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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:
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.
The cost of living crisis has forced us to think more carefully about how we heat and cool our homes, charge our electric cars, and use domestic appliances. And, while spending money on new smart home products won''t be the right move for everyone right now, we hope readers will benefit from the energy-saving credentials of the products we''ve rounded up here.
Co-created by Tony Fadell, whose CV includes the iPod and iPhone, the Nest Learning Thermostat is claimed to have saved almost 40 billion kWh of energy worldwide since it first launched a decade ago. The intelligent thermostat first spends a week learning your heating and cooling preferences, then creates its own schedule and makes small adjustments to use less energy while still keeping you comfortable.
The Nest can be adjusted manually like any other thermostat – and has a premium feel with its weighty, stainless steel dial – but also connects to your smartphone for remote control. By knowing the location of your phone, the Nest turns the heating down when you go out, then turns it back up again when you return.
The Nest can be fitted to a wall like any other thermostat, or sat in a portable stand, sold separately, if you prefer to locate it elsewhere.
Controlling your heating centrally with a smart thermostat is a good start, but taking things a step further is the Smart Radiator Controller from Tado. Powered by two AA batteries, this replaces the manual temperature controller already on your radiator, then connects to your Wi-Fi network and can be directed from an app, or smart home system like Google Home, Alexa or Apple HomeKit.
Once fitted, your radiators can be controlled individually, making it easy to turn down those in rooms that aren''t being occupied, lowering your home''s energy demands. By knowing the location of your smartphone, the Tado Smart Radiator Thermostat can automatically increase the temperature as you approach home, and it''s easy to set schedules for each room in the Tado app, so only those you use regularly are heated.
We recommend buying a starter kit, which includes two radiator controllers and the bridge, which is required for wirelessly connecting Tado devices to your Wi-Fi router. The controllers come with various attachments and are designed for DIYers to install without professional help; just make sure your radiators have thermostatic valve heads.
Add Tado''s thermostat to your smart home system, and your home will be heated or cooled according to local weather forecasts, and the app will alert you if it thinks you''ve accidentally left a window open, or if a room isn''t heating correctly.
Smart plugs like this one from TP-Link''s Kasa range can make almost any household appliance smart. Fitting between an appliance''s plug and the plug socket, they have Wi-Fi for connecting to the internet and can be controlled from smartphone apps, home automation systems like Apple HomeKit, and voice assistants like Alexa.
The Kasa is quick and easy to set up, schedules can be set for every day of the week, and the plug can be controlled when away from home – handy to check if your straighteners are off, or want to turn a lamp on to make your home look occupied at night.
Although smart plugs consume energy to function, the wireless tech they use is incredibly efficient, with Zigbee and Z-Wave, a pair of smart home wireless standards, accounting for around half a watt.
As well as individual smart plugs, the same technology can be found in multi-socket extension cables and even wall sockets.
LED lighting is a great way to lower your home energy usage, since they are around 90 per cent more efficient than traditional incandescent or halogen bulbs. Philips Hue smart lights consume slightly more power than non-smart LEDs, owing to their wireless connectivity, but they have some nifty features to help restore that balance.
For example, the Hue system can be given the location of your smartphone, and with that information it can be set to turn off some (or all) of your lights when you go out. It''s also possible to lower bulb brightness, adjust the temperature from a cool white to warm orange, and even pick from 16 million colours.
Via the Hue app (or Alexa, Google Home and other automation systems), bulbs can be divided into groups and given daily or weekly schedules, and motion sensors can be used to have a bathroom light come on at night, for example, then automatically switch off again a few minutes later.
The Nest Hub (previously called the Google Home Hub) is a touchscreen smart display with the Google Assistant baked in, which can be used to play music, answer questions and show recipe suggestions.Although not directly responsible for lowering your home energy bills, we love how it acts as a central command centre for your smart home.
It can be used to play music, answer questions and show recipe suggestions, but we also love how it acts as a central command centre for your smart home. The touch-controlled interface is a great way to adjust your smart lighting, turn plugs on or off, adjust the heating and even view a live feed from security cameras and a video doorbell.
We especially like how this system gives guests and less tech-savvy family members an easy way to control smart home devices, without learning the exact phrases needed to use Google Assistant. And, once you''ve mastered Google Assistant, phrases like "hey Google, turn off all the lights" are easy ways to make sure nothing''s left on by mistake.
Because the Nest Hub is tightly integrated with the Google Home system, it can be used to control all of the gadgets mentioned in this article.
Did you know that many hot drinks are best brewed with water that isn''t quite boiling? Green tea should be 80°, for example, and only black tea should get the full 100° treatment. The WeeKett helps save energy by heating water to exactly the right temperature, with buttons for 70, 80, 90 and 100 degrees.
Then, with Wi-Fi connectivity and integration with the Smart Life app, it can be set to any temperature as low as 40°. There''s also the option to maintain a certain temperature for up to an hour, and a baby bottle mode that heats to 100°, then keeps the temperature at a steady 70 for an hour.
The app also displays the current water temperature, so in some cases you can get away with making a second drink without needlessly boiling the still-hot water again. There''s also voice control via Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can ask the smart speaker in your bedroom to fire up the kettle, knowing it''ll be ready when you get to the kitchen.
Effective from 30 June 2022, electric car chargers sold in the UK now need to be smart. What this means is they will charge in a way that balances demand on the national grid. This aspect of their smartness is designed to prevent putting excess demand on the grid, but these chargers can also work to save you money.
About Energy saving technology for homes
As the photovoltaic (PV) industry continues to evolve, advancements in Energy saving technology for homes have become critical to optimizing the utilization of renewable energy sources. From innovative battery technologies to intelligent energy management systems, these solutions are transforming the way we store and distribute solar-generated electricity.
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By interacting with our online customer service, you'll gain a deep understanding of the various Energy saving technology for homes featured in our extensive catalog, such as high-efficiency storage batteries and intelligent energy management systems, and how they work together to provide a stable and reliable power supply for your PV projects.
