Have you been wishing that you could have a smart home and save the planet at the same time? You don ‘t have to live low tech to make a positive environmental impact.
Taking advantage of new smart home technologies while staying eco-friendly may sound like an oxymoron, but the truth is that making your home smarter could help you live more sustainably. Here are some tips to help you choose wisely.
Understanding the Problem
Adding smart tech to your home could increase your energy usage. After all, many devices are always on and that uses electricity. The Ambient looked at the problem and found that certain devices like smart speakers use up about 3 to 4 watts of energy. Over the course of a year, the cost should total up to $4 to $5 per year per device but that’s on standby. You could need as much as 7 watts to run the device at full volume, and smart speakers are not unique. Some smart light bulbs and televisions burn just as much. It all adds up.
In order to make your some smart as well as sustainable, you need to select smart technologies that help you minimize energy usage or maximize the amount you do use. Let’s look at some sustainable smart home technologies that fit the bill.
Heating and Cooling
One of the top places where people waste energy is on the heating and cooling of their homes, and it is one of the easiest to change. All you need is a smart thermostat. What makes these devices smart is that they do more than put your home heating and cooling on a schedule. They learn from your habits and preferences to create a home environment that is always comfortable while avoiding as much energy use as possible when you are not at home to enjoy it.
Water Conservation
Water conservation is another area of opportunity. New devices make it easy to monitor and control water usage in your home. On the low end of the scale, there are smart showerheads that change color or signal an alert to indicate how many gallons of water your daily shower is using up. On the other end of the scale, you could install a smart irrigation system. It automatically adjusts the sprinklers to provide the right amount of water for the soil depending on its location in your yard, the amount of light it receives and the weather forecast.
Smarter Technology
You can also look at smarter technologies. Take security cameras for instance. Some of them record everything, using energy that you don’t need to expend and driving up the costs. Others are smarter. These next-level systems include wire-free cameras and can run without the Internet. They turn on only when motion is detected. This handy feature not only saves on energy costs, but it makes reviewing your security video footage easier.
It is possible to have a smart home and still be sustainable. Start by understanding the problem and the amount of energy each device uses, then do your research. There are smart tech ways to help you use less energy on your heating and cooling as well as water usage and more.
Green Jobs
How to Apply for a Green Job With the demand for green jobs skyrocketing so far in 2017, giving yourself a unique edge can be difficult—yet absolutely necessary—in order for you to become a proud worker for Mother Earth. Follow these steps to successfully claim your next environmentally friendly employment opportunity. 1. Resume: Make sure … Continue reading..
