Energy has been taking up a lot of, well, energy lately. Most of the cost over a commercial building’s lifetime is thanks to how much energy the building consumes. Your home isn’t immune just because it’s smaller, though. Our homes eat up tons of energy, making homeowners pay a lot of money every year.
There are two options we could take. Homeowners can either go back to the stone age and live without electricity for a while or they can hop into the future and see what newer technology has to offer.
With our advancements over the recent decades, brand-new homes can consume less energy over their lifetime than a home built 20 years ago.
This reduced consumption is born from the automation and efficiency made possible by smart homes.
How to Make Your Home Smart
There’s going to be a few key differences depending on whether you’re building a new home or just want to make your current home a little more efficient.
Either way, you may want to look into getting a renewable energy source like solar panels or a geothermal system. They may cost a lot upfront, but they’ll save a lot of money in the long run and be one of the first things to make your home a little smarter.
If you just want to update your home a little to make everything more automated, you may want to start with a central control system.
The central control, or “smart hub,” whether in wall panel form or based in an app in your phone, can control every aspect of your home from lighting to thermostats.
This is another potentially pricy way to make your home smarter, but the upfront costs are a fraction of the return you’ll get on this investment, and it sets the stage for further additions.
Make Your Devices Smart
If you’re not willing to make the leap into more expensive territory yet, feel free to start small. Just getting a few smart devices around your home that automate themselves can make a huge difference in energy costs.
You can get anything from smart lightbulbs to smart smoke alarms, all of which operate independently while still being automated to your whims.
For those devices you can’t find smart versions of, you can just buy a smart power outlet that’ll manage your energy efficiency while running devices when you want them to.
With the modern age becoming so technologically advanced and the general public concerned about our rate of consumption, new tech is coming out every day to limit energy use while providing more conveniences. That’s what a smart home is all about.
Know Your Power Supply
All electronics have a power supply. We don’t mean a power source, which is an outlet or a battery or something similar.
The power supply converts power from the source to be usable in the machine by changing voltage or format. If you’ve ever used the wrong charger for a phone or computer, you’ve probably realized just how important a power supply is, hopefully without burning up your device first.
By making a device or group of devices smart, you essentially automate them to run or perform an operation when you want them to, without even having to say so.
This could cause fluctuations and problems in the power supply of your devices if you’re unfamiliar with how they work. Really, you just have to buy the right products that fit your devices’ and your home’s needs. Safety should be the most important concern, after all.
Enjoy the Extra Savings
Just by automating and regulating the energy sent to your devices and appliances, you can save a lot of energy and a lot of money.
Big corporations are already implementing designs like this in their new buildings, so there’s no reason a homeowner shouldn’t hop on the same train.
Anyone can start on their new smart home no matter what income level they come from. Just make a little investment and watch the savings roll in.
Author
Megan Nichols is a STEM writer who enjoys discussing the latest technologies and scientific discoveries. She regularly writes for sites like IoT Times and Real Clear Science. Megan also writes easy to understand technology articles on her personal blog, Schooled By Science. Keep up with Megan by subscribing to her blog or following her on Twitter.
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