Every year, it is inevitable that we see an increase in our energy usage in the form of higher utility bills. While the majority of the of the additional costs are difficult to cut back without compromising comfort there are many ways to keep an eye on your energy expenditures. In fact, you have the ability to turn energy expenditures in energy savings. One of the easiest ways is to use Smart Home Support in conjunction with Alarm.com. With its monitoring solution that is easy to install and configure, as well as affordable, you slice dollars off utility bills every month.
Where can you find energy savings?
How many TVs do you have plugged in? Even when they are seemingly turned off, they still consume energy. Other devices such as phone chargers, computers, and thermostats are major consumers of energy in your home. All of these things can be monitored and help identify energy savings potential and you make good decisions. Decisions about what you cut back on after you see what it costs to have them plugged into power all the time.
Lighting is another source of energy waste. Do you remember your parents calling after you, “Turn the lights off!”? Today, automated lighting schedules are available to greatly reduce consumption. Set a schedule to automatically turn lights off at certain times increases the life of the bulb. It also reduces energy consumption. Turn the brightness down to 80% within automated settings. In most cases the change is imperceptible by members of the family, and a good way to save. This is especially good for those fixtures that are difficult to access. Consider bulbs in ceiling can lights, outdoor flood lights, and the bulbs fixtures in stair wells.
Energy saving strategies are easy to install
As we continue through the steps in making your home smart, we install devices that all communicate through a central hub. You, the user, do not have to worry so much about how it gets done. No, we take care of that, and all you have to do is enjoy it and reap the benefits! Be confident that when it is done, it is easy to use.
Energy monitoring devices are inconspicuous, and generally out of sight. We call the main device the Parent and it is installed in the electrical panel of your home. Additional devices we call child devices are plugged into receptacles. Everything you would plug into an outlet is plugged into a child device. The child devices then communicate with the parent device. The parent device communicates with your alarm.com app and customer site, which is where you can review it.
Initially, the first couple of months is a data-gathering phase. We run comparisons, look at usage, and then determine where you can find energy savings potential. I am your resource to walk you through the process of dialing in your energy savings. The savings may seem small at first, but over the course of a year it adds up. Every home varies in where to find efficiencies and energy savings. Therefore, getting the proper set up and configuration takes a little time to get dialed in to the optimal settings. Once it is set up, you can sit back and let the system bring the energy savings to you – and your wallet.
How to get started saving energy in your home
It is not necessary to try to do all of this at once. Actually, I recommend implementing devices in phases. For starters, install the parent device to ensure we have a good bench mark. After that, we install one or two “child” devices. By doing this we create base lines to accurately interpret the incoming data. Lastly, we set up schedules based on how you live in your home. Our goal is to cut power to devices at times we know they are not in use and using energy unnecessarily.
In addition, using this methodology you can also make adjustments to those appliances we cannot just turn off, such as your refrigerator or HVAC system.
Most people have lived in a variety of homes over their lifetime. From home to home they most likely gave little attention to how to find energy savings. But that was in the past. Now, there is a way to really identify where your energy dollars are going. And, likewise, there is a way to take steps to find and capture energy savings. With alarm.com energy monitoring you can see up to hour by hour consumption in kilowatt hours or dollars. Technology really does save you money and make life better!
Contact me today to find out more about how we can make your home smarter, more efficient and less costly to maintain!
Mike