I’ve got an outlet that’s controlled by a light-switch. I’ve currently got a lamp plugged into it, but I’d like to be able to control some lights fairly far away from it, and smart bulbs seemed like a neat way to do that.
Is there something I can plug into the outlet to monitor whether it’s on or not, and then turn the lights on or off based on that? I’m having a hard time figuring out how to Google that.
Steer clear of smart bulbs if you can and rather use smart switches. For light plugged into a non-switched outlet, use a smart plug in module.
I have a smartthings hub with Inovelli Blue 2-in-1 dimmer / switches and Jasco plug in dimmer modules. I have my bedroom floor lamp plugged into a switch, while my bedside lamps are plugged into dimmer plug in modules. When I press the on switch once, I turns on just the floor lamp. Press the on switch twice, it turns on all the lights in the room, all to my preferred evening dim level. Press the same on switch 4 times opens the zigbee window blinds in that room. The options are pretty much limitless, and really only limited to your imagination. Oh, and I have Echo Dot devices in each room to facilitate voice commands.
Smart plug seems to be the obvious choice but it’s pretty useless if the light switch is turned off. Installing a relay like sonoff mini is probably the better option.