hi Janet,
the reason they are called smart plugs is because they can be controlled by
other smart devices like amazon echo speakers or your smart phone.
so for example i have various ones around the house including single plugs
along with 3 and 4 way outlets.
these multi outlet versions often also have USB sockets on them.
in my conservatory i have a 4 way smart strip which goes behind my exercise
equipment and means i don't have to get behind them to turn them on or off.
so if i want to use the tredmill as i am going out to use it i just say "alexa
turn the tredmill on" and it's on and waiting to be used by time i get to it.
obviously you can do the same to turn it off again.
if you get the correct type then each output on the 4 way strip can be
controlled individually instead of them all turning on or off at the same time.
this is the way mine work and you can even turn the USB sockets on and off by
speaking to the amazon speaker.
using an app on your smart phone you can also schedule each socket to turn on
or off automatically at scheduled times.
of corse you can plug what ever you want into them like, kettle, heater,
electric blanket and so on.
pete.
