Energy consumption

  

With the right tools, your smart home can reduce your energy consumption.

Home automation is only energy efficient when the house is programmed to be that way, otherwise the energy used to power the other automated systems surpasses that which is saved. Installing energy efficient technology and programming your smart home to conserve energy will help you reduce your impact on the environment, as well as the impact of your power bill.

How can home automation systems consume energy?

As there is more technology installed into an automated home than a regular home, smart homes have the potential to consume more energy than they save.

Many products, such as your television, computer, microwave and stove will consume power even after they've been switched off. By shutting down into a 'standby' mode without you knowing, they can attribute to up to 20% of your energy bills.

How can home automation systems save energy?

An energy efficient smart home requires proper installation to ensure it is saving the maximum amount of energy possible.

Through use of sensors and timers, cooling and heating units, lights, ceiling fans and exhaust fans can all be deactivated after a certain period of time, and programmed to work only when they need to be. Occupancy sensors can save up to 60% of energy usage in rooms that are used irregularly.

An on-demand water heater for limited spaces can also help to save up to 15% of energy consumption in many cases.

Lighting

A report by the International Energy Agency has stated that a worldwide switch to energy efficient lighting systems could save up to 10% of the world's electricity bill.

Most dimmable lighting controllers are set with an output level of 90%, meaning you're saving 10% of power every time you flick the switch. Use of compact fluorescent lights could save you up to 80% in energy consumption.

An energy controller is designed to reduce your energy consumption used by fluorescent lighting and can save up to 30% of your energy costs while also increasing the life of your light bulbs.

Standby appliances

Power strips that cut-off the entire supply of energy to appliances in standby mode, such as televisions and microwaves, can help reduce up to 20% of your energy bill.

Monitoring consumption

By monitoring your energy consumption, you can manually change your lifestyle and the ways in which you operate your electrical appliances.

An energy management dashboard collects data about your energy usage when you hit peak. This allows you to understand what devices have been operating when you hit peak usage, while also showing when you can use power at off-peak price times. Some energy management devices can read your power usage at every power point, and also sense and activate when you need to alter your consumption.

Smart meters also allow you to monitor your own energy consumption in real time, and therefore give you the ability to change your lifestyle depending on how much excess energy your are using.   

How much will I save on energy bills?

As all smart homes are different, they all consume and save differently. However, by understanding the capacity of your automated system to save power, you will have a wider understanding of whether or not your home is energy efficient.

Depending on the automation systems you have installed, your energy savings may or may not outweigh the cost of installation in just a few years. Smaller lighting based projects are more likely to deliver short-term savings, while larger projects including climate and blind controls may take longer.

If you're looking to see how much you can save by installing energy efficient automation, talk with your qualified installer to see what systems would be best suited to your home and energy consumption.