Saving energy

The more money you don’t spend on energy, the more you can spend on fun stuff!

The key to energy saving is awareness – knowing what you’re using on a daily basis

Smart home tech isn’t just about showing off how automated you are, or giving you an excuse to splurge on fancy gadgets you might not need. When done right, it also helps you become more conscious of the water, electricity and energy you’re using in your home. That’s good news for your bank account and for the planet.

Indeed, it can help you discover how you and your family use appliances around your home. For example, how often you keep the lights on, or just how much water you use in the shower each morning. Taking action on such areas can help you lower energy bills, and alert you to ‘money pit’ areas of your home that are costing a packet to run.

Plenty of smart devices give you enhanced control over your home, as well as helping you to keep a closer eye on your energy usage and suggesting changes. The Nest Learning Thermostat (from £179, nest.com) has won awards for its eco-friendly credentials. It learns about your habits and your home, and handily turns the heating off when it knows you’re away, so you don’t have to think about doing it. Nest also guides you to use the most energy-efficient temperatures and creates the best heating schedules to suit your lifestyle, reducing your consumption.

The key to saving energy is awareness. The majority of us don’t want to spend a fortune or use more than we need to, but we generally don’t know what we’re using on a daily basis. Many of the smart home devices we’ve mentioned are good for energy saving because most enable you to monitor energy usage, to create bespoke schedules, and to turn appliances off when you’re not using them. These sound like simple adjustments, but every small step helps when it comes to cutting down the energy you consume.