Earth Day is a widely recognized observance that is celebrated every April 22nd , as far back as 1970, and is now observed in over 192 countries around the world. The movement now signifies hope for creating a healthier and more sustainable environment for future generations to come.
With a global pandemic increasing our time spent at home, there has never been a more important year to take advantage of improving smart home technologies to conserve energy and reduce our impact on the environment.
Here are 5 ideas on how you can celebrate this year’s Earth Day by making your home’s energy consumption smarter:
1) Install Smart Lights
Smart lights are usually the most common staples of any smart home. Most smart light bulbs can be controlled with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Even without a smart-home hub, you can control smart bulbs through smartphone apps. While smart light bulbs may cost more than regular or LED bulbs initially, they offer numerous benefits in the long run. Smart lighting options can help conserve energy, and they last much more than traditional light bulbs. They also come with their own customization options that can be practical and fun at the same time.
Here are also some additional benefits of installing smart lighting for your home:
| Lower energy use |
Smart lights use CFL or LED bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs, and can reduce the amount of electricity needed to light a room. According to Gartner Inc., smart LED lighting can reduce energy costs by as much as 90 percent in industrial installations, office buildings, and even in your own home. |
| A longer life span |
Most average incandescent bulbs have a lifespan between 750 to 2,000 hours. In contrast, LED smart lights can work continuously for 35,000 to 50,000 hours, which is significantly longer and cost you less in the long run. |
| Convenience | Smart lighting provides practical convenience. You can lay in bed, sit at your desk, or even be on your phone and still have access to your lighting. It also helps those with mobility issues and disabilities, enabling them to control their lights with minimal physical effort. |
2) Start Using Smart Plugs
According to studies, standby power significantly contributes to energy wastage, which also leads to unnecessary expenses that can contribute to around 16% of a home's electricity bill. Smart power outlets such as smart plugs enable you to monitor and restrict energy drain.
Smart plugs are small adaptors that can be plugged into a regular electrical wall outlet. These can be connected to a Wi-Fi network, and once connected, smart plugs can be controlled remotely through an application installed on devices such as smartphones.
Since smart plugs can control almost any device that uses electricity in a smart home, they offer various energy-saving solutions. Aside from improving your overall home network connectivity, smart plugs allow homeowners to monitor their energy use from anywhere, even when they go out. Smart plugs also allow help manage energy use by scheduling when devices should shut down or start up.
3) Install Smart Leak Sensors
According to the EPA, everyday household leaks account for about 1 trillion gallons of wasted water annually. Adding a smart leak sensor to your home is an easy way to monitor sinks, faucets, washing machines, and other potential points of leakage. When the sensor detects a leak, it sends a smartphone alert so you can tend to the issue before things get out of hand.
You can also use smart sprinkler controllers to control water waste outside by regulating the amount you use to irrigate your lawn or garden, based on your specific soil moisture and even plant types.
4) Invest In Smart Thermostats
According to The US Energy Information Administration, the largest single use of electricity by US households is in fans and air conditioning, with some households spending more than $525 a year. A smart thermostat can help you optimize your home’s heating and cooling efficiency.
By lowering the energy used to control your home’s temperature, you can effectively protect the environment and lower your bills at the same time. Smart thermostats enable you to remotely control the temperature in your home and even set an automated schedule to change temperatures during different parts of the day all through your smartphone or by using voice control. Studies found that programmable thermostats can easily help homeowners save up to 25% on monthly bills.
5) Go Solar
Solar power is a clean energy solution that reduces carbon footprint and saves money. It is also one of the cleanest electric alternatives for households. By going solar, homeowners can minimize electric bills while providing an efficient home upgrade. Solar panel systems can generate free power for your home for 20 plus years, but they can be costly to install initially.
However, solar panels rarely have any issues that require maintenance or repairs once installed, so you can think of it as a one-time payment in exchange for years of free electric power. Most solar panel companies even have service contracts and warranties that helps homeowners fix any issues that may arise at no cost whatsoever.
One of the main reasons to go solar is to eliminate or significantly reduce your electric bill. Making use of solar panels instead of relying on utility companies can help cut your electric bill by up to 50% per month.
Try out one or more of these eco-friendly smart home hacks today! Want to learn more? Contact us!
Everise tests, protects, supports and sells many of the smart home devices you use every day. Our approach ensures that we continuously uncover concise, specific guidance to fix potential issues long before they happen by pre-empting a customer’s problem, while supporting it even if it does.
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