How technology helps reduce soaring energy costs

soaring energy costs
  • Save

Energy and fuel costs have gone through the roof recently. And, sadly, it looks like these soaring energy costs are set to get worse.

So, what can you do in the face of these stressful soaring energy costs? Some things, like installing lasting LED strip lights to replace old-fashioned incandescent lights can help. Here are a few other ways technology can be used to offset soaring energy costs:

Smart devices

Smart home devices offer great opportunities to save money. They include:

–          speakers

When connected to lights, electronics, and other devices, smart speakers like Amazon Echo, Google Nest, and Apple HomePod can help you reduce your energy bills. This is because you can turn them on and off using your voice, a smartphone app, or by creating custom schedules. And, because these devices are all connected to the internet, you can control them remotely. This comes in handy if you forget to turn something off after you have left the house. 

–          thermostats

Smart and programmable thermostats have become popular in recent years for good reason. Used properly, they can help you save up to 10% on heating costs, which could be hundreds of pounds a year. This means that these devices can quickly pay for themselves.

Depending on the device, the thermostat will even learn your habits, reducing energy use when you are not at home after you’ve gone to bed, or when you’re on holiday. You can also manually adjust them using the physical device on the wall or an app on your phone.

–          light bulbs

LED light bulbs are estimated to use at least 75% less energy, and last 25 times longer, than incandescent lights. This alone is a good enough reason to trade up. But, when smart LED bulbs are combined with smart speaker technology, they can be even more effective. They make it easy for you to turn lights on and off, or dim them to use even less electricity. This change might not sound like much, but you can save £20 a year just by turning the lights off when you leave a room.

–          plugs and power strips

Like bulbs, smart plugs and power strips can help you save energy by making it easy to turn devices on or off. Some habits can be hard to break, like leaving a desktop computer on overnight. But, with the ability to schedule when devices get power it becomes a one-and-done event.

Household appliances

Aside from smart devices, modern home technology has adapted to soaring energy costs too. This is especially true of today’s washing machines, which can sense load sizes and add water accordingly. This helps cut costs because about 90% of the electricity washing machines use is for heating water.

Building materials

Building construction materials also use modern technology. For example, triple-glazed windows, super-efficient home insulation, and solar power all help reduce the demand for energy. And, crucially, many of these things happen without input from homeowners.

Technology won’t stop us from using energy, but it can help reduce the cost.

Image by rawpixel.com

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.