D-Link WiFi Smart Plug Tracks Smart Home Energy Use

D-Link has waded into the smart plug market, taking on the DIY smart home with the new WiFi Smart Plug DSP-W215, which not only allows for remote control of a plugged in appliance, but monitoring of its power consumption. The adapter – along with its companion apps for iOS and Android – slots in-between a regular AC outlet and your appliance of choice, whether that be an air-conditioning unit, lamp, or a TV, and can even watch out for potential overheating.

The plug hooks up via WiFi, as the name suggests, with a WPS button to streamline setup.

Scheduled power on/off times can be set using the app, presumably if you want to make it look like your home is occupied, or only trigger cooling or heating at specific times. There's also an integrated thermal sensor that can cut the power automatically if appliances overheat.

Energy usage tracking is supported, similar to Belkin's WeMo Insight Switch.

Of course, there's more to a smart home than a single product or even a single manufacturer these days, and what will make a bigger difference to the core specs of the WiFi Smart Plug itself is how well it fits into an overall home automation ecosystem. We've seen attempts by Revolv and SmartThings to tame the range of devices out there with a single home hub, as well as cloud-based services like IFTTT, but there's no word on how open to them D-Link intends to be.

The D-Link WiFi Smart Plug is available now, priced at $49.99.