2 Powerful Technologies to Make Your Home Green and Efficient
Reduce Your Energy Costs and Carbon Footprint With These Tools
Smart homes are wonderful because of all the benefits they provide customers in terms of convenience, but what we really love to see is when a smart home saves customers money, increases their level of convenience, and helps the environment at the same time.
While there are many green home technologies available for smart home owners, there are two in particular that are extremely powerful and can have a huge impact on how green your home really is.
In fact, we recently installed several of these systems into a customer’s home in Alpine, NJ, and they let us know that they’re already starting to see savings.
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1. Automated Window Shades
While many of our customers think of the more “common” green technologies, like rain barrels or solar water heaters, they rarely consider the possibility that automated window shades can be even greener than toilets built to save water.
What automated window shades do that’s so powerful is they react to sunlight automatically, opening and closing as the sun rises and sets. They block out the sun’s powerful rays during the day, which keeps electricity costs down (especially in the summer) and reduces your overall energy usage.
Many of these blinds are also built to be insulative, so during the winter, they will keep your warm air away from the cold glass of your windows, saving you money on heating costs.
They’re also incredibly convenient. You no longer have to worry about dealing with your shades manually. Instead manage them using remotes, mobile apps, or even voice commands. Over time, this green technology pays for itself.
2. Smart Power Strips
One of the biggest sources of electricity costs is actually from devices that are turned off or are fully charged but remain plugged in. They can suck electricity all day and night without you ever knowing it, contributing to higher bills and a higher carbon footprint.
Smart power strips are able to sense when a device is fully charged or is not in use, and they are then able to throttle that power usage and save you money.
These devices are usually quite inexpensive and easy to install in retrofit projects, but over time, they can lead to major savings—they’ll probably pay for themselves in less than a year.
Let’s Talk About How to Make Your Home Green
We specialize in building smart homes that take advantage of automation to make your life easier and save you money on utility costs. Contact us today to learn more. Just fill out our contact form or give us a call.