Smart Home Appliances for an Energy-Conscious Family
Living a green, eco-friendly life in the modern world is not easy, especially not for a busy, functional family.
Living an eco-friendly life is all about saving resources, protecting the planet and ensuring our lifestyle does not impact severely on the world around us. As we explored in our article 41 Easy Ways You Can Go Green as a Family, there are steps you can take to help ensure you are doing your bit, many of which rely on you to action them.
2021 will be a little different, because the focus externally on carbon reduction means technology is increasingly improving, taking some of the emphasis away from the individual.
Of course, you should still be at the forefront of your family’s battle to live a greener life, but now you can get a bit of help from gadgets that form part of a modern smart home.
Tech Hive discusses how a smart home consists of many gadgets, some which help secure your home, some which make leisure and relaxation easier and some which help you live an eco-friendlier life. Here are three that will help your family become more energy-efficient with little effort.
Smart Lighting
Smart lighting is an element within a smart home that many consider being a building block of any modern smart home. Indeed, the image of a smart home for many includes lights that can be controlled by your voice, turned on and off when you enter a room.
Some smart lighting systems can automatically turn lights off when you leave a room too, without you interacting with them at all. That is an energy-saver, and in a busy family home, it eradicates shouts of ‘who has left that light on, again’ up and down the stairs! Furthermore, when coupled with energy-saving bulbs, you can make a real impact on your energy consumption
Smart Thermostat
Your boiler is intrinsic to family life, keeping your house warm and ensuring water is heated ready for baths and showers. With a smart thermostat, they can be controlled remotely. If you’re heading home early and need the house warmed up? No problem, a smart thermostat can be controlled via an app. Long-term, some models will learn your behaviour patterns and adapt accordingly. It is important to consider protecting your system if you add a smart thermostat though, as a breakdown can be more energy-sapping than anything.
So with that in mind, HomeServe explains that a gas and heating policy will cover you against breakdown and can include a boiler service, too. The problem with a breakdown is that it often happens at times when the boiler is relied upon, which makes cover important in a family home where you have the needs of young people to consider as well as your own.
Smart Energy Monitor
How often do you get an energy bill and a nasty surprise all rolled into one? With a smart energy monitor, those are a thing of the past. The Guardian outlines how more than 85% of people who have smart energy monitors or smart meters in their home have found ways to reduce energy consumption.
They do this by simply tracking how much energy is being consumed, day by day, hour by hour, on an easy-to-use panel visible within their home. By installing one in your smart home, you can turn saving energy into a family pursuit, targeting certain numbers and encouraging positive behaviours from your children with rewards and incentives.