Best Smart Home Devices for the Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the most practical rooms to add smart technology to. The focus here is on hands-free control, useful information when your hands are full, and safety monitoring rather than ambience or entertainment.

Smart displays for the kitchen

A smart display in the kitchen is one of the most useful smart home devices you can buy. It shows recipes step by step without you touching your phone, lets you set multiple timers by voice, plays video while you cook, answers questions and shows the front door camera when the doorbell rings.

The Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd gen) is the best size for a kitchen counter — large enough to read recipes from a distance, compact enough not to take up too much space. The Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) is the equivalent in the Google ecosystem and slightly smaller. Both can be wall-mounted with an optional bracket if counter space is tight.

Smart plugs for kitchen appliances

Many kitchen appliances benefit from smart plug scheduling. A kettle on a smart plug can be scheduled to turn on when your alarm goes off. A coffee machine starts brewing on a schedule. A slow cooker turns on at the right time automatically.

Important: only use smart plugs with appliances that are safe to power on without supervision. A kettle with an auto-shutoff is safe. A toaster is not — it requires someone to press the lever. The TP-Link Tapo P115 and Kasa EP25 are reliable smart plugs with energy monitoring.

Water leak detection

The kitchen has more potential leak points than almost any other room — under the sink, behind the dishwasher, near the refrigerator water line. Aqara Water Leak Sensor and Govee Water Sensor are both reliable options. Place one under the sink and one behind the dishwasher.

Under-cabinet smart lighting

Under-cabinet lighting improves visibility on the worktop. Govee Under Cabinet Lights and Philips Hue Gradient Lightstrip are the two main options. Both can be controlled by voice and set to different colours and brightness levels depending on whether you are cooking or just making a coffee.

Recommended kitchen setup

• Start with: a smart display (Echo Show 8 or Nest Hub) for recipes and timers.
• Add next: smart plugs for the kettle and coffee machine, water leak sensor under the sink.
• Later: under-cabinet lighting, energy monitoring smart plugs for larger appliances, additional water sensor behind the dishwasher.

What to avoid

Avoid putting smart plugs on appliances that generate heat and are not designed to be left on unattended. Avoid smart displays without a physical camera cover if privacy is a concern. Do not automate the dishwasher to run at night without first confirming it has no fault or leak.