Consumer Tech

By Mary Sauer

When you automate your home, you have the ability to control your appliances and systems while you’re away or on the go. Whether you are a few miles away at the office or across the country, all you need is a smartphone or desktop that is able to connect to the internet to make changes to the temperature in your home or the timing of your lights.

There are plenty of different reasons why homeowners decide to turn their homes into smart homes. Some want to make their life more convenient, and others are concerned about increasing the safety of their home. One of the most popular reasons, though, is finding creative and convenient ways to save money on housing costs. If you are looking to tighten your budget and free up extra spending money each month, here are a few of the best tips for using home automation to save money.

1. Put Your Thermostat on Autopilot

Just because you can control your smart thermostat with the touch of a button, doesn’t always mean that is the most efficient or economical approach to controlling your heating and cooling systems. Instead, your first step should be setting up programs that control your thermostat automatically without your daily input.

When you build the programming of your thermostat around your routine, adjusting the temperature by a few degrees when you normally head to bed or when you are gone for the day, you can shave a significant amount of money off of your annual heating and cooling costs. By making your smart thermostat do the work for you, you avoid wasting money if you forget to manually adjust the thermostat on a busy day.

2. Turn Off the Lights

When you are not home, there is no reason to keep your home fully lit. In fact, although many chose to leave lights on to deter break-ins, there is much debate on the effectiveness of this practice. No matter what you decide, only one or two lights should be left on at the very most.

Leaving lights on all day or all night adds to your monthly electricity bill, costing you money you could be throwing at debt or spending on a more valuable expense. When your lights are set up for control through your smartphone, you can easily switch them off from afar if you rush out of your house in the morning.

3. Use Your Smartphone Application for Last-Minute Changes

Most smart home appliances are set up to follow programming specified by you when the system is first installed. However, our schedules and routines are apt to change at a moment’s notice, and a change in weather is always possible. It isn’t uncommon for individuals with an automated home to need to make last-minute changes to the smart appliances in their home.

This is where the use of a smartphone application can really save you money. If the weather changes or you are suddenly called away on a business trip, you can adjust your thermostat or lighting schedules to match that change. By taking advantage of this feature, you can avoid spending unnecessary money when operating these appliances.

Modernize is a company that share a passion for helping homeowners around the world live more sustainable and more efficient lives. By using home automation to save money, you will always reduce the amount of energy consumed by your heating, cooling, and lighting systems. When we make responsible decisions concerning the way we live in our homes, everyone benefits.

Do you have any tips that can save money? Let us know in the comments below or join the conversation on Twitter!

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