Back in 2012, we threw a big party at my house and put some lights on the fence in my backyard — the small lights on a string that you would put on a Christmas tree. Over five years later, the lights are still out there because they are fun to have, not only when we are in the backyard and it is nighttime, but also when we are in our living room looking out the windows into the backyard. The only problem is that the outdoor outlet at my house is under a porch and behind some plants, so it is a little bit of a pain to access. In early December of 2017, I thought that it might be useful to use a HomeKit-compatible device so that the lights could stay plugged in all the time and I could control them with my iPhone, Apple Watch, etc.
There are two major manufacturers offering such devices. iDevices sells an Outdoor Switch, which has two outlets (controlled simultaneously, not independently) for $80 (currently $53 on Amazon), and iHome sells the iSP100 Outdoor Smart Plug with one outlet for $40 (currently $37.80 on Amazon). There are also some lesser-known manufacturers selling similar devices, but I decided to go with a more trusted brand. I decided to buy the iHome product because at the time it was half the price of the iDevices product, and I only needed one outlet. I've now been using the product for over two months. I normally don't wait that long to write a product review, but because this is something that stays outside and is exposed to the elements, I wanted to give it a longer stretch of time to make sure that it continued to work.
The iHome iSP100 Outdoor Smart Plug works very well. It has worked for me almost 100% of the time, and it gives new life to my outdoor lights because it is now so easy to turn the lights on or off, vastly increasing the number of times that I use and enjoy those lights.
Features
Here is a picture of the iHome iSP100 from the iHome website, to show you what it looks like in pristine condition:
Here is what mine looks like after being outside for a few months, exposed to dirt and the elements:
You download the iHome Control app from the App Store to set up the device. It is quick and easy because you just plug in the outlet and then scan (or type) the code printed on the bottom of the unit. Here is a tip: plug in the device inside of your house, such as into an outlet next to a kitchen counter, when you first set it up. That way it is easy to scan the code on the bottom of the unit. Then unplug it and move it outside and when you plug it in it will already be configured.
There is a mounting tab at the top which you can opt to use if you want to screw the device onto a wall. In my backyard, I just let the device hang from my outlet:
One end of the device has the plug that connects to an outlet. iHome says that you should use a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlet, which is hopefully what you already have on any outdoor outlet at your house. That is one of those outlets with buttons in the middle which can sense if there is an imbalance in the amount of current flowing from hot to neutral and can trip the circuit when necessary to prevent a fire.
The other end of the iSP100 has a female plug where you plug in your lights, heater, fan, or other small appliance up to 1800 Watts. For my use, I plugged in an extension cord which was connected to a few strings of lights. You tell the iHome app what kind of device is plugged in so that it uses the correct icon and so that HomeKit knows what it is, and the list of devices included in the iHome Control app gives you some idea of what you can use this device to control: light, fan, heater, air conditioner, dehumidifier, audio, video, router, coffee maker, kettle, toaster, microwave, iron, hair dryer, curling iron, Christmas tree, decoration, power strip, video game. I cannot imagine why you would want to use the iSP100 with some of those devices — such as a toaster or microwave — but maybe I'm just not being creative enough.
The side of the device has two lights and one button:
The WiFi status indicator flashes green when searching for a WiFi network, is solid green when connected, and flashes red when it is disconnected. The power indicator light is illuminated when electricity is flowing through (e.g. your lights are on) and is off when electricity is not flowing.
The button below the two lights can be pressed to manually turn your lights (or whatever else is plugged in) on or off.
My experiences
Like any other HomeKit device, you need to name your device and your room. I called this one my Fence light and made it part of the room Back Yard. Once you use the iHome Control app to initially set up the device, you don't need to use that app again because the built-in Home app on the iPhone (or iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod, etc.) can control the lights. Having said that, the iHome Control app does give you a way to see a historical log of the power state of the device (when you turned it on and off) and also gives you a way to update the firmware.
Because this device works with HomeKit, I can just tell Siri "turn on my fence light" or "turn off the backyard lights" and within about a second or two, the lights respond. You can also use HomeKit to make the lights go on or off automatically at a certain time of day, such as come on at sunset and then turn off at 11pm. (If you are looking for more information on HomeKit, the latest episode 54 of the Canvas podcast has a good overview.)
Note that the iSP100 is strictly an on-and-off switch. You cannot use this device to dim lights.
Using Siri to control lights inside of the house is nice; you save yourself from getting up off of the couch. But using Siri to control lights in the backyard is VERY nice, saving yourself from putting on shoes, going outside, braving the cold or hot weather, and reaching into an awkward spot. You can also use the Home app on an iPhone or Apple Watch to control the iSP100, and I especially like being able to tap a button on my Apple Watch to almost instantly make outdoor lights turn on or off. It is almost magical.
After using the iHome iSP100 for a few months, my experience has been that it works incredibly well and seems to hold up to the elements. We don't have snow in New Orleans, but we did have a few days of below-freezing temperatures last month. We had many heavy rainstorms. We had hot and cold weather, and as you can see from the above pictures, some dirt ended up on my iSP100. And through all of that, the iSP100 continued to work fine.
I had one time in December that the device stopped responding. Upon inspection, I found that the circuit had been flipped on my outlet itself; I had to press that little button between the two outlets to reset the outlet. I don't know if the iHome device had anything to do with that or if it was just my outlet, and it hasn't happened for two months since then. I also had one time in January when the device stopped responding, and it was some sort of HomeKit issue. I unplugged the iSP100 from the outlet and waited a few seconds and plugged it back in, and it worked again. Unfortunately, HomeKit has hiccups with my other devices too, so I don't blame the iSP100 for that. Other than those two instances, I've turned the lights on and off hundreds of times without any problems at all.
Conclusion
If you want a way to control lights or another appliance that is outside, and if you only need one outlet, the iHome iSP100 works very well. And although I haven't tried this myself, I suspect that if you spend a few bucks on an outdoor 1-to-3 outlet or power strip, you could use the iSP100 to control multiple outlets simultaneously, which is the one feature additional offered by the more expensive iDevices Outdoor Switch.
[UPDATE 4/24/2020: For about six months, I have been using a slightly different congratulation than what I described in this post. I now have a 50' outdoor extension cord going from the iHome iSP100 to my fence. I have a very short 1-to-2 extension cord at the end of that. One end of that split goes to the same fence lights I described in the original post. The other end of that split goes to two strands of G40 globe patio lights, which I have hanging from the "ceiling" of a mostly covered area of my backyard to provide light to that area. The iHome iSP100 continues to work great. Sometimes I use Siri to turn the lights on/off. More frequently, I use the HomeRun app on my Apple Watch so that I can easily turn the lights on/off from my watch.]
I'm happy that I purchased the iHome iSP100 and I can recommend it.
Click here to get the iHome iSP100 from Amazon ($37.80)
