Make Any AC or Heater Smart (IR Blasters & Smart Plugs, 2026)

You don’t need a new air conditioner or a new heater to get scheduling, phone control, and “turn off when I leave” automations. The appliances you already have — that window AC with the chunky remote, the oil-filled radiator in the corner — can become part of a smart home with two types of gadget that cost less than a restaurant meal and leave zero mark on the walls.

This guide covers both routes honestly, including the safety caveats that most articles skip over.

How we pick. Recommendations are based on published specifications, protocol details, and independent reviewer consensus — not paid placement. Some links may be affiliate links, at no extra cost to you. Prices are shown as bands ($ / $$ / $$$) because they move constantly and vary by region.

Two routes, two very different jobs

The tool you need depends on what your appliance actually is.

Route 1 — IR blaster (for ACs and heat pumps with a remote). Most split air conditioners and portable AC units communicate with their remote via infrared light — the same invisible signal your TV remote uses. An IR blaster sits on a shelf, learns those signals, and rebroadcasts them on command from your phone, a schedule, or an automation. Your AC has no idea it isn’t being pointed at with the original remote. This is the cleanest upgrade: full mode control (cool/heat/fan speed/temperature setpoint), no wiring, nothing to ask your landlord about.

Route 2 — smart plug (for plug-in resistive heaters). A plug-in oil-filled radiator or a small ceramic heater has no remote — it just needs power. A smart plug gives you on/off scheduling, remote switching, and energy monitoring. This is simpler than IR control, but the safety rules are stricter. Read the safety section below before you buy anything.

What’s off-limits entirely: gas heaters, wall-mounted electric heaters wired into your flat’s circuit, and ducted systems. These are not plug-and-play and are not covered here. If your heating is built into the walls, skip the plug section entirely.

Comparison at a glance

Device	Controls what	Method	HA / Matter	Price band
Sensibo Sky / Pure	Mini-split or window AC	IR (dedicated)	HA integration, no Matter	$$
Tado Smart AC Control	Mini-split or window AC	IR (dedicated)	HA integration, no Matter	$$
SwitchBot Hub 2	AC + other IR devices	IR + Bluetooth bridge	HA integration, Matter	$$
SwitchBot Hub Mini	AC + other IR devices	IR + Bluetooth bridge	HA integration	$
BroadLink RM4 Pro	Any IR device	IR (general-purpose)	HA integration	$
Smart plug (rated ≥ 15 A)	Plug-in resistive heater	On/off power	Varies by plug	$ – $$

Confirm wattage ratings and regional availability before purchasing. Heater wattage rules are explained in the safety section below.

Route 1: IR control for your AC

Sensibo Sky / Sensibo Pure — best AC-dedicated experience

Sensibo makes AC-specific IR controllers and leans hard into the smart features: geofencing (the app detects when you leave a defined area and turns the AC off; turns it on when you’re close to home), scheduling by time or temperature, and a “climate react” mode that adjusts based on the room’s actual temp and humidity. The companion sensor clips nearby and feeds real conditions back to the app — much more useful than just sending a timed command.

Sensibo is AC-only; it won’t learn your TV remote. If your goal is a dedicated, polished AC upgrade with good geofencing, Sensibo is worth the $$ price. It integrates cleanly with Home Assistant if you want to go deeper later. Not sure where it fits in a broader setup? The Hub & Protocol Selector can help you map it.

Tado Smart AC Control — strong geofencing, European roots

Tado built its reputation on smart thermostats for European gas central heating, and the AC Control carries that polish into the IR world. Geofencing is a flagship feature — it tracks every household member’s phone and acts on who’s actually home, not just a timer. Scheduling is clean, the app is well-maintained, and there’s a Home Assistant integration. It sits at $$ and is a particularly good fit if you’re in Europe or already use Tado for other heating.

SwitchBot Hub 2 — IR blaster plus useful hub

The SwitchBot Hub 2 is the most versatile option here because it’s not just an AC controller: it’s a full IR blaster compatible with around 1,800 AC models, plus a Bluetooth-to-Wi-Fi bridge for the rest of the SwitchBot ecosystem, plus a built-in temperature and humidity sensor. That last part matters: you can set automations that trigger based on the room’s actual temperature rather than a clock, which is smarter than most dedicated AC controllers.

It now supports Matter, which makes it easier to connect to Apple Home, Google Home, or Alexa without extra steps. The $$ price is reasonable given everything it does. If you’re building a renter-friendly setup from scratch, the Hub 2 is a good central piece — see the renter starter kit for how it fits in.

SwitchBot Hub Mini — the budget entry point

If you just want your AC on your phone and don’t need the temperature sensor or Matter, the SwitchBot Hub Mini costs around $ and does the IR job well. Device database is large, Home Assistant integration works, and it’s small enough to forget about once it’s on a shelf.

BroadLink RM4 Pro — for Home Assistant tinkerers

The BroadLink RM4 Pro is the choice for people who want maximum flexibility and don’t mind a little setup. It’s a general-purpose IR blaster that learns virtually any remote signal, integrates deeply with Home Assistant, and costs around $. You lose the polished geofencing of Sensibo/Tado, but you gain the ability to control every IR device in the room — AC, fan, TV — from a single hub. If you’re already running or planning to run Home Assistant, the Home Assistant setup guide covers the BroadLink integration.

Route 2: smart plugs for plug-in heaters

A smart plug gives a dumb plug-in heater a schedule and remote on/off. Before you buy, read this next section carefully — it’s not optional.

Safety: the rules you have to know

This is where I want to be direct, because bad advice here is a fire risk.

Most space heaters draw 1,000–1,500 W continuously. That’s not a brief peak — it’s sustained load for hours at a time. The problem with most standard smart plugs (rated 10 A / 1,200 W) is that running near their maximum rating for extended periods creates cumulative heat buildup in the plug housing. Even a plug that’s technically within its wattage spec can fail or become a fire hazard under that sustained thermal stress.

The rules:

• Only use a smart plug with a plug-in resistive heater — oil-filled radiators and simple ceramic heaters with their own thermostat and tip-over cutoff. The heater’s own safety features must remain active; a smart plug can only control power, it cannot replicate those cutoffs.
• Use a plug rated for at least 15 A / 1,800 W, with enough headroom above your heater’s actual draw. Check the heater’s label for its wattage. The plug must exceed it.
• Never use an extension cord or power strip between the plug and the heater. Direct into the wall socket only.
• Check the plug housing for warmth during the first hour of use. If it feels hot rather than slightly warm, stop using it with that heater.
• A smart plug should control a heater’s power supply only — pre-heat the room on a schedule, then let the heater’s own thermostat take over. Don’t use it as a replacement for a thermostat.
• Unplug the heater when you go to sleep or leave for more than a few hours. A schedule that turns off power is useful; relying solely on it is not.

What’s off-limits regardless: gas heaters, wall-mounted electric panel heaters, baseboard heaters, and anything that doesn’t plug into a standard wall socket. These are not compatible with smart plugs in any form.

For a deeper look at which smart plugs are rated for high-wattage loads and which to avoid, see the smart plugs for renters guide.

Automations worth setting up

Once your AC or heater is connected, these are the automations that actually make the effort worthwhile:

• Pre-cool or pre-heat by arrival. Geofencing (Sensibo, Tado) or phone presence detection (Home Assistant) turns the AC or heater plug on 20–30 minutes before you get home. You walk into a comfortable flat without it running all day while you’re out.
• Away-off. When the last person leaves — tracked by phone location — the AC switches off, or the heater plug cuts power. This one alone tends to pay for the device in a few months of electricity savings. Run your numbers with the Energy Savings Calculator to see what you’d actually save.
• Temperature-triggered. If you have a room sensor (the SwitchBot Hub 2 has one built in), set the AC to kick on when the room hits 27 °C, or the heater plug to switch on below 16 °C. More responsive than a timer, less wasteful than leaving it on all day.
• Window-open guard. A door/window contact sensor can block the AC from running when a window is open. Obvious in hindsight, but a genuinely useful automation — no point air-conditioning the street.

Home Assistant note

All of the IR devices above have Home Assistant integrations, which means you can combine them with any other sensor or automation in your setup — not just the features the manufacturer built into their app. Geofencing from Sensibo’s app is good; geofencing that also checks the weather forecast, adjusts the setpoint based on a room sensor, and ties into your other automations is better. If that sounds appealing, the Home Assistant setup guide is the place to start. The first five automations guide shows which ones to build first and in what order.

Frequently asked questions

Will an IR blaster work with any air conditioner? It works with any AC that has an infrared remote — which covers the vast majority of window units, portable ACs, and mini-splits. If your AC uses a radio-frequency (RF) remote rather than infrared, or connects to its own proprietary app, an IR blaster won’t help. Check your remote: if it needs line-of-sight to the unit, it’s almost certainly IR.

Can I use any smart plug with my space heater? Not safely. You need a plug rated for at least 15 A / 1,800 W and sufficient headroom above your heater’s actual draw. Standard 10 A plugs are not safe for sustained high-wattage loads. Check the heater’s label, check the plug’s rating, and never use an extension cord. The smart plugs guide lists plugs with their ratings.

Does geofencing mean the AC is always tracking my location? Sensibo and Tado use your phone’s GPS to detect when you enter or leave a set radius around home. The location data stays within the app; it’s the same approach Apple Home and Google Home use. If you’d prefer not to share location data with a third-party app, you can replicate geofencing entirely within Home Assistant using your phone’s local network connection instead.

My heater is gas / built into the wall. Any options? Not with smart plugs or IR blasters — those approaches only work with plug-in resistive electric appliances and IR-controlled devices. For gas or hardwired heating, the right tool is a smart thermostat compatible with your system, which is a different category and often requires landlord sign-off. Out of scope for this guide.

Bottom line

If your AC has a remote, a Sensibo Sky, Tado Smart AC Control, or SwitchBot Hub 2 will make it genuinely smarter — with scheduling, geofencing, and phone control — for $$ and zero permanent changes. The SwitchBot Hub 2 is the most versatile pick if you want an IR blaster that also serves as a Bluetooth hub and room sensor.

For plug-in heaters, a 15 A-rated smart plug with the heater’s own safety features intact is a legitimate upgrade, but only if you follow the wattage rules above. If any part of the safety guidance feels unclear, use the heater’s built-in timer instead — it’s less convenient but unambiguous.

Either way: shelf-mounted, fully reversible, and gone on moving day. Use the no-drill planner to work out what fits your flat and your budget before you buy anything. And if you’re starting from zero, the how I made my rental smart walkthrough shows how these pieces fit together in a real flat.