Description
A UK 13A Zigbee smart plug with built-in energy monitoring. Plug any standard UK three-pin appliance into it and you get remote on/off, real-time wattage measurement, schedules, automations, and full local control through your Zigbee hub – no cloud dependency, no router congestion.
Available in two variants: standard (SKU ZBS-UK) and with USB-A charging ports (SKU ZP-LZ-USB). Native Zigbee 3.0 device that pairs with Home Assistant (Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA), SmartThings, Hubitat, Philips Hue Bridge, Aqara Hub M2, and any other Zigbee 3.0 coordinator. For no-hub setups with Alexa or Google direct, see the WiFi version.
Why Zigbee over WiFi for smart plugs
Both this and the WiFi smart plug do the same physical job. Zigbee is the better fit if:
- You run Home Assistant or any local-first smart home setup. Zigbee gives you fully local control – no cloud round-trips, no internet dependency, no Tuya server outages affecting your appliance schedules.
- You have many smart plugs / devices. Zigbee meshes scale to hundreds of devices without congesting your home router. WiFi struggles past 15-20 connected devices.
- You want faster response. Local Zigbee commands take 100-300ms; cloud-routed WiFi commands take 1-3 seconds.
- The plug strengthens your Zigbee mesh. Mains-powered Zigbee devices act as repeaters for battery-powered ones, improving reliability of motion sensors, door sensors, and pull-cord switches across the house.
Energy monitoring
The plug reports power consumption in real time via the standard Zigbee Electrical Measurement cluster. Three practical uses:
- Find the energy hogs. Plug things in for a few days, watch the daily consumption figures in your hub dashboard. Identify which appliances cost real money to run.
- Track always-on standby power. TVs, set-top boxes, and printers draw a surprising amount even when “off”. The plug shows you the actual figure.
- Detect appliance faults. A washing machine drawing double its normal current usually has a worn motor or seized drum. Catching this early saves callouts.
In Home Assistant the data shows up as separate entities for instantaneous power (W), accumulated energy (kWh), current (A), and voltage (V). You can plot any of these on the Energy dashboard or use them in automations.
Hub compatibility
Generic Zigbee 3.0 device using the standard On/Off and Electrical Measurement clusters. Works with any Zigbee 3.0 coordinator:
- Home Assistant (Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA) – fully local. Recognised as a generic Zigbee smart plug with switching and energy entities exposed separately.
- Philips Hue Bridge – paired as a third-party Zigbee 3.0 device. Energy data may not be surfaced in the Hue app depending on bridge firmware.
- SmartThings – paired via the Generic Zigbee Switch (or metering switch) driver.
- Hubitat – built-in driver supports on/off and power metering locally.
- Aqara Hub M2 / G3 – works as a third-party Zigbee device.
- Amazon Echo Plus / Echo Hub – pairs directly to any Echo with a built-in Zigbee radio for Alexa routines.
Voice control via Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit through whichever bridge your hub provides.
USB variant
The USB variant (ZP-LZ-USB) adds two USB-A ports on the body, rated 5V / 2.1A total. Useful for charging phones, e-readers, and tablets without occupying a separate socket. The USB ports are not individually switchable – they’re powered whenever the plug has mains. The 13A switched outlet works as normal.
Practical uses
- Christmas / festive lighting – schedule outdoor or indoor lights on at sunset, off at bedtime, fully locally without an internet connection.
- Coffee machine / kettle – have it on by the time you walk into the kitchen. (Only use with appliances rated for unattended remote switching.)
- Holiday “presence” simulation – schedule random on/off cycles on lamps to look occupied while you’re away.
- Standby cull – plug TVs and games consoles through it. Schedule “off” overnight to kill standby draw.
- Energy-hungry appliance tracking – monitor the second fridge, dehumidifier, or electric heater with real numbers feeding into Home Assistant’s Energy dashboard.
- Mesh repeater – the plug also acts as a Zigbee router, improving range and reliability for battery-powered devices on the same mesh.
Pairing and setup
- Plug the smart plug into a UK mains socket. The indicator light flashes – the plug is in pairing mode.
- Put your hub into pairing mode (Z2M: enable join, ZHA: add device, Hue app: add new device, etc.).
- Hold the plug’s button for 5 seconds to enter pairing if it isn’t already.
- The plug joins the hub within a few seconds and reports as a generic Zigbee smart plug.
- Optional: rename, assign to a room, and enable any automations.
Specifications
What’s in the box
- 1 × Zigbee smart plug (variant selected above)
- Quick-start guide
Does the job required
The USB says 2A but I’m only getting a few hundred milliamps. Ok for trickle charging but watch out if you want to power something direct which needs the full currrent.
One was DOA, but was replaced by Samotech very quickly