If you’re looking for an easy way to automate your outdoor appliances, you might be considering the Braumm Outdoor Wi-Fi Smart Outlet ($39.99). This weatherproof smart plug uses built-in Wi-Fi to connect to your home network and is easily managed using your phone or voice. It’s easy to install and works as advertised, but our Editors’ Choice, the TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Outdoor Plug KP400, offers more features and costs $10 less.
Design and Features
The Braumm Outdoor Plug has a black enclosure designed to withstand the elements, but it doesn’t have an official IP weatherproof rating. The plug measures 3.0 by 1.7 by 1.3 inches (HWD) and has a 6-inch power cord with a three-prong plug. At the bottom is a single three-prong outlet protected by a rubber gasket. In comparison, the TP-Link Kasa KP400 and D-Link mydlink Outdoor Wi-Fi Smart Plug DSP-W320 offer two outlets that can be controlled independently of one another. The front of the plug has a manual power switch and an LED that glows pink when the plug in on and blue when it is off. There’s a mounting hole on the back of the enclosure for attaching the plug to a post or wall.
The Outdoor Plug uses the same mobile app (for Android and iOS) as the Braumm P11 plug and the Braumm Smart Light Switch. The app’s home screen displays the local forecast with temperature, humidity, outdoor air pressure, and outdoor wind speed readings, and below that are buttons for any scenes you have created (scenes allow you to control one or more devices with the touch of a button). Under the scene buttons are tabs for all installed Braumm devices and their status (online, offline). Each tab has an On/Off button for that device. Positioned along the bottom of the home screen are Home, Smart, and Me buttons.
The Home button returns you to the home screen, and the Smart button opens a screen where you can create scenes. You can also create automations that will turn the plug on or off based on temperature or humidity levels, sunrise and sunset times, and weather conditions (sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy, hazy). The Me button opens a screen where you can edit your home name and location, change your profile, and edit your email address. This is also where you go to enable push notifications, enable and disable sounds, and create a Do Not Disturb schedule that will disable alerts for specific times of the day.
To control the plug, tap its tab to launch a screen with a large circular on/off button that appears green when the plug is on and is grayed out when the plug is off. Along the bottom of this screen are Switch, Left Time, and Schedule buttons. You can use the Switch button turn the plug on and off, and the Left Time button is used to set a countdown timer for between one minute and 23 hours and 59 minutes. When the time expires, the plug will turn itself off. Use the Schedule button to create schedules to have the plug turn on or off at specific times of the day and on specific days of the week.
As with the P11 plug, you can turn the Outdoor Plug on and off using Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, but it doesn’t work with other smart home devices or support IFTTT applets like the TP-Link Kasa KP400 and the D-Link DSP-W320. It also lacks support for Apple HomeKit and the power usage reports that you get with the iDevices Outdoor Switch.
Installation and Performance
Setting up the Braumm Outdoor outlet for first use is easy. I downloaded the mobile app, created an account, and verified my email address. Next, I tapped Add Device and selected Socket (Wi-Fi) from the list of devices. I plugged in the outlet, pressed the power button for five seconds until the LED began rapidly blinking blue, and selected my Wi-Fi SSID from the list. I entered my Wi-Fi password and was connected within 30 seconds. I gave the plug a name and was ready to go.
The Braumm Outdoor plug performed well in testing. It responded quickly to on and off commands using the app and Alexa voice requests, and it reacted instantly when a scene button was pressed. I created automations to have the plug turn off at sunrise and back on at sunset and it never failed to carry out the automation. I also created an automation to have the plug turn on whenever the temperature fell below 58 degrees, and this too worked each time.
Conclusions
With the Braumm Outdoor Smart Plug, you can control pool pumps, patio lights, and other outdoor appliances with your phone or with a simple voice command. It installs in minutes and worked well in testing, but it’s relatively expensive for a single-outlet plug that doesn’t interact with other smart devices. For around $10 less, our Editors’ Choice, the TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Outdoor Plug KP400, gives you two independent smart outlets and voice control, and it works with other smart devices using IFTTT applets.
