Nobody needs to tell you that owning a home is expensive.
With residential energy costs at $750 per person per year, according to the U.S. Energy Department’s latest numbers, you’re doing everything you can think of to save money at home each month.
The Energy Department breaks down home energy consumption with home heating accounting for 42% of home energy use, followed by water heating at 18%, cooling at 6%, lighting at 5% and refrigeration at 5%. Smaller energy expenses add up to the other 24%.
With smart devices, you can save even more money by monitoring your home temperature, water and lighting use — all while reducing your overall homeowners insurance costs.
Reduce Your Energy Bill by Maintaining Home Temperature
Place smart devices, like Nest, in rooms throughout your home to monitor and maintain consistent, appropriate temperatures.
You’ll know if your energy is being wasted with heat leaking out a window accidentally left open via an alert to your phone when the temperature dips below your specifications.
Has someone turned up the thermostat (probably because they got cold after leaving that window open earlier)? You’ll receive an alert to your phone that the temperature is too high.
Smart home devices will help you maintain the perfect temperatures throughout your whole home.
Are You Wasting Water? Find Out and Save Money
Use devices like Belkins WeMo anywhere water is used to monitor your home’s water consumption. You’ll know how much water is used on showers, brushing teeth, washing hands, faces, dishes and more just by checking the app on your phone.
From there, some simple planning with your family can help reduce the amount of water used on each task. And, bonus: that means saving time to do more fun things!
Keep Tabs On Your Lights to Minimize Electricity Costs
Lighting was one of the lower percentages for home energy consumption, but it’s still significant on the electricity-consumption scale. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that in 2014, “Residential lighting consumption was about 150 billion kWh or about 14% of total residential electricity consumption.”
Keep smart devices near your lights to help monitor electricity consumption.
You’ll know if any lights were left on at a time when you know nobody’s home. You will also know how often lights are left on when nobody’s home. If everyone learns the habit of shutting lights off (big if) when they leave a room, the savings can really add up!
Save Money on Homeowner’s Insurance with Smart Devices
According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), “The average homeowners insurance premium rose by 5.6 percent in 2012, following a 7.7 percent increase in 2011, according to a February 2015 study by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.”
The average premium for homeowners in 2012 was $1,034, according to the III.
With an expense like that, it helps to do whatever you can to save money.
Fortunately, smart devices can help reduce the cost of homeowners insurance.
The III article 12 Ways to Lower Your Homeowners Insurance Costs includes “make your home more disaster resistant” and “improve your home security” as numbers 5 and 6 respectively.
Make your home more disaster resistant:
The article says, “consider modernizing your heating, plumbing and electrical systems to reduce the risk of fire and water damage.” Smart home devices alert your phone if your fire alarm or carbon monoxide alarm sound and if you have a water leak. Read 5 Ways to Secure Your Home and Protect Your Family with Notion to discover other ways smart devices help prevent home disasters.
Improve your home security
The article says, “You can usually get discounts of at least 5 percent for a smoke detector, burglar alarm or dead-bolt locks. Some companies offer to cut your premium by as much as 15 or 20 percent if you install a sophisticated sprinkler system and a fire and burglar alarm that rings at the police, fire or other monitoring stations.” Smart devices help secure your home from burglary as well as other disasters. Read 5 Ways to Secure Your Home from Burglary Before Going on Vacation for more on home security.
Start Saving Money At Home Today
Smart devices can learn your patterns to help you save money on the top home-energy expenses: heating, cooling, water consumption and lighting. They also reduce the cost of homeowners insurance.
