You can create an energy efficient house depending on how well you use your smart home technology. This technology allows you to save more energy by making your house system eco-friendly, dependable, and flexible. To give you an example, you can control the cooling and heating of your home with the help of a smart programmable thermostat that can be set according to the temperature and your schedule preferences. You can also set the lights or fans to switch on or switch off automatically when you enter or leave the house.
Smart home gadgets coupled with smart technology can ensure smarter energy consumption. Let’s take a look at how this technology helps you save energy.
Temperature Control
You can set a smart programmable thermostat according to the temperature level. Possibly one of the first things you want to do once you reach home after work is to adjust the thermostat so you can relax and unwind comfortably. However, this same routine is practiced by millions of people across the nation, and during this period, the electric grid tries to accommodate the surplus surge of energy demand; hence it goes into overdrive mode.
With air conditioning and heating taking up a good chunk of the household energy use, the Nest Smart Learning Thermostat helps to stabilize the power demand during peak hours by adjusting its operation time to balance the energy. It has a built-in auto-away feature which records your absence so that it doesn’t consume an unnecessary amount of energy and regulate your home’s temperature to give supreme comfort without wasting energy. Computer, tablet, and smartphone compatibility allow adjusting the temperature on the thermostat from anywhere in the world.
Photo by Destination Living
Smart Lighting
With the help of smart lighting, you can reduce your energy consumption with the help of motion detectors and automatic timers, and light dimmers can be used to lessen output and wattage to save energy. You can also save energy by replacing your current incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient CFLs (compact fluorescent lights). With smart technology, you don’t need to go to rooms to switch off the lights manually. Some smart lighting hubs come with motion sensors that can automatically switch off lights when there is no movement in the room or is left unoccupied for a long period. These are great for bathrooms, hallways, and garages.
Photo by MINOSA
Equipped with energy-efficient LED bulbs, the Philips Hue system allows you to simply use your smartphone to shut off the lights in your home from the comfort of your bed or when you are outside the house. An additional feature of this smart lighting system is that the bulbs can change color to give you a great ambiance and even sync up with a show or movie you are watching on the television to add extra effects. Thus, besides being modern, this technology will help you cut down your energy bill significantly.
Use Energy-Saving Applications
It is important to know how to you to build a home that is energy-efficient and also saves you money. Homeselfe is an application that is designed to give homeowners an overview of what improvement they can do to have best possible energy output and save cost. The app starts by asking some quick questions about your home and your electricity usage, then gives a general review on how your energy is being utilized and enable you to determine the areas in your home where you can improve energy efficiency. Apps like this are great to make you more aware of your energy consumption, how to improve it and save on your electricity bills!
Reduce Phantom Energy
Phantom energy is also known as standby power or idle current. This happens when your appliances such as air conditioners or microwaves are turned off but continue to draw electricity by being plugged into an electrical outlet. Electronics such as washing machines, computers, and gaming consoles use more power than others, but you can eliminate the power consumption by either manually unplugging the device or investing in a smart appliance that comes with an energy-saving surge protector. You can buy a Smart Strip Power Strip that automatically senses power use among devices and reduces phantom energy.
Home Automation Hub
The crème de la crème of all energy-efficient smart home gadgets is the home automation hub. You can make your home tech-savvy with the help of home automation systems such as Samsung SmartThings, Amazon Echo, and Google Home. With the help of these systems, you get to control lighting, thermostats, security systems, and appliances in one central device such as tablets and smartphones. These automation hubs help to conserve energy by preventing unnecessary use of appliances.
Smart home technology makes your life comfortable and convenient and also helps you save money and energy. You can lower your energy bill by installing home automation hub and switching to energy-efficient types of equipment, lighting, and appliances. The technology offers various products that homeowners can buy to save energy.
Author Bio:
Arindam Paul is a founding member of Atomberg Technologies, a startup working towards manufacturing unique energy efficient fans and tech savvy products. He is currently heading the Marketing and Long term strategy division at Atomberg and is aiming to disrupt the world of household appliances.