In the old days, if you accidentally left the furnace running while you were at work, you had no choice but to pay the cost. Waste was common and a large portion of the energy spent powering your home was used to heat or light empty rooms. Today, smart home appliances allow you to monitor and control all your essential home systems, including your heating, cooling, and electrical systems, from practically anywhere.
Smart Home Day was created to help promote these new technologies. Celebrated every November 3rd, it’s an opportunity to discover how modern technology can improve your standard of living. A few small, inexpensive appliances can transform your house into a more comfortable, efficient, and eco-friendly space. Some of the most common include:
Smart Thermostats
A smart thermostat provides total control over your heating and cooling systems. Homeowners can adjust them through their smartphones, to manage their furnace, boiler, and air conditioning 24 hours a day from anyplace with a stable internet connection.
Whereas traditional thermostats have rigid controls, smart thermostats provide a greater degree of customization. With the digital interface, you can create multiple heating and cooling schedules for weekdays, weekends, holidays, winter, spring, summer, fall, daytime, nighttime ‒ whatever fits your preferences and routine. You can even activate your furnace, boiler, or air conditioning while you’re on your way home, so the air feels perfect the moment you step inside.
Some smart thermostats come with built-in motion sensors as well, enabling them to monitor your activity and adjust temperatures according to your habits. This type of personalized temperature control not only provides greater comfort, but greater savings. By ensuring climate systems are active only while you’re at home, a smart thermostat can reduce your energy bill by as much as 10-15 percent.
Smart Lighting Systems
Smart lighting systems give you total control over the lights in your house. Like smart thermostats, they can be managed through your smartphone and adjusted remotely from anyplace with an internet connection. Once installed, they provide a complete overview of the lights inside and outside your house.
Rather than going through your home, switching lights off one by one, you can darken your entire house with a single tap. Or create a lighting schedule. Program your porch lights to power on at night and off in the morning. Or activate garden lights after dark. Some people use them for added security, switching lights on randomly while they’re away to give the appearance that someone’s home.
Others sync them with their entertainment systems to create brilliant lighting effects while they’re blasting music or watching movies. But no matter how you use it, setting up an integrated lighting system cuts power costs significantly, up to $250 over the course of a year, according to some estimates.
Smart Plugs
Unlike other smart home appliances, smart plugs aren’t hardwired into your electrical system. They’re Wi-Fi power adapters that provide total control over every device connected to them. Like smart thermostats or lighting systems, smart plugs regulate power flow. Each plug is programmed through your smartphone, allowing you to cut or restore power at any time, day or night.
Automating devices with smart plugs reduces unnecessary power consumption. Appliances run only when needed. You can use them to control anything connected to an electrical outlet, including TVs, washers, dryers, printers, speakers, subwoofers, coffee makers, laptops, computers, dehumidifiers, and Christmas lights.
They’re especially good at combatting “energy vampires,” devices that continue drawing power even after they’ve been shut off. Individually, these machines don’t consume a great deal of electricity, but together they account for around 20 percent of average household energy consumption. Deactivating them while you’re away from home can save you hundreds of dollars each year.
Saving Money with Agway
Smart home appliances help you save money month-over-month, but Agway helps you save money on repairs year-over-year. Our EnergyGuardTM Program protects your heating, cooling, and electrical systems against damage caused by wear and tear.* Home insurance won’t cover worn parts, but we will.
When the need for repair occurs, our customers don’t have to waste time searching for a qualified repairman. They call our team instead. We dispatch a technician straight to your door and pay for all covered parts. There are no service fees or deductibles either. Contact us today to start enjoying the benefits of EnergyGuard!
*Coverage depends on which commodity you purchase.
