Smart plugs for ACs
Hi! Just to preface this, I have very limited knowledge of all things electricity related, so please be kind 🙏
My partner and I are looking to have our air conditioners controlled by smart plugs for Alexa integration. We already have 15 amp smart plugs that we would like to repurpose for this, in the interest of saving money, but we’re unsure if they’re safe to use for air conditioners.
Two of our ACs are plugged into 15 amp outlets. The ACs themselves, per the specs on the side of each, draw 7 amps. Does that mean that it would be safe to use a 15 amp smart plug with it, since it’s only supposedly drawing 7 amps? Are there any other considerations I’m not aware of that would make this unsafe?
Another option my partner has found is using an infrared blaster to just remotely turn the AC on and off without dealing with the outlets at all. I’m assuming this is safer all around and we will probably wind up going with this anyway but I would still like to know more about the smart plugs, especially since the IR blasters will require us to spend a bit more money.
Thank you in advance!