Gartner predicts that by 2028 there will be over four billion connected IoT devices in commercial smart buildings. They will be powered by telecommunications infrastructures, with 5G and High Efficiency Wi-Fi (6 or 6E) at the forefront, and will have smart utilities for power, waste and water. Source: Deloitte
Convenience and futuristic technology are the hallmarks of any smart home. It is a general thought that when a home is all about technology and driven by the internet, there will be an increase in energy costs and in turn will leave a larger ecological footprint.
Actually, the reverse is true, says the team at Radiance Automation, Chennai. The products at the company turn the home entirely smart and automatically controls lighting, temperature, music and other devices according to the personal needs of the family members. Their products are aimed at controlling your energy bills and improving the home environment.
Read on to find some of the easiest ways to make your smart home eco-friendly.
Energy-efficient lighting: The easiest way to make your smart home eco-friendly is to switch to energy-efficient lighting. LED lights are preferable as they consume less energy than traditional bulbs and last much longer. They also emit less heat, comparatively. This will help you to save money on your energy bills in the long run. You can also use smart home devices to control the lighting and adjust the brightness according to your needs to conserve energy.
The lifespan of an LED is an important aspect when homeowners are particular about sustainability and going green. The LEDs last up to 50 times longer than their incandescent counterpart.
Smart Thermostats
It is not enough if we just resort to smart home lighting if we want to make our smart homes eco-friendly. We have to control the climate of our homes too or in other words, use a thermostat to control temperature. This way homes will not waste energy.
Smart thermostats are a great way to save energy and money on heating and cooling costs. They allow you to control the temperature of your home remotely, so you can adjust it when you are away from your home or when you are sleeping. Some of the new thermostats are designed in such a way that they will be able to learn your habits and automatically adjust the temperature according to your liking. This is in fact a great way of saving on your electricity bills and keeping the home eco-friendly.
Smart Power Strips
These power strips are an innovative technology to help turn your smart homes into eco-friendly spaces. These strips have been designed to control the flow of electricity to different devices in the home, ensuring that energy is not wasted when devices are not in use. This way you can have great savings on your utility bills.
The smart power strip can automatically turn off devices (TVs, charges and lights) that are not in use. This prevents these devices from consuming standby power, which is the energy they use even when not in use. This way the strips can save money on utility bills.
Smart strips can also monitor the energy consumption of devices and provide real-time feedback to homeowners. This is of great help to homeowners who can now identify which device is using the most energy. They can then appropriate steps to reduce their energy consumption. Nowadays, some of these smart strips can be controlled through a mobile app, enabling homeowners to turn off devices when are not at home.
Some of the present-day smart strips have features like timer settings that allow devices to turn off and on automatically at specific times, reducing the amount of time they are in use. Overall, by reducing energy waste, providing energy monitoring and management, and improving energy efficiency, smart power strips can help you to save money and reduce your carbon footprint.
Smart Home Appliances
You should definitely invest in smart home appliances that are designed to turn a smart home eco-friendly. This will not only reduce energy consumption but also help you to lead a more sustainable lifestyle.
Before you decide on the appliance of your choice of home appliances, make sure you look for appliances with high energy efficiency ratings. These indicate how much energy the appliance uses and how efficiently it uses that energy.
You should look for smart features in the appliance. It should be designed to turn a smart home eco-friendly or in other words the features it has should be able to reduce energy waste.
Next, you should consider appliances that are compatible with smart home ecosystems. To get the most out of your smart home appliances, consider investing in appliances that are compatible with popular smart home ecosystems, such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home. These can help you control your appliances remotely and set up routines that automatically adjust your energy usage based on your habits and preferences.
Invest in appliances that can be updated over a period of time as technology is constantly evolving and new eco-friendly features are being developed all the time. This will ensure that your appliances remain up-to-date and continue to offer eco-friendly features as technology advances.
Following all these will enable you to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Therefore, choose appliances with high energy efficiency ratings, intelligent features, compatibility with smart ecosystems and upgradability. Let us discuss one or two appliances _ Smart refrigerator and a Smart dishwasher. Both these appliances use less water and electricity than traditional models.
Smart Refrigerator
- It is connected to the internet
- Convenient and efficient features (touchscreen display, voice control and can connect to other smart home devices)
- Can be fitted with cameras inside the fridge (allows you to see the contents remotely)
- Smart sensors can adjust temperature and humidity levels
- Keeps food fresher and longer
- Energy-saving modes can also be installed (can save on utility bills)
Smart Dishwasher
- It is connected to the internet
- Features include the ability to control the machine from a mobile app; monitor the dishwasher’s progress remotely; Sends notifications when the job is done
- Can detect the level of dirtiness
- Customize cleaning cycle to match specific needs
- Can adjust the cycle length and water temperature based on load size
- Reduces water and energy consumption
Conclusion
In conclusion, technological advancements are influencing the residential sector. Smart homes are those whose devices, connected to the internet or Wi-Fi, can be controlled remotely. These appliances can sync and communicate to complete unique functions separately.
Residents can improve the value of their homes only if they convert their traditional houses into smart and eco-friendly homes. They can also add sustainable features to reduce energy and water bills. By doing all these, air quality around homes improves and also contributes to good community health.
Engineers are also now planning and developing smart devices to increase a building’s power efficiency. Eco-conscious residents can pair their advanced systems with green technologies to minimise atmospheric and surface-level waste. Increasing a home’s sustainability shrinks its carbon footprint and decreases utility costs.