Energy Saving Tips for Home Owners

Energy consumption has more than doubled over the last decade, thanks to technology and increasing population. Top that off with people’s clumsy habits of forgetting to turn off the bathroom lights or letting their laziness take the best of them which is another contributing factor to energy wastage.

So what are some ways for home owners to cut back on their energy consumption? After all, everyone needs to work on improving their green footprint and let’s be honest, their utility bills. Here are some tips for energy saving.

1. Switch to a Smart Thermostat

Swap out your standard thermostat with a smart one, you’ll thank us for that. Smart thermostats are great devices for controlling energy consumption. They connect to the home Wi-Fi network, and apart from being controlled through mobile applications that can be downloaded onto our wireless devices, they even feature built-in motion detection and geo-location tracking to control its functionality automatically. Certain smart thermostat models also feature learning modes where the device quite literally learns your preferred temperatures during the respective seasons and works to make the home cozier for you. Or it could even switch to an eco-friendly mode to cut back on the energy usage.

So how do these devices contribute to saving energy? Given that these devices are automated, there is also the aspect of remote control – and we mean you sitting in the car switching on the air conditioner on your way home, or checking from a whole different city to see if your partner switched off the thermostat on their way out in the morning. It’s about convenience and easy access to your device that allows you to save energy however you can, while it does the same on its own.

2. Work on Getting Your Home Insulated

Over the educational years we learn of how important home insulation is for countries especially like the United States – where the summer is sometimes unbearable and the winters are chilly. Insulation protects our homes in the winters by keeping them warmer, while they keep our homes cooler in the summer. Amazing right? Think about all the energy and bills you could save back on if you could keep the air conditioner closed for several hours of the day in the summer.

For Ohio residents, home repair plans and other services including that of home insulation can be found at the Ohio Edison First Energy website.

3. Invest In Some Smart Lights

A bit of a pricey technology considering an average pair of smart bulbs would cost you around $20, like the Sengled Smart Wi-Fi LED bulbs – but definitely worth the investment into your home if you’re looking to cut back on energy consumption.

Smart Lights, like all other smart home products connect to the home Wi-Fi network or connect to your smartphones and tablets via Bluetooth, featuring their own mobile applications through which you can switch on, off, dim or brighten the lights. Certain smart bulb brands are even compatible with Voice Assistants like Alexa and the Google Assistant. Some smart bulbs feature millions of color options, and motion sensor technology that controls the functioning of the lights based on movement around the premises. There is also the option of setting schedules for every individual bulb.

4. Use Smart Plugs

Very often we leave our devices plugged in, and we may not realize this but even if your device is turned off, an outlet that is switched on is still consuming certain amounts of electricity. Something that could also explain the higher bills.

Smart plugs are plugged into electrical outlets, and then you plug your devices onto it – anything from chargers to kitchen appliances, smart TVs to lamps. Having access to these smart plugs from our mobile devices makes it easier for us to switch them off while we can’t do so ourselves for whatever reason. Can’t remember if you turned off the hair straightening iron? Pick up your phone and switch off the Smart Plug from wherever you are. It’s that easy!