Are you dying for a technologically-green home? Green and lifestyle technologies in the home, often referred to as home automation, help save the planet, save you money, and elevate your interior design and lifestyle. Let me tell you about a few of these slick systems.
Lighting Control
Lighting control means you have full control of your home’s unique light fixtures. You can turn lights on and off with your smart phone, schedule them to come on or go off at a certain time, or trigger them based on a stimulus (like turning the hallway lights on when you’re carrying groceries in). Of course, these are very cool things, but what you may not have considered is how they help your power bill.
Do you think you can tell the difference between 80% and 100% luminosity in your light bulbs? Most people wouldn’t notice, so a common trick is to program your automated lighting system to only bring the lights up to 80% when they’re tripped. You’re saving that top 20% off your electricity bill – and should you need it, that extra 20% is just one button tap away.
How often do you find lights left on overnight when you’re doing your morning routine? Having a lighting control system gives you the ability to have a single button that shuts the entire house down at the end of the night. I call it my goodnight button. With sensors called occupation sensors, your rooms can tell when there isn’t anyone in the room, so your lights can turn themselves off, thus saving your power bill in ways that definitely add up.
HVAC Control
How much do you think air conditioning and heating mismanagement has cost you over the years? Have you ever gone on vacation and forgot to change the thermostat only to worry your whole vacation long about all the money wasted cooling or heating your home when no one is there to enjoy it? A home automation system changes all of that – you will have full control of your home’s temperature from anywhere in the world.
If your home spends extended periods of time unoccupied, you can save precious dollars by turning it off. It’s uncomfortable, though, to come home each day and change the setting manually and spend 30 minutes miserable until the temperature gets comfortable. Imagine, then, being able to push a button when you leave the office, and have the house at the perfect temperature by the time you roll in.
Automatic Blinds
In the winter, taking advantage of the sunlight can be a huge power saver. It’s possible to wake up every morning before the sunrise, and open all the blinds to the East to warm your home enough to take some burden off the furnace, but it’s not convenient. This is where automatic blinds come in.
Your home electronic system knows where your home is, and when the sunrise occurs each morning. It instructs your blinds facing the sun to open, and then to close after the sun has moved to insulate the windows from the cool outside air.
Plus your blinds all close themselves at night to keep prying eyes off of your belongings while you sleep and protect your privacy.
System Costs
You’re probably thinking, “Home automation sounds awesome, but I’ll bet it’s pricey!” You’re right to a degree – system costs range from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands. The good news is that there are programs like 203k loans and other home improvement loans that lend you money for making green improvements to your home. Your neighbors won’t know that it’s your little way of helping the environment and saving money – they’ll just think you’re rich. Welcome to your turn at being the Joneses.