Saving energy is good for the environment and your wallet. These are two good reasons why you should make thinking about saving energy a priority. Setting up your home as a smart home can help you, but there are even more ways to save.
Save energy with smart home solutions
In recent years we have become more environmentally conscious, household appliances are more efficient and energy saving is encouraged by the government with subsidies and discounts. To give you an idea of the effect: the electricity consumption between 2016 and 2017 decreased by nearly 2%. Electricity demand has fallen by 9% in the UK in the past seven years. While that may not seem like a large decline, bear in mind that the number of houses and UK population has grown in those years. The largest savings are gained by using more energy-efficient appliances and lighting: this has seen saving in electricity consumption of 1.2% between 2012 and 2016. (The Guardian, 2018)
Saving electricity in your home naturally contributes to a better world, but you will also notice a difference in your wallet. How can you save electricity using a smart home? Here are a few tips:
1. Smart plugs
Devices in standby mode consume quite a bit of energy even while they are not in use. This is called "sleep consumption". To prevent this and reduce costs, you can use smart plugs.
These are plugs that you place between your device and your outlet. You then use an app to set when the device is switched on and when it needs to be completely switched off. This can be done manually or according to a schedule. For example, you can turn on a table lamp at 7 pm every day and at 11 am. Even if you are not at home.
You can also reduce sleep consumption of other household appliances such as digital boxes, games consoles, and your TV. If you have regular hours of work, you can activate the plug at 6 pm and deactivate it again after 1.00 am. So, your TV does not consume power outside those times. Want to watch TV outside of those regular times? Simply switch on the smart plug manually via the app.
Some smart plugs even monitor the energy consumption of a device, so you can see which devices in the house consume the most electricity giving you the ability to reduce their energy consumption.
2. Replace old household appliances
Washing machines, refrigerators, dryers: traditionally these are large power consumers in a household. With the new generation of white goods, however, this is no longer the case. The tip is: replace your old white goods for newer energy-efficient models!
3. Smart lighting
One of the biggest energy consumers in the home is lighting. You can also save a lot if you currently use old light bulbs. These can easily be replaced for energy-efficient LED lighting. If you also do that with smart LED lighting, then you also create the possibility to programme your lighting. This way, you never use electricity unnecessarily. You can also easily control smart lights via the app, set schedules or have them activated by a motion sensor. One of the best known brands is Philips Hue, but also think of Innr, myStrom or the wireless lights with motion sensor from mr. Beams.
4. Place solar panels
The best way to save a lot on your electricity costs is to generate it yourself! The installation of solar panels on residential houses has gained momentum in recent years. With solar panels you generate your own energy, which you can then use and even save. You can even run smart washing machines only when the sun is shining! Placing it is an investment, but you have earned it back in a number of years.
