With energy costs on the rise across the world, more and more homeowners are looking out for new things that they can do to keep expenses down and use less energy at home. Not only does being mindful of your energy use help with saving money on your monthly bills, but it’s also much kinder to the planet, and will help you to reduce your carbon footprint. The good news is that thanks to technology, there are now more smart ways than ever before to reduce your energy use and save money.
Conduct an Energy Audit
First of all, it’s a wise idea to conduct an energy audit of your home before you determine which smart devices are going to work best when it comes to helping you save money. An energy audit involves looking around the home to find any areas where energy is being wasted and usage could be cut back in order to reduce costs. You can do this on your own or many professionals are available who provide this service for a small fee.
Programmable Thermostats
When it comes to getting the temperature just right in your home, using less energy can be tricky. You don’t want to leave the heating system or the air conditioning on all day long, but you also want to avoid returning home to a house that is too warm or too cold after a long day at work. The best solution is to use a programmable thermostat Wi-Fi device that allows you to control the temperature in your home remotely. This allows you to set the perfect temperature just before you arrive home, meaning that you are not wasting energy keeping your home at the right temperature throughout the day when you are not there.
Smart Plugs
Smart plugs are a great way to control anything electrical in your home remotely and save money on your energy bill. You can easily see all your electronic devices using a phone app, and the plugs allow you to turn any device into a smart device. For example, if you have a fan to keep your home cool but keep forgetting to switch it off when you leave the house, then you can simply open your app and turn off the smart plug that the fan is connected to instead. Since accidentally leaving electronic devices on can be costly and sometimes dangerous and going back to check might not always be possible, this is a great way to get remote control and peace of mind.
Smart Lighting
Smart lights can be a fun way to light your home and control the lighting from anywhere. You can set lights to come on and turn off at certain times of the day or control the brightness, color and more from your smartphone. Smart light bulbs are also often energy-saving and use less energy compared to your traditional LED light bulbs. While they are a bit more expensive to buy up front, they do eventually pay for themselves as they will last a long time.
If you are concerned about the rising cost of energy, there are several smart devices to help you bring your energy use down and save money.