Smart Homes Are Saving Homeowners a Chunk of Change

Once you’ve settled into your new home, after signing a slew of checks to cover moving expenses and whatnot, you’re likely dreading seeing your name on the top of yet another bill. With the help of a variety of home automation services, you can cut your utility bills nearly in half while enjoying the conveniences of a smart home—a true win-win. Some common smart home features are smart thermostats, sensors, power strips, and water systems. Pairing all these features together essentially gears your house up with a crew of robots to care for your home, so it’s a surprise to hear that these amenities actually save you money.

These “smart” appliances allow you to prep your home exactly the way you like it before you even pull into your driveway. With common features that support home energy efficiency such as detecting when a room is empty and powering off all devices, also known as “energy vampires,” and smart utility meters that read a house’s energy usage daily without having to be prompted, you can rest easy that you’re not using any unnecessary energy. By using less energy, you’re in turn helping the environment and saving money on your bills. A home automation system can help save you a great deal of money, help regulate energy use, and solve a variety of day to day annoyances.

Considering it’s quite an investment to turn your not-so-smart home into a genius, it’s natural to assume companies may be trying to trick you into dishing out lots of funds with false promises of savings in the end. When smart homes just began trending around 5 years ago, it could cost upwards of $3,500 for a complete home revamp with all the smart appliances, but today we can expect to pay much less, perhaps even under $500. It’s important to remember that smart homes are an investment, and while you’ll be paying 30% or so more for these smart appliances, you’ll start to see the benefits (in your wallet) overtime. Typically, investments just involve a grueling waiting period, but one huge advantage with this investment is that you can at least begin enjoying the perks and conveniences right away.

 Without smart appliances, it’s hard to see how much energy you’re using in your home. Sure, you can look through your gas and electricity bill for details, but the tough part is knowing when energy is being used during an unnecessary time. Such as the aforementioned energy vampires, which use up electricity even when they are turned off. These appliances and electronics are responsible for 10% of the energy used in an average home, according to the Department of Energy, which also shares that “an appliance constantly taking in 1 watt of electrical current is equivalent to 9kWh per year, adding up to $1 in annual costs (basically $1/watt/annual). Considering how many appliances are used in an average household, costs can quickly add up to $100-200 a year.”

There are many components that impact the amount of energy a home uses, such as location, climate, number of household members, and the size of the home, but as of 2018, the average American home consumed about 914 kWh of electricity per month. Electricity is used in just about every home and accounted for 44% of household energy consumption in 2017, while natural gas—which is used in 58% of homes—accounted for 43% of household energy consumption in the same year. This average energy use per household is consistently declining, and it seems that it’s no coincidence with the rise of smart homes. Overall, 3 of 4 American homes use two or more energy sources and chances are if they’re not using smart devices, they’re using too much energy and paying too much.

Electric companies are a bit sneaky and offer “time-of-use pricing,” which charges more for electricity during peak times during the day. With the help of smart appliances, they can help do the work for you during off-hours while saving you a bit of money here and there—which adds up. As Dan DiClerico of HomeAdvisor says, “Smart appliances make it easy for homeowners to control when their appliances are using electricity. For example, the dishwasher and dryer can be programmed to run late at night. Or the refrigerator can be set to go into energy-intensive defrost mode only on weekend mornings, when electricity rates are very low.” These are the small factors that are often looked over by homeowners who simply skim their utility bills before making the payment.

There continues to be greater advantages than just saving money when it comes to smart gadgets. Smart lighting, for example, offers a sense of security with the ability to control your lights remotely. Let’s say you forgot to hit the lights before taking off on vacation, or maybe you’d like to have the lights on when you get home late one evening—with smart lighting this can all be done with the press of a button.

By 2021, the market penetration for smart home technologies is expected to reach 38.7%, which is quite the jump from 8.2% in 2016. Clearly, homeowners are catching on to the potential massive savings a smart home will create. According to Energy Star, the average homeowner spends more than $2,000 on utility bills per year. After switching to a smart home lifestyle, one can expect to save between 20%-30% on their energy bills.

As far as conveniences go, smart home technology may rank number one. With voice assistants like Alexa or Google Home, you can simply announce that you’d like your favorite song played, the lights dimmed, and the heat set to the perfect temperature. You can even set yourself reminders, check the weather, and restart your router when the internet is acting up, all without lifting a finger. These amenities are adored by everyone, but especially children and those with disabilities that might find it harder to reach certain places.

Between the dozens of technology-driven appliances, you can save approximately $996 a year. There are enough stressors in our lives already, do we really want to add our energy bills to that list?