I recently have to research the best smart plug with energy meter function. I want to know why I am paying so much for my power bill. I come across several mainstream suppliers, ie. Wemo, Eve Energy, Meross and Arlec (probably in Australian market primarily)
Prompted by the review of the Arlec smart meter, I digged into to find out what company is Tuya. This is the information I get from Crunchbase
I then checked the company background for Meross. Its products seem to be priced aggressively compare to their competitors. Again, this is the information I obtain from Crunchbase.
Finally, I did similar check for Eve Energy. Its product is going for more high end focus for its product range. Strange enough, I have similar result from Crunchbase.
For Wemo, I know it is part of Belkins Internation which was bought by Foxconn. I am less concerned about this brand.
For IOTs to work, it has to be connected to our home network, either directly to our wifi, our indirectly via bridges and hubs using common standard (such as Zigbee) or other proprietary practices. Ultimately, the IOTs will form part of the home network
You would probably say that I am paranoid. Not the first time people said that about me. I would let you draw your own conclusion into finding the right IOT devices and suppliers.
This is obviously a very narrow segment of the IOT business. It may not be a good representation of the entire market. Interesting to hear what other thinks.
IoT is such a terrible space right now from a security point of view. Generally what I look for is a history of reasonably frequent software updates and the ability to have those automatically applied. Frequent updates indicate that the company is interested in fixing problems and automatic updates indicate the the company understands that most people won’t install updates manually. It’s not a perfect or complete selection mechanism but it does really narrow the field.
If you’re in AU, why not get a non-networked meter with a reading interface like this one? That same company also sells a professional version with a longer cord so you can read the screen without bending behind the appliance it’s plugged into.
There are smart plugs you can run in local-network-only mode in the US (e.g., Kasa), but I don’t know what’s available to you. In the US we also have an app called EcoNet that a number of “green” electronics connect to by having the device broadcast its own local wifi network that only the phone joins and reads—you may be able to use that to find AU equivalents. Good luck and don’t feel bad taking IoT security seriously.
I might miss something but regarding the Eve Energy plugs: they are manufactured by Eve Systems, a privately held company with headquarters in Munich, Germany. The company was founded in 1999. I am not sure that the Chinese company you found is connected to Eve Systems in Munich.
I went with Eve Systems for privacy and quality reasons. And I am quite happy with the decision.