Q How can smart tech make my home more eco-friendly?

AClaire Davies replies: Most smart home tech can be controlled remotely, so there’s no excuse to leave anything on, chewing through electricity, if it’s not being used. ‘Dumb’ products can be controlled with the help of smart plugs. Plug them into the Belkin Wemo Insight Switch (£31.99, amazon.co.uk) and turn them on and off via an app, which also enables you to set schedules and view their energy usage.

Get a better handle on your heating with the Nest Learning Thermostat (£199.99, amazon.com), which monitors habits and adjusts the heat in your home accordingly. You won’t use up as much energy and your house will be heated the way you like it. For monitoring water, the Waterhawk smart showerhead ($89.99/£68.07, amazon.co.uk) displays temperature and water usage on an LE D panel as you shower.

You can also save electricity by kitting your home out with Philips Hue bulbs (Starter Kit from £ 59.99, meethue.com/ en-gb). Set the Hue app to Home or Away mode, which switches all your lights on or off at once, or let the geolocation tech do it automatically when you’re away from home.

Finally, you can save up to 60 per cent on energy bills with a Moixa Smart Battery and Solar Panel System (from £4,995, moixa.com). It collects and stores electricity when it’s cheap, such as during off-peak hours or from your solar panels. You can then use it or sell it back to the grid with the Moixa Gridshare membership scheme.