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Can home automation save money?

By August 6, 2018March 24th, 2020No Comments
Home control

Home automation might not be the first thing that’s top of your list when you think about reducing your household bills. However, when used correctly, smart home technologies can help preserve energy and further reduce your expenses more than you think is possible.

Most home automation technologies have become much more affordable and accessible to the average homeowner so making the necessary upgrades is becoming less expensive everyday. In addition to simplifying your life, automation of your cooling, heating and lighting systems can help to reduce your energy bills.

Whilst making your home smarter may have a bigger upfront cost, the environmental benefits of automation will add up in the long term in both energy savings and convenience.

Here are some simple tips that can save you time and money when it comes to home automation;

Timers

Timers can be a great way to prepare your home to meet the needs of your family. Timing your lighting, for example, to go on after you leave in the morning or programming your heating system to warm certain rooms before you get up can improve the comfort of your home and save you money. As well as triggering certain systems to start/shut down, the lighting in your home can also be adjusted using a timer. When you’re not at home, you can set your lights to go off after you leave for the office and come back on at a certain time in the evening. Timing-based automation is so practical as it can be used to control other systems such as garage doors, motorised shades, and security cameras.

Programmed Heating and Air Conditioning

Close to a quarter of all electricity bills are spent on temperate regulation, most homes have heating and air conditioning systems that are inefficient and a significant proportion of energy is wasted heating empty rooms. This cost can be significantly reduced by smart thermostats that can be tailored to the climate, season and your schedule. This has been made even easier by the ability to control your thermostat from your mobile phone.

Automated Lighting

Automated lights ranging from motion sensors to automated lights ensure you’ll only use lights when you actually need them. Motion sensors ensure that electricity is not wasted in low traffic rooms and outdoor lighting systems. As with thermostats, smart lighting systems enable you to turn lights on and off remotely from your phone. An additional way to reduce your energy bills is careful consideration when selecting bulbs. By selecting LED bulbs you can massively reduce your energy bills. You may have to make a larger investment initially but they will not need to be replaced as often and use far less energy every time you turn them on.

Remote Control

If you have ever left lights or appliances on accidentally, occupancy sensors mat be the first step for introducing smart home technology into your home and drastically reducing your utility costs. These sensors can help homeowners to make sure that all lights, TVs, and other appliances are turned off when a room isn’t in use.

Insurance

Insurance companies are recognising the safety implications of smart home technologies, as they know that these systems can reduce their risk of claims from fire, theft or water damage. Additional savings can be made by notifying your insurance company as they often reduce insurance premiums for homeowners that are implementing different facets of home automation.

When deciding to invest in home automation it is important to keep a longer-term perspective on the investment and return on investment. These days the technologies required are no longer unattainable but are more expensive than the less sustainable alternatives traditionally used in most homes.

The monetary savings may not be obvious initially, however, over the time period of a year and the lifetime of the products, the savings will be evident.

In addition to the financial savings, the impact you make on the environment and the convenience to your life will make the switch to home automation more than worth the initial cost and effort.

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