ENERGY SAVING GUIDE

TP Link Kasa KE100 Kit Review

January 2024

Olivia | Author

Though Winter has come and gone, we’re all aware of bills. Whether it’s our energy, water, or phone bills. And, while the 20% planned price increase was postponed, this April, our energy bills still rose. Why? Because the Governments support payments of £66/£67 stopped, and because some suppliers are reviewing direct debit levels*. It’s stressful. So, everyone’s on the lookout on how to help with their energy bills, making their home more energy efficient and gaining a better understanding of where their energy is going.

We’ve reviewed a lot of tech products in our time. From the Meta Quest 2 to a Fitbit Sense 2 . (All great products btw) But let’s be honest that’s not what we’re looking for right now. So, I got my hands on the TP LINK Kasa KE100KIT (Smart Valve + KH100 IoT Hub). A smart thermostatic radiator valve that came with the Kasa Smart Hub. If you do want a more generic guide on how to save on your energy bills with smart home tech, you can check that out here.

What does it do?

Before we go into details about how I found the Kit, let’s do a quick overview about what it does. In a sentence, the Kasa KE100 Kit allows you to set heating schedules based on your daily routines to make heating more efficient and lower your energy bills. You can also control from anywhere with the Kasa app, hands-free voice control with either Alexa or Google Assistant, scheduling, and more.

Is it easy to install?

TP Link highlights that one of the great things about this kit is that it’s easy to install which is exactly what you want when installing something such as a thermostatic radiator valve. And I can confirm, it was super easy. The kit came with a step-by-step installation guide that was very helpful. I was lucky as I didn’t need an adapter to get the valve to fit my radiator (M30 X 1.5mm). However, it does come with 3 adapters to maximise compatibility. And though the kit only comes with 1 valve, the hub itself can connect and manage up to 32 radiators.

Anywhere and Anytime

For the kit to reach its full potential you need to download the Kasa app. It’s free, and once it’s downloaded you don’t need to pay any more to use all the services. Once you have the app downloaded and connected to your thermostat, you can control it from anywhere, anytime. You can turn it off and on. Schedule it to come on when you get home. Check the temperature report. And of course, control the temperature. I’ve had this kit since February and have found the Kasa Smart app really useful. I live with 2 other young professionals, so we all have different work schedules, if I was in the office and knew they turned the heating on for an hour or so, I’d be able to turn off my radiator off from the office. Helping us reduce our energy usage.

Smart Schedule

Another great aspect of the Kasa KE100 Kit is that you can set schedules to suit your routine. In the winter, on some days for work, I’m up at 6:30. It’s not fair to my housemates to have the heating on, just for me. But also, I don’t want to wake up cold, and we can’t afford it to be on for minimum 3 hours just in the morning. So, the smart schedule was perfect for me. It meant I could have my radiator come on at 6:15 and turn off at 7:15. And then, my housemates can have it come on for 8:30, saving us over an hour of unnecessary energy usage.

More Benefits

There’s a lot of benefits to the kit. Not only can you also set it up with your Google Home or Alexa to activate voice control, you’re also able to set the perfect temperature just for you. So, if you like a specific rooms to be a certain temperature, you can set it too exactly that. I know when my Mum has my Grandparents round, they need it to be a lot warmer than we’d usually have it. We don’t want to heat up the whole house when we know my Grandparents aren’t going to move from the sofa. If my parents had this kit (I’m persuading them, don’t worry), my Mum could set the temperature to be hotter than other rooms, or even turn the other radiators off altogether. It also has Frost Protection, so you’re pipes stay unfrozen, as well as Child Lock so you can prevent your child from managing your radiator accidently. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything this kit can’t do. (I don’t think you need a smart valve for your bathroom, but maybe that’s just me).

Your Home. One App.

I’ve already mentioned a few times about the Kasa Smart app, but I just wanted to give it its own space. Not only can you control your thermostat device, but you can also automate your lights, appliances and secure your home with Kasa cameras. All you need is a few smart plugs, bulbs and switches. Once you have all your devices (which you don’t need to purchase in one go, you can build your way up to having a true smart home), you can create schedules, ‘scenes’, smart actions, check your activity and see your reports. All from one app. Talk about easy.

Final Thoughts

I loved the Kasa KE100 kit. There wasn’t a feature I felt didn’t work properly, or that was needed. I was able to install it easily, I can control it from anywhere, anytime, set a smart schedule, see my energy usage, voice control, frost protection and so many more. And that’s only including the thermostat. I only had the one radiator valve, as that’s all that came with the kit, but you can purchase add-ons individually so eventually your whole house can be set up. Or at least the rooms that get used the most.