There is no doubt that the world is in the midst of a technological era, with the result being automation for most of the mundane tasks we all do daily.
Smart homes have been on the horizon for many years, but as the nations move into the future, there are starting to become the norm.
If you are not lucky enough to be living in a smart house, it is time to start converting your current home over.
If you are building a new home, you should highly consider working with a contractor familiar with smart technology and installing it into the house as they build it.
For now, though, let’s go over some of the most important aspects of a smart home with tips on saving money and energy at a smart home like yours.
- Lights – The first thing that needs to be converted to smart technology will be the lights. It is nearly impossible to get all the people in the house to turn off the lights when they leave a room. One of the most valuable gadgets that you can install is smart light switches that have sensors built into them. They will turn the lights on when someone enters the room and turn them off when they leave.
- Light Bulbs – Another aspect that can help you conserve energy is changing all the light bulbs to smart bulbs, or at least LEDs that take less power to run. Smart bulbs not only change colors when you want but they can be programmed to turn off at a specific time. These work great for common areas of the home that have the most traffic. They can be shut off at bedtime and turned on when everyone gets up in the morning. If you have a rough night and get up, the lights can always be turned on manually until you do not need them on.
- Smart Power Switches – Now, you need to go through your home and locate all the plug-ins that are being used. Analyze each of them and figure out the ones with units attached to them that are on all the time, such as a laptop or mobile device charging station. These areas do not need full energy going to them when not in use, but very few people unplug them when not needed. Install some smart plugs or power strips that will turn them off for you when they are not being used.
- Compare – One of the best things you can do is to compare energy providers in your area because they will not all be charging the same amount for services. The best way to do this is to go onto the iSelect electricity comparison site and review the offers the partner sites send you. Remember that the lowest cost is not always the best. Go through all the details of the contract, and do some background research on the companies that look good. You do not want to switch energy providers to save money just to find out that their service is down more than it is up.
- Hot Water – The hotter the bath water is, the more comforting it can be to some. Still, if you want to save energy, turning the hot water tank down a few degrees will be necessary. Down to 145 degrees would be the best because it reduces the power needed for the tank to keep the water hot. It increases the tank’s life because it will not have to be on as often.
- Appliances – Your old washer and drier may work great, but it is time to upgrade and update. Smart appliances can help you save money on power and water and make things much more convenient for you. For example, you can have a washer set to run at the same time every day. As long as things are loaded and ready to go, you will never have to worry about your work clothes being clean again.
These are just a few things you can do in a smart home to reduce your energy consumption, which will save you money.
The important thing to keep in mind is that when you start converting items over to smart devices, it may take some cash up front, but within a short time, you will see savings on your bill.
This makes smart devices a good investment because the return will be visible when you get your next electricity bill.
There are, of course, many other things you can do, such as installing a smart console attached to all the smart devices in your home.
It can be programmed to run things to keep your power use down. Plus, some of the consoles with top-of-the-line technology can adjust things automatically to fit your needs and offer more creature comforts.
Saving energy and reducing your footprint on the Earth is all up to you. Installing smart devices is a great start in achieving that goal.
Plus, you will have more cash in your pocket because you will save money on your monthly electric bill. So what are you waiting for? Start converting your home over today.
