Hello! New here to the Smart Things Community! Looking forward to learning from other users here (likely smarter than me) and contributing what I know (from working at a utility) about utility programs that integrate with Smart Homes to save people energy through automation & behavioral change. Apologies in advance if I unintentionally do/say something that is not kosher here on your forums.
Background before my question below: I’m participating in a 3rd party energy saving (demand response) program where a company will automatically turn off my Smart Devices (i.e. TP-Link Smartplugs & Nest Smart Thermostats) to help save energy when the grid is strained and energy reductions are needed to prevent brown/black-outs.
What’s cool about the program is that you get your first Smart Plug, a TP-Link HS 100, 105 or 110 for free, which is guaranteed to integrate with their system for automatic turn off and on during one of their 1-2 hour energy saving time periods. But I find that the Smartplugs they sell in their store and are compatible with their platform is limited to the TP Link, which is not the least expensive Smart Plug on the market.
Now Onto To The Question! Does anyone know of a way to integrate a TP-Link smartplug with Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri, so that when the TP link connected to one of these Smart AI platforms is turned off, the AI turns off (and hopefully back on) the less expensive Smartplugs that aren’t compatible with the program? Maybe an IFTTT recipe that integrates with the energy saving period email/text notifications? I estimate this “hack” (work-around) can save me up 80% on Smartplugs, allowing me to buy more and maximize the savings I get from the program.
I figure that since there are power strips where one outlet acts as the “master” and when you turn off the device plugged in to it i.e. a computer, it will then automatically turn off the “slave” (not my terminology) outlets, which then turn off peripherals plugged into these outlets such as a printer, speakers, monitor, etc., you can create a similar set up through Google Assistant, Alexa and/or Siri.
Feel free to send me a private message if you’re interested in learning more about this cool program. Happy to help!