How Smart Homes Help Reduce Energy Waste

Did you know that smart home technology is currently used by over 51% (that’s over 77 million) homes in the United States? By 2027, this percentage is projected to be over 68%.

One of the reasons behind the rapid adoption of smart home technologies is the energy optimization they allow, which translates to significant savings.

If you’re currently looking to set up smart home tech, you’re probably wondering two things: which technologies save energy? And how exactly can they help me save energy?

This article explores both these aspects by diving deeply into the following factors:

Where Homes Are Prone to Energy Wastage

Let me give you a clear idea of all the points in our home where we are prone to wasting energy and bumping up those bills. Most notably, these boil down to:

• Thermostat
• Lighting
• Water

Let’s take a look at some real-world examples of how we may waste each of these, sometimes without even realizing it.

Thermostat

What’s the first thing we do when we feel hot or cold? We crank the thermostat all the way up or down for quicker cooling or heating, don’t we? We think it might work quicker, but it only pushes our heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit to work at a higher capacity, and consume significantly higher energy.

That’s because HVAC systems work at a constant rate, and cranking up the thermostat doesn’t change the speed at which it’ll reach that temperature; it only surpasses the desired temperature, leading to energy wastage.

Lighting

I don’t know about you, but there have been numerous instances where I’ve forgotten to turn off a light before work, only realizing it halfway through my shift. By that time, it was too late to do anything about it, and I’d just have to slowly accept the extra bill.

Beyond the human error, it’s also quite likely that you’re using inefficient bulb technologies such as incandescent that convert electricity into heat rather than useful light, heating your room and your electricity bill.

Water

The water that we take for granted requires a lot of energy to be moved, treated, or heated. For example, when you’re washing your clothes, 90% of the energy used is for heating the water.

Another major area of energy wastage associated with water is when it’s stored in water heaters and uninsulated pipes. When we leave water resting in the heater or the linked uninsulated pipes, heat transfers to the surrounding air, requiring constant use of the heater to ensure the water stays warm.

Now that you have an understanding of which areas result in energy wastage and how, let’s take a look at the smart home technologies to help prevent wastage in each area.

Smart Home Technologies for Thermostats, Lighting, and Water Optimization

Smart home technologies are a network of devices that can help you track and optimize usage, remotely monitor systems, and help you cut down on costs and energy wastage.

Some may require connectivity, so if you haven’t yet, you might want to consider setting up a fast and reliable connection from a well-known internet service provider in your area.

For the applications above, the smart home technologies below are those you might want to consider setting up.

• Smart Thermostats
• Smart Lighting
• Smart Water Management

Let me break down what each of them is and how they work to save energy and your money.

Smart Thermostats

Smart thermostats are Wi-Fi-enabled devices that automatically regulate your home’s heating and cooling. They often come with a smartphone app to allow you to remotely monitor systems. They also easily integrate with other smart home devices, such as smart speakers like Alexa, to execute your instructions.

These smart devices, like others, learn your preferences through data collected over a period of time and make relevant adjustments automatically, while efficiently optimizing energy usage. Some of the features you can benefit from include the ones below:

• Scheduling heating and cooling based on your schedule.
• Turning off HVAC systems when you’re not home.
• Geofencing to set up heating or cooling when you arrive.

All these features prevent overusing your system and stop wastage in case you forget to turn it off before leaving for work. Additionally, by making you aware of your usage inefficiencies, these smart devices can unlock further savings. For example, the U.S. Department of Energy found that adjusting your thermostat by just 7 to 10°F for 8 hours a day can help you save up to 10% annually.

Smart Lighting

Smart lighting is a connected lighting network that includes switches, lightbulbs, LEDs, and controllers. Like smart thermostats,s they may also be Wi-Fi enabled and come with an app to allow you to remotely monitor your home’s lighting, while learning your preferences and lifestyle to optimize accordingly.

Lights are one of the most likely things to be left on before leaving for work, leading to constant energy wastage. With smart lighting systems, ems you can check for and turn off any such lights wherever you are, as long as you’re connected to the internet. If you’re currently searching for a plan, LocalCableDeals is a great place to look.

These systems also learn your daily routine to turn on or off accordingly and create the lighting setup you need for various occasions. For example, if you’re having a party, you can instruct the system to dim or brighten the lights depending on the type of party.

Smart lighting systems are also more efficient at converting energy into useful light, instead of heat like most traditional systems. A smart LED light bulb, on the other hand, only emits a fraction of the energy consumed as heat, using less electricity while providing the same, if not better, lighting results.

Smart Water Management

I know it feels great to stand under a warm or cold shower, ower depending on the type of weather, but that is water wasted, isn’t it? One of the major reasons behind this is that we don’t realize the amount of water we’re consuming. Smart water management systems can help you track usage and prevent waste.

Smart water management systems are a device system consisting of Internet of Things sensors and controls to monitor and optimize usage, identify wastage and leaks, leading to lower utility costs. Water leaks cost homes in America anywhere between $1,381 and $6,350 to repair.

By identifying leakage points, you can take the necessary steps early on, saving both water and the associated repair costs for your property. These systems can also act automatically, immediately cutting off the supply to prevent flooding in the case of a broken pipe.

Another major area of wastage in garden care sis thathomeowners like us may overwater our grass. Smart water management systems can integrate with soil sensors and local weather forecasts to irrigate your garden optimally. Collectively, all these features can save you thousands of gallons and dollars annually.

Smart Home Technology – A Homeowner’s New Best Friend

With the price of homes being high enough as they are, saving across applications like lighting, thermostats, and water can make a huge difference for homeowners.

With their ability to cut down costs, automate processes, and add convenience and personalization to your lives, they are evolving into a homeowner’s new best friend.