Interested in automating your home but wondering where to start? Let us help you navigate the smart home landscape so you save energy, save money and help protect the environment.
Smart products can be remotely managed from your phone even when you’re out of the house. Products can be programmed to perform actions automatically based on your schedule, send alerts about performance issues before they become a big issue, and even adjust energy usage based on occupancy detection. Below is some key advice for leveraging smart home devices for energy savings:
The ENERGY STAR Smart Home Energy Management Systems (SHEMS) program recognizes smart home systems that help you simplify, reduce and manage your energy consumption. An ENERGY STAR SHEMS package requires at minimum, an ENERGY STAR certified smart thermostat, lighting and monitor/control plug loads. However, other products and services, such as ENERGY STAR appliances, EV chargers, and smart security can be added. Beyond the minimum devices, the package can be infinitely customizable to fit your lifestyle. Through SHEMS, energy consumption is simplified by:
Facilitating a schedule for your smart devices to operate
Suggesting energy saving actions based on usage patterns
Automatically controlling smart home devices based on room or home occupancy
Ask your smart home/security/cable providers if they offer an ENERGY STAR Smart Home Energy Management System.
Heating and cooling consume more energy than any other appliance in the home, making smart thermostats the best candidate to help save energy within the household. These devices offer the ability to monitor and adjust your home’s temperature even when you are away. More importantly, they can be used to automatically turn down your heating and cooling when it’s not needed. Smart thermostats that have earned the ENERGY STARgo through an independent certification process that verifies energy savings based on extensive field data. Among the first to be certified wereNEST, ecobee, Carrier/Bryant, and EcoFactor. Each product uses slightly different features to help homeowners save energy, so do your research, and choose the ENERGY STAR smart thermostat that's right for you.
Not only do ENERGY STAR certified smartlight fixturesandlight bulbsuse 90% less energy than traditional incandescent light bulbs, they also help you when you forget to turn out the lights. If you choose smart lighting that has earned the ENERGY STAR, it’s using less energy when it’s on and in standby, and has15 times the life expectancy than that of incandescent bulbs.
Appliances are getting smarter. ENERGY STAR certified appliances with connected functionality use less energy and offer new functions that can enable convenience, even more savings, and “smart grid” capabilities.
Smart thermostats offer the ability to monitor and adjust your home's temperature, even when you are outside of the home. They even detect when nobody is in the house through geofencing, allowing the thermostat to ease off the heating/cooling when the home is empty.
Some lighting solutions can use a fair amount of energy. You can easily lower energy usage by simply changing to LED smart light bulbs or other low-power bulbs. LED lights use 85% less power than other bulbs while also working with dimming functions and most light fixtures.
Smart software systems can analyze the data to adjust heating and lighting as needed, which, in turn, will identify infrastructure gaps. Optimizing lighting usage is one major way to save energy in commercial buildings.
You can use a smart home system to program your sprinklers, set and monitor your home security system and cameras, or control appliances like your refrigerator or air conditioning and heating.
Yes, smart devices like app- and voice-controlled plugs, bulbs, thermostats, and more can lead to a reduction in energy consumption, and therefore a lower monthly bill during hot and cold months.
Cut heating and cooling costs with smart thermostats
This prevents heating or cooling an empty home, which wastes energy. Smart thermostats can save homeowners an average of 40% on HVAC energy consumption. In the hot summer months, the percentage of savings from smart cooling can be even higher.
Traditional thermostats rely on manual adjustments, often leading to temperature overshooting and wasting energy. Smart thermostats, on the other hand, can maintain a more consistent temperature by learning from occupants' patterns and adjusting heating and cooling cycles accordingly.
For example, a smart thermostat can automatically adjust the temperature in your home based on your schedule and preferences, which can result in significant energy savings over time. Similarly, smart lighting systems can turn off lights when no one is in the room or adjust the brightness based on the time of day.
How do smart homes affect the environment? Smart devices use far less electricity than their alternatives. Devices such as smart LED lights use very little energy and thermostats can help control energy consumption and prevent waste from overheating or cooling.
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Introduction: My name is Madonna Wisozk, I am a attractive, healthy, thoughtful, faithful, open, vivacious, zany person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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