We all know someone who has put some of their lights on a timer, or someone who has used a Nest or other home system to automate their lights and heating / air conditioning. Perhaps you have done this on a limited scale too.
Maybe you bought a timer for a floor lamp and set it up to help your home look more lived in while you were away on vacation. Maybe the electric company installed a monitor on your AC to reduce usage as part of a state-wide brownout prevention effort.
Either way, you have gotten a taste of what the automated age, and in the internet of things, has to offer you in terms of convenience. But did you also know that it offers you savings too?
Lights on timers
From very simple timers at Ikea, or a multiple piece home lighting automation kit, there are seemingly countless options for setting many of your lights on autopilot these days.
Your first thought might be that putting a light on a timer means that it will definitely be on for a certain time of the day meaning you will rack up bills that you wouldn’t if the light was off. But in fact a light costs you pennies, but can save you the cost of a broken window or door frame, and stolen goods. A house that looks lived in is a house less likely to be broken in.
Also, setting a light to turn on in an entryway can save you from reaching your back porch in total darkness, or dropping your groceries as you fumble for a switch. This simple step pays for itself invisibly over time.
Lights and heaters with motion detectors
Do your kids forget to turn lights off? Or maybe it’s you who forgets?
Lights on motion sensors not only come on when you need them, but they turn off on their own, simplifying your life and automating your savings.
Lights, heating, and cooling on … your phone?
The most significant savings you can make when automating your home systems are in heating and cooling.
By buying a Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell, or other automated home thermostat, you are amping up your cost savings.
The best of these devices learn your patterns and habits, then they turn down the heating or cooling when you are away. Heating and cooling are often a home’s biggest energy expenses. Imagine dropping those bills 10% or more over a season?
Price Electric installs timers, motion detectors, and thermostats
The best news is that you don’t have to mess with all the complicated mechanics yourself. Installing switches and thermostats can involve turning off electric at the panel, or dealing with a half dozen wires from the AC and heater.
A Price Electric expert can install these for you, on a schedule you work out together.
Start saving today!