Home Technology Spotlight: Reducing Energy Consumption with Home Automation

Today’s post is provided by Gary Ashton with The Ashton Real Estate Group with RE/MAX Advantage. Thank you Gary for the guest post! Want to check out more of his post? Hop on over to http://www.nashvillesmls.com/blog/

Smart technology and home automation advances can drive down costs associated with energy usage and improve efficiency. It is believed that average households may save as much as a third of their energy bill after making a change to energy-efficient lighting, appliances and equipment.

This can amount to hundreds of dollars annually for the average homeowner, as approximately $2,000 are spent on energy costs annually in an average home. What home automation technologies are affordable and make a difference to residential energy consumption?

Explore some home technology options that can decrease energy consumption and save homeowners money today.

Energy Usage in Homes

Homeowners have a wide range of energy needs that can add to ever-increasing energy consumption costs. Many of today’s devices need to be plugged in, such as laptops and smartphones, in addition to the typical devices and appliances used within a home. The four key areas where homeowners consume energy for residential purposes are heating and cooling (45%), lighting and appliances (34%), water heating (13%), and refrigerators (8%). Therefore, it makes sense that new devices target energy consumption in these areas to help make homes more energy-efficient. How can homeowners begin to cut their energy consumption with home technology?

Smart Tech Steps In When Owners Forget

Programmable devices step and other smart technology in to help users set up appliances and systems in such a way as to reduce or eliminate wasted energy. This makes for lower utility bills and more efficient use of energy in a home. Smart thermostats that know when you go out and can be remotely controlled can save homeowners potentially $135 a year. These technologies can adjust the HVAC of a home and learn the habits of homeowners, making it easier for homeowners to automatically manage the energy efficiency in a home. Climate control monitors are offered from Savant and Control4 and can work to assist owners in decreasing overall energy usage.

Lighting is the second highest area of energy expenditure. New sensor technology knows when rooms are occupied and when they are empty. When unoccupied, lights turn off automatically. Advances of optic and sensor technology has heightened the sensitivity of occupancy detectors, improving their ability to detect movement in a home.

This is useful for homeowners when they leave a home and for those with young children who may not remember to turn off lights as needed. Pairing this technology along with ENERGY STAR lighting options may help homeowners drive down energy used toward lighting. Energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) can produce the same level of light as incandescent bulbs but last 10 times longer and require 75% less energy. Other lighting features worth considering are automatic timers and light dimmers to reduce unnecessary output. Use what it needed, when it is desired.

Outdoor Water Management

Homeowners with pools may be looking to cut energy usage. Pool pumps use an inordinate amount of energy and owners can reduce energy usage through installation of a timer. Controlling the cycling of the pump can save homeowners as much as 60 percent. Others individuals may benefit from solar pool heaters which tap into a sustainable energy source to heat pools.

This can provide additional comfortable to homeowners at little extra cost. Conscientious homeowners may not want to run sprinkler systems when rain is expected. The Cyber-Rain automatic irrigation system helps homeowners monitor and program sprinkler schedules and coordinate usage around local weather conditions.

Home Automation Increases Energy Efficiency

There are a number of ways home automation can be used to make a home more energy-efficient. However, homeowners should be aware of some easy ways of eliminating wasted energy. Pulling the plug on devices not in use but still drawing power can help decrease energy consumption. Ten percent of an owner’s energy bill every month may be due to this issue. New home automation technology supplements the other simple ways homeowners can monitor, manage and reduce their home’s energy usage.