With the winter weather well and truly setting in, there’s nothing better than cosying up in a warm bed on a chilly night – and I’ve taken inspiration from my fellow shoppers to deploy a hack that ensures I’m toasty every evening.
Electric blankets are all the rage right now as temperatures drop, and I hopped on the trend by investing in the number one bestselling choice on Amazon: the Silentnight Comfort Control Electric Blanket, which is currently priced between £20 for a single and £38.99 for a super king (I got the king size for £30.77 with 28% off). Made from a snuggly fleece material, this blanket is equipped with three heat settings and makes my bed warm in no time – however, there was just one problem.
My new electric blanket doesn’t have a timer, which would have been ideal for making sure my bed was warmed up by the time I got into it. This was almost enough to put me off the purchase, particularly when I also considered that the lack of timer would mean I’d have to wait up to turn the blanket off before going to sleep – however, I soon discovered a nifty solution while reading the reviews section.
Several others who bought the blanket explained that they used a smart plug effectively as a timer to turn it on and off from anywhere in the home through their phone. For those who, like me, are still new to smart plugs, these gadgets are plugged into wall outlets and allow you to control the flow of electricity to connected devices through WiFi – you can currently buy a pack of two Tapo Smart Plugs with Energy Monitoring from Amazon for £15.49 with 35% off, working out at less than £8 each.
If you have an Alexa hub, you can even use a voice command to turn on your electrical appliances so you don’t even need to reach for your phone – perfect for lazy mornings when you want to warm up your bed but don’t feel like moving a muscle. If you want this smart home set-up, Amazon is currently offering an Echo Dot and Tapo Smart Plug Starter Kit for just £27.99 in its Black Friday sale.
Going back to the electric blanket, I simply plugged it into my new smart plug and now I can turn it on before bed without having to go upstairs, making these two gadgets the perfect pair for cold winter nights. And as mentioned, many other Amazon shoppers have done exactly the same thing.
One person wrote in their review: “Mine is wired to a smart plug so I just ask Alexa to ‘switch the blanket on’ 20 minutes before I go to bed and it’s perfect. No more cold beds. Excellent product.”
Another customer shared: “I actually think that the manual switches have a benefit over digital because it is easy to set them up with a smart plug as we’ve done, meaning we can turn the blanket on from our phones from anywhere! Just leave the switch set to your preferred heat level.”
A third shopper said: “Still working perfectly one year down the line. I’ve connected it to a smart plug and ask Alexa to turn it on whilst I get a shower and my bed is nice and toasty by the time I get in.”
And someone else fed back: “Warms up in a few minutes, relieves aches and pains, couldn’t live without it now. I attached it to a smart plug so I can turn it off/on via Alexa instead of having to find the switch when half asleep. Highly recommended.”
The Silentnight Comfort Control Electric Blanket is also available on the high street from the likes of Boots and Argos, where it has also seen its price reduced for Black Friday. However, although 70% of Amazon shoppers – around 32,000 – have given it a five-star rating, not everyone has been as impressed with the blanket as I was.
One reviewer complained: “It’s not very long at all, and will only partially cover your bed. The connector also, in my opinion, should be on an extension so that it’s not directly under where one sleeps; it can be very uncomfortable at times.”
If you would prefer to bypass the need for a smart plug, there are electric blankets with built-in timers available. The bestselling choice on Amazon is the Mia & Coco Electric Heated Blanket, priced between £25 and £44.99 depending on size, which is equipped with three timer settings of two, four and 12 hours to automatically power off the blanket when you get up, although this doesn’t solve the problem of wanting it turned on before you get into bed.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/this-clever-8-smart-home-30487724
