

That said, the Eve Energy smart plug is currently discounted to €28 from €40, and it stands out if you’re looking for a Matter-connected plug using a Thread network. You’ll need a border router like a HomePod mini, HomePod 2, or a recent Apple TV 4K with an Ethernet connection, but that’s it. This well-designed product can handle up to 2.5 kW and should fully meet your needs. A rare plus is that the manufacturer’s app works without needing to create an account. For larger setups, you can also purchase the plugs in packs of four, reducing the cost to €27.5 each.

If you’re looking for a more affordable option, Meross offers its equivalent smart plug at €11.7, down from €15. It’s a Wi-Fi device, which might be a pro or con depending on your setup, and it can handle up to 3.7 kW, the limit for European plugs. Meross also has a dual outdoor plug on sale for €32 instead of €45. Both models include energy consumption tracking, which isn’t a feature of all the brand’s products.

If you’re interested in replacing your wall outlets with a connected model, I recommend the Aqara smart plug, currently priced at €32, down from €40. I installed it behind my refrigerator and it has been working flawlessly for several months. It connects to a Zigbee network and thus requires either an open home automation system like Home Assistant or an Aqara hub that links to HomeKit and other ecosystems.

Concluding the selection with a non-Apple ecosystem recommendation: if you need a smart plug with the highest accuracy in measurements, the Shelly AZ smart plug is on sale for €20, reduced from €25. I use it for a coffee machine I want to keep turned on, and it is the only device that can detect within seconds when the machine turns off after being in standby, a mode that consumes about 2 W. I also use another plug from this brand to monitor the energy consumption of devices I test, and its accuracy has never let me down.

There’s also a newer variant compatible with Matter, although the associated deal isn’t as appealing: €26 instead of €28. Both versions connect directly to the Wi-Fi network.

Smart Plugs Without Energy Monitoring

Since HomeKit does not (yet) manage energy monitoring, you might opt for smart plugs without this feature, which still leaves you with many options. For instance, Meross offers a connected power strip, which is useful for automating and remotely controlling several devices at once. Its 4-outlet Matter power strip is priced at €44.6, down from €60, and includes four USB ports, two Type-C and two Type-A, with a total output power of up to 30 W.

Moving outdoors, OSRAM sells a pack of four Wi-Fi smart plugs compatible with Matter but without energy consumption tracking, priced at €62 instead of €79. This amounts to about €15.5 per plug, a good deal for managing holiday lights or a summer pump, though strong Wi-Fi signal is required outdoors.

Whole Home Energy Consumption Monitoring

Let’s move beyond individual smart plugs to discuss monitoring the energy consumption of the entire home, a valuable area for predicting your energy bills. While there aren’t many solutions natively compatible with Matter in this area, there are a couple of notable deals, especially in France.

Somfy has recently introduced a device that connects to the TIC communication socket of the Linky meter and transmits consumption data via Zigbee. It needs to be paired with a Tahoma box or managed through an open home automation system, though compatibility may not be fully optimized yet. If you’re already invested in the Somfy ecosystem, this remains an appealing option, especially with the product currently on sale for €60 instead of €70.

If you’re not hesitant about opening your electrical panel, the Legrand amperometric clamp can measure consumption at the main supply of your home and is now on sale for €68, down from €80. This Zigbee device requires a Legrand hub or a self-managed coordinator and an open home automation system.

For more detailed insights into comprehensive energy tracking, I refer you to an article I previously wrote on the topic. The Zigbee module for Linky that I use is currently on a small discount at Domadoo for €46.6, down from €49.